Stop letting 'Dr. TikTok' diagnose real disorders

Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t hate mental health awareness.

I’m just not the biggest fan of what I call “Dr. TikTok.”

For years, the internet has proved a helpful tool in communicating ideas across a global platform. Every person has access to almost any piece of information at their fingertips. Of course, this includes what our world knows about medicine.

This is incredibly useful, especially for underserved populations in medicine like people of color, the elderly and low-income families — groups who have struggled to receive consistent, equal and accurate mental health care. 

A sentence in a search bar and the click of a button can send individuals in the right direction to receive the help they need. 

However, this becomes problematic when Dr. TikTok starts handing out mental disorders like candy. 

It’s even more problematic when the newly-decorated mental health disorder-havers decide that the quirks of their personalities and their last-minute shortcomings are the result of their “diagnosis” and therefore excusable instead of taking accountability for their own actions. 

Mental health diagnoses can take years to accurately detect and assign. Scrolling through TikTok at two-time speed thinking, “OMG I do that,” for a video titled “The seven hidden signs you may have OCD” is not the same as seeing a licensed professional. And honestly? It’s disrespectful to people who legitimately live with a life-long mental disorder. 

Media algorithms reward relatable content — which is why medicalizing human behavior in a quiz-like manner garners a lot of attention. If only diagnosing disorders was as easy as putting a finger down for every behavior I relate to while Subway Surfers gameplay rolls in the background. 

But the annoying thing about Dr. TikTok is that sometimes, it’s onto something. 

There’s no problem with seeing similarities between your behaviors and the symptoms of mental disorders. The internet is a fantastic way to learn from people who bravely choose to share their mental and physical health journeys. The fact that TikTok content creators can lead struggling individuals to find help is extremely beneficial.

Still, self-identification is different from self-diagnosis. 

Especially when that self-diagnosis leads to excusing oneself from activities or justifying inconsiderate behavior because of the umbrella phrase “it’s for my mental health.”

Just to be clear, mental health is always a valid reason for opting out of anything. If you know something could be detrimental to your mind, body or spirit, it is always okay to step away. 

That being said, there’s a difference between truthfully protecting one’s peace and avoiding an experience that may be less than pleasant. 

The truth is that sometimes we do have to put others before ourselves, even if it means brief discomfort. 

To have a village, you have to be a village. 

I think we’re a generation that grew up knowing it’s okay to ask for help, and we’re more open to understanding and accommodating mental disorders, which is a beautiful thing. 

Yet, using self-diagnosed conditions to write off every behavior you don’t like about yourself or don’t care enough to fix is a denouncement of accountability — not an admittance of vulnerability. 

Please contact professional help if you believe you are dealing with a mental issue, but understand that not every unpleasant emotion or personality quirk is a disorder, as much as Dr. TikTok would like you to believe. Sometimes a girl just likes her space tidy — it doesn’t mean she has OCD.