I’m wondering if this is a modern extension of the old “psych-101 syndrome”. Where undergrads, upon learning of the existence of various mental health diagnoses, suddenly realize they too are OCD or have depression, etc…
It's even worse. People on TikTok are all diagnosing themselves with anxiety, depression, neurodiversity, OCD, ADHD, and autism out of a mix of fashion, group pressure and teenage angst.
Where are all the schizos and self-diagnosed narcissists? Me thinks the distribution is off.
I'm fine with teens doing dumb stuff as a small side effect of an overall positive impact of the internet for mental health. The internet has made it so people can openly discuss mental health problems, do research on their own, reduce stigma around mental health discussions, and meet other people struggling with similar issues. I'm on r/bipolar2 and its giant, awesome, very supportive discord.
There are proper diagnosed awareness activists with large followings on TikTok, and based on the humanity on display within TikTok, I have no doubt for every legitimate individual, there are many times that number of fakers.
As for a narcissist awareness activist, they're not wrong, they are right, and you are an arsehole and it's all your fault!
Schizophrenia on the other hand is absolutely tragic, and it often contains disordered thinking. There is/was plenty of content on YouTube but it wasn't awareness based, rather it was paranoia based.
You're always going to get scammers and fakers, but the legitimate people who are letting others in to their lives to spread awareness is overall a good thing. I would have liked to discover I wasn't alone as a teenager with undiagnosed ADHD. Treatment at that point in my life would have changed it's trajectory significantly.
Neurodiversity isn't a diagnosis by the way, just a catch-all for a group of other disorders.
