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September 29, 2025 18 mins

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Mental health information from social media and AI can be misleading and potentially harmful. While increased acceptance of mental health issues is positive, self-diagnosis through TikTok or AI often leads to misinformation and misunderstanding of complex conditions.

• Over 50% of mental health information on TikTok is inaccurate
• Even mental health professionals often disagree on diagnoses
• The same diagnosis manifests differently in different people
• Everyone experiences anxiety – it becomes problematic when it interferes with daily life
• Focus on where symptoms interfere with your life rather than seeking labels
• Research shows the most powerful agent of change is having someone trusted to talk to
• Be an informed consumer of mental health information
• For crisis situations, call 988 or seek professional help immediately

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Episode Transcript

Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Hey, welcome to a mini episode of No Shrinking
Violets.
I'm going to talk today aboutsomething that I've been
thinking about a lot, and Ihesitated to talk about this
earlier because I think it'sreally controversial.
And I want to make sure that I'mbeing really clear with the
insights or opinions that I'mgiving.

(00:21):
I want to talk a little bitabout using social media,
specifically TikTok or AI, toget mental health information.
So, first, let me say that overmy 35 years in the field, I have
seen a huge increase in theacceptance of mental health
concerns as legitimate, assomething that we all deal with.

(00:44):
And people are being much moreopen about the struggles that
they have.
And I think this helps so muchbecause I know my generation,
and especially my parents'generation, really was
characterized by the idea thatyou pull yourself up by your
bootstraps.

(01:05):
You just tough it out.
And in some cases, I think thisis true.
I think it's important.
But I think in other instances,it can feel isolating to really,
really struggle and believe thatwe're the only one that is
struggling or that we're broken.
So the first thing that I wantto say about that idea of being

(01:27):
broken is no one is broken.
It doesn't matter how broken youfeel.
We all handle situations thatcome up in the best way that we
know how.
And sometimes we end up at theend of a road when we have no
idea how we got there.
And we have a lot of things tofix, but we got there because we

(01:50):
were just trying.
We're just trying to feelbetter.
So I like the idea that we'veincreased our acceptance of
mental health issues.
I think we've overcorrectedbecause I think there's a lot
shared on social media about howbad people feel.
And sometimes it's romanticized.

(02:12):
And I'm not going to go downthat road too much, at least in
this episode.
But I want to talk more aboutusing social media and AI to
diagnose.
So, first of all, let me giveyou a little foundation.
Licensed mental healthprofessionals use the DSM 5 TR,
which stands for the Diagnosticand Statistical Manual of Mental

(02:36):
Health Disorders.
It's edition 5, TR stands fortext revision, because what
happens with the DSM is that aswe learn more and we become more
understanding of neurodivergentissues and simply how depression

(02:57):
looks, anxiety looks, all ofthose things, we adjust.
And so it's actually editionfive, but there's already a
revision, and that what that'swhat the TR means.
So there's not even agreementamong professionals developing
the diagnoses, first of all,that when the next revisions
come out, there is a lot ofdebating and discussing.

(03:23):
And some people walk away fromthe table.
Typically, these arepsychiatrists, mental health
professionals, walk away fromthe table, not getting what they
think is right into the book,into the manual.
So some of the diagnosesthemselves can be controversial.
There's conflicting opinionsabout it.

(03:46):
But the other part that I thinkis even probably more important
is that when a professional isusing the symptom checklist,
because each type of diagnosiscomes with a checklist, they are
not even 100% agreeing.
So it wasn't uncommon or hasn'tbeen uncommon for me to get case

(04:10):
notes on a new client and see adiagnosis that I would have
never considered for someone.
So you have to remember firstthat mental health professionals
are human and also people'ssituations change.
So that's one of the firstthings that I want to put a

(04:31):
little asterisk beside that it'svery, very, very rare for me to
discuss a diagnosis with aclient.
It might be interesting to knowthat.

(05:10):
One of the things that occursthough is that people create
diagnoses and they will sharetheir experience.
And this may have happened toyou.
You can identify with whatthey're saying.
And, you know, you may think,oh, that sounds like me.
I must, that must be mydiagnosis.

(05:30):
I understand wanting to have alabel for something, but often
they're either not truediagnoses or they're not
accurate.
How a diagnosis is exhibited ina person or is expressed in a
person varies widely.
I could give you five differentpeople with the diagnosis of

(05:53):
generalized anxiety disorder,and that is going to show up in
their lives totally differently.
You can even use the idea ofautism spectrum disorder,
totally different.
That's why it's called aspectrum.
So one of the things that I wantyou to think about when you want

(06:13):
answers is what is botheringyou.
Think about what are youexperiencing?
Where is it interfering withyour ability to be successful,
to go out into the world and dowhat you really want to do?
Where is it affecting yourrelationships?
Those types of things.
Start with that.

(06:34):
The concern I have about usingthings like TikTok, where
actually over 50% of theinformation on there is
inaccurate.
Or when you're using AI, AI ispulling information from all
over the place.
And often it puts it togetherinaccurately, or it will

(06:54):
simplify a treatment.
So if you're saying to ChatGPT,how do I cope with anxiety?
First of all, there areliterally hundreds of ways that
you can cope with anxiety.
So if you think about a mashupof all of that, likely what

(07:16):
you're going to get will havenuggets of truth.
But my real concern is thatpeople will think that is the
end all and be all, and theycannot, that that's not
effective for them.
So then it creates a worseningsituation because, oh, well, I
asked ChatGPT, it said to dothis, and it doesn't work for

(07:38):
me.
So I must really be broken.
And let me give you an examplethat I read online that eating
an orange in the shower reducesanxiety.
Now that sounds ridiculous.
And it's an example of I thinkwhat we like to do with a mental
health issue.
We want there to be somethingthat often we want there to be

(07:59):
something that is quick.
What can I do that's going tosolve this?
You didn't get anxiety overnightor depression overnight.
These things are really complex.
And there may be what we call aprecipitating event, the thing
that seems to kick it off.
But a lot of times there arethings underlying that.
So let me talk a little bitabout this eating an orange in

(08:22):
the shower.
Can that work?
Well, for sure, because first ofall, you're concentrating on
something else.
And mindfulness is one of themost powerful ways to deal with
anxiety.
So if you're in the shower,first of all, and you're peeling
an orange or you're eating anorange, there's a lot of other
stuff going on, but you're notthinking about the worries that

(08:45):
you have.
Your brain can't truly do twothings at once.
So you can't worry about theexam coming up or worry about
the date you have that night orwhatever the worry is, and then
feeling that anxiety if you'reconcentrating on eating an
orange while water is pouringover your head.
And I'm not trying to make lightof it, but it could actually

(09:08):
work really well for peoplebecause they are finally feeling
relief from the rumination, fromthe constant thinking.
But it's simply an example ofhow we like to take something
that is off the wall or seemsvery simple and apply it across
the board.
It's difficult to figure outwhat is going to work for each

(09:30):
person.
And that's why there aretherapists.
And I am not saying at all thatevery therapist is effective
because that is 100% not true.
What concerns me is when peoplego to a therapist, they don't
feel it's working, they don'tfeel heard, and then they say

(09:50):
therapy doesn't work.
It's the same with anything.
You can hire somebody to put aroof on your house and the roof
can leak.
You can have a doctor, a medicaldoctor, and you don't feel
heard, or the diagnosis iswrong, or the medication is
wrong.
There are humans trying to treathumans.

(10:10):
So let me go back to when you'relooking for answers, the first
thing to focus on is where arethings interfering with your
ability to live a life like youwant to.
Another thing that I think it'simportant to remember, and this
is something that is certainlyexacerbated by social media, is

(10:33):
it will take things that all ofus experience and portray them
as something that is serious foreveryone.
Example, anxiety.
Every single person in the worldexperiences anxiety.
If we did not have any anxiety,we would be in more danger

(10:55):
because we would walk across thestreet without looking for cars,
or we would um, I don't know,leave our doors unlocked in an
area with high crime.
The things that we're equippedwith, we're equipped to have
these types of feelings insideto keep us safe.

(11:19):
When anxiety gets out ofcontrol, when it starts to exert
itself in our lives to the pointthat we are not able to do
things that we want to do, to goout on a date, to even leave our
house, or to make a phone call.
Sometimes, well, often anxietywill exert itself in very
specific ways for differentpeople.

(11:40):
But everyone feels anxiety.
You cannot create a life wherethere's no anxiety, nor should
you, because it would bedangerous.
When we think about feelings oremotions or the experience of
something like anxiety, I wantpeople to understand that we're
supposed to feel that.
It is, again, when it gets inthe way of things that you want,

(12:01):
it keeps you from expressingconcerns to a partner so that
you can have your needs met oryou can be safer.
Or, you know, thinking about,again, I'm going to circle back
to the beginning.
If you are bothered bydifferent, what we'll say,
mental health concerns, thingslike depression and anxiety,

(12:22):
look at where they'reinterfering.
If you are feeling hopeless,that is a whole other thing.
That is a situation where youcall the 988 crisis number, you
go to psychologytoday.com andyou search for a therapist in
your area.
And often you are going to beable to do a consultation call

(12:44):
with them first.
So you can talk about what yourconcerns are.
They can make sure they're agood fit, they can determine a
little bit how serious this is.
Getting information from placesother than Google or ChatGPT or
TikTok is really, reallyimportant because the biggest

(13:06):
agent of change, and this issupported by research, is simply
having somebody trusted to talkto.

(13:43):
That is the most importantthing.
As humans, we're meant toconnect.
So when you sit in isolation andyou look for answers, or you
talk to somebody online thatsays they have the exact
symptoms you do, that can be agood source of support to start.
But you don't know that person'slife.

(14:06):
And there can be a lot of thingsthat are inaccurate, or the
person that you're talking todoesn't have your best interest
at heart.
So I think you can tell by nowthis trend of looking for
answers online, whatever,whether it's social media,
whether it's AI, um, whetherit's just Googling something,

(14:28):
please check your sources.
Make sure it's coming from areputable source.
If you're listening to apodcast, try to understand where
the host is coming from.
How are they trained?
Are they only using their ownexperiences to give you
information?

(14:49):
I want you to be an informedconsumer of information.
And most importantly, I want youto get the help you need.
So remember that any mentalhealth concern can look the same
on the surface.
We certainly have universalsimilarities as people.
But your situation, you are aunique person.

(15:12):
So be a little bit savvy inlooking at the information
online.
Be very aware that a lot of itcan seem verified, it can seem
reliable, but be careful of theinformation.
And if there's anything thatgives the impression that a

(15:32):
serious mental health concern.
So deep depression, where youhave trouble functioning, or a
level of anxiety that leaves youfeeling like you're having
physical issues.
A lot of people use the wordpanic attack when it's really
just a severe anxiety attack.
But if you feel like you'rephysically dying, it could be a

(15:54):
panic attack.
That's still going to bedifferent than somebody else's
panic attack.
So remember that you're a uniqueperson.
Find, certainly find thosecommonalities because I don't
want you to feel like you'realone.
But if you have a feeling ofcrisis, if you feel that you're
in danger, talk to someone, talkto a friend, call 988, find

(16:17):
someplace to start.
But if you are in a situationthat we'll say is not a crisis,
it's not an emergent situation,you just want to feel better,
start by reflecting on where arethese issues getting in the way?
What does it feel like?
Where do I feel most like mylife is out of control?

(16:39):
Where do I want to createchange?
And know that there are many,many people that feel like life
is hard every single day.
It does get better, but beingable to approach the issue with
a little bit armed with a littlebit of knowledge, just be aware

(16:59):
of your sources and start tolook at where do you want to
experience change.
And then if you feel like youwant to work with a coach, there
is a lot out there.
Just make sure they're trained,make sure they're certified.
If you want to work with atherapist, I recommend starting
with psychologytoday.com becausetherapists or other mental

(17:21):
health professionals, we arelicensed by states.
You need to work with someonethat is in the state where you
are.
Actually, they have to belicensed in the state.
I could be anywhere.
I could be in, I don't know,Tahiti right now or Spain, as
long as my client is inPennsylvania, because that's

(17:43):
where my license is.
So be armed with information, bediscerning, be really careful,
and just start with what isbothering you, where is it
getting in the way, and where doyou want to start to create
change?
And until next time, go out intothe world and be the amazing,
resilient, vibrant violet thatyou are.
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