“I self-diagnose because I cannot afford a diagnosis”, “I self-diagnose because the doctors won’t take me seriously”, “I self-diagnose because only I know what is going on in my head”, no matter the reason, everyone has their own reason to self-diagnose mental illnesses. The rise of mental health awareness has seemed to make it easier for many social media users to discover they relate to the symptoms of some mental illnesses. Ever since the Covid-19 quarantine, there has been a significant uptick in rare mental illnesses such as schizophrenia, Tourette’s, bipolar disorder, BPD and many more. Could social media have something to do with this?

Adolescents are perpetually trying to find a place where they belong. An identity to stick to, a group to fit into, something that can make themselves stand out. In our teenage years, it is difficult to find things about yourself that are unique. Many have turned to associating the struggle they have with their identity with a mental disorder. Teens make bold proclamations of mental illnesses aided by tik tok and content creators that speak out on their mental illnesses. 

I have witnessed this firsthand. Peers of mine have suddenly claimed to be suffering with a tic disorder, multiple personalities, hallucinations, extreme anxiety, eating disorders and more. Although I do not discredit their struggles, I believe that sometimes people are mixing up the wild ride of teenage emotions with extremely rare disorders.

 Tik Tok diagnosis is extremely problematic because of a horoscope effect. People may seek out any symptom of a mental illness that they relate to and dive deeper into the topic. Sometimes this leads to developing behaviors that are harmful, exasperating symptoms and often causing other symptoms to develop. Just because someone has a symptom of a mental illness does not mean that they have it.

I do not think people are seeking attention by self-diagnosing. Teenage years are rough and the struggle to find an identity can often spiral out of control.