Are TikTok's #MentalHealthTips misleading? Experts speak out

SOCIAL media has become a lifeline for many seeking mental health support, with platforms like TikTok offering a space where users share personal stories, coping tips, and advice.

- VUYILE MADWANTSI

But beneath the surface of bite-sized videos and catchy #mentalhealthtips lies a troubling reality: misinformation is rife, and it’s spreading fast.

A recent investigation by The Guardian revealed that more than half of the top 100 mental health advice videos on TikTok contain misleading or outright false information.

The problem with TikTok therapy

From eating an orange in the shower to reduce anxiety to promoting supplements like saffron and holy basil as cure-alls, the mental health advice circulating on TikTok is often dubious at best.

Some videos claim that trauma can be resolved in an hour, while others mislabel normal emotional experiences as symptoms of serious mental illnesses like borderline personality disorder or abuse.

Dr David Okai, a consultant neuropsychiatrist from King’s College, London, reviewed anxiety and depression-related videos as part of the investigation by The Guardian.

He noted that many posts misuse therapeutic language, blurring terms like “well-being”, “anxiety”, and “mental disorder”.

This not only confuses viewers but also distorts the reality of what living with a mental illness entails.