As I open Instagram, my explore page is flooded with posts and reposts spreading “awareness” of mental illnesses. “Things you didn’t know were symptoms of anxiety”, “Signs you may have ADHD” , “Things you may not realize are actually signs of depression”. These are just a few examples of posts I’m bombarded with as I scroll through my explore page in search of cute animals and funny memes. At first, I attempted to ignore this content, and didn’t think much of it. But as these posts continued to appear in spades, I decided to take a closer look. I was immediately filled with disappointment and frustration as I skimmed through countless comments from users expressing their shock in realizing they exhibit the behaviors mentioned in the posts, and further translating these traits into self-diagnoses of certain mental illnesses. All I could think of was what my high school psychology teacher told us when we began learning about mental illness: 

“Yes! You may exhibit certain behaviors mentioned as symptoms of a mental illness; they are normal human behaviors! These behaviors are only considered symptoms when they impact your daily life”.

Because of the widespread availability of information related to mental health, self-diagnosing is increasingly more common in today’s society, stemming from an obsession over symptoms of mental illnesses. In reality, mental illnesses are not a trend or a certain set of characteristics. They are persisting moods and excessive thoughts that go beyond normal human behavior.

My biggest qualm with these posts, that I think is often overlooked, is that most are intended to inform people who already know they have a certain illness. Instead, many reach the general public and are received as “if you do x, you have y”. Granted, these posts come from an attempt to de-stigmatize mental health and spread awareness of different mental illnesses, but in doing so, posts like these, in fact, further stigmatize mental health by spreading misinformation and treating mental health as a trend. With the recurring and widespread sharing of posts highlighting symptoms of mental illnesses, viewers are not being informed on the topic but rather left with an incorrect representation of mental illnesses. Viewers are susceptible to only the information being presented by the creator, leaving many involuntarily misinformed.  

I’m glad our society is becoming more open and honest about the realities of mental illness, but this seems like a damaging trend that does more harm than good. I say “trend” because I notice that different mental illnesses receive more focused content and attention one week, but the next, a different mental illness is “trending”. 

You may ask, what is the harm of self-diagnosing? Self diagnosing is done out of receiving incorrect information and advice regarding their situation. Social media platforms are handing us self-diagnoses without us looking for them, and altering the way we view ourselves and our mental states. By attributing certain behaviors or symptoms to a specific mental illness, you could be ignoring the signs of something that is possibly more serious. Not only does self-diagnosing cause harm to those who do it, but also those who actually do suffer from certain illnesses. Misinformation and false stereotypes are being spread about the illness and it will misguide those who need serious help. 

Yes, you may see these posts and greatly identify with what they are saying, but that doesn’t mean that you have that mental illness. Mental illnesses should be treated similarly to physical illnesses—if my back hurts today, that doesn’t mean I have chronic back pain. Everyone can experience depression or excessive thoughts, but that doesn’t immediately mean you have depression or anxiety. If you’re struggling and think you may be suffering from a mental illness, reach out to a professional for help (not Instagram)! You don’t need a diagnosis or even a concrete reason to receive help. Everyone deserves support no matter how big or how small an issue is.