I love Tiktok. I spend entirely too much time on the app. However, a lot of the videos that pop up on my “for you page” function in an attempt to make mental illness/neurodivergence “trendy.” These videos are typical of people who have diagnosed themselves with serious mental illnesses based on a watered-down, or inaccurate list of symptoms. I have seen BPD, bipolar disorder, DID and Tourette’s included in these self-diagnoses. Increasing exposure to mental health has not decreased the stigma. Rather it has led to people pathologizing regular human emotions. Part of being human is to experience a range of emotions. It is normal to be anxious when there are stressors present in your life; normal to be sad as a reaction to circumstance; normal to have good days and bad days. However, by associating any and every emotion deviating from contentment with a mood disorder, it makes things worse for those with mental illnesses.

            People preach about prioritizing and caring for mental health but only when it looks a specific way. For a specific example, it was a trend for people to post videos of them dying their hair and cleaning their room late at night and refer to it as mania. Although illness does exist on a spectrum everyone’s experience will vary in severity, reducing mania to box dye and a productive late night is incredibly problematic. It increases stigma for those who experience the more severe symptoms, ironically a lot of which are actually required for diagnosis. The DSM-5 characterizes mania for Bipolar I disorder as commonly being associated with hospitalization, psychotic symptoms, and an observable consequence regarding occupation and interpersonal relationships. Yet the same people diagnosing themselves with Bipolar disorder for their DIY hair project, judge those who experience this actual diagnostic criterion. On Twitter I see the same people posting positively about taking mental health days, tweet negative comments about someone’s depression room. As someone who struggles with mental illness, it sucks to listen to so many people around me diagnose themselves with and romanticize an illness that has caused serious detriment in my life.

            I think a lot of people feel as though they need a label to validate their own feelings. Pain, sadness, and stress can be valid, acknowledged, and empathized with even without a disorder. They can be real on their own. I am not saying the topic of mental health should be exclusive to those with illnesses either. It is important for everyone to listen to their minds to treat themselves with kindness and care, to take breaks when needed, and to recognize mental limits, similar to how you need to care for your physical body.  But a boundary needs to exist and wearing someone’s illness as a costume is insensitive.