Staff Reports
The world of psychology is akin to a carnival, where the ringmaster spins a wheel of symptoms and proclaims a new mental health condition every few years, thanks to their holy book, the DSM. This “bible” of psychiatry is where practitioners gather their educated guesses and conjure diagnoses as if it were an actual science. The whole setup, while touted as a beacon of hope for those in distress, instead smells more like a money-making scheme for Big Pharma, with Americans popping mental health pills at a rate unmatched by any other population in history. Ironically, this “help” often produces dismal results, not solutions.
Despite the ever-growing prescriptions for SSRIs and benzodiazepines, many left feeling worse than when they started could argue that these so-called treatments are just temporary fixes, with potentially life-threatening consequences. The prevailing narrative is that these medications will save the day, yet the truth is more grim—people battling depression often find themselves spiraling deeper into despair rather than climbing out. For those with anxiety, a one-way ticket to a lifetime of dependency on medications is often the offering. The irony drips like a leaky faucet, especially when considering that many of these so-called experts might barely pass a basic test of common sense, let alone a clinical qualification.
Adding insult to injury, a new trend has emerged among the younger generation: diagnosing themselves via TikTok videos that rage like wildfire across their feeds. A recent study has exposed the disconnect between the real world of mental health treatment and the theatrical performances observed online. According to researchers, less than half of the claims made in popular ADHD videos align with legitimate clinical guidelines. Should it surprise anyone that social media can warp young minds more effectively than any textbook could clarify?
Techno-Hell: #TikTok-Addicted Kids Wrongly Diagnosing Themselves With #ADHD https://t.co/Om55cTjPuZ
— Zayphar has always been colorblind (@Zayphar) March 27, 2025
Young adults who’ve binged on ADHD-related TikTok content tend to misestimate the disorder’s symptoms, throwing around misleading information as if it were gospel. This is apparently an epidemic of internet self-diagnosis and confusion, and yet mental health professionals are called upon to engage with this platform to set the record straight. What’s next? Therapists hosting TikTok dances to earn some screen time? It certainly poses a peculiar conundrum when the wisdom of the DSM is set at odds with the latest TikTok dance challenge.
The same phenomenon is observable in the ongoing trend of gender “affirmation” among children, where TikTok becomes a spicy breeding ground for identities. What starts as a mere video leads curious minds down a path of confusion and, ultimately, a thumbs-up from the well-meaning but naive parents. Suddenly, the neighborhood has its own little “trendsetter” who’s found their identity through social media’s whims. In our current climate, this scenario reads like a surreal parody of the American family and public health ethos, where affirmation is served with postmodern flair. With a dose of irony, one might say that `affirmation` in these circumstances comes with a heavy toll—a step into the unknown and a financial windfall for those ready to profit from life’s most profound questions.
