“TikTok Told Me I Have ADHD… But Do I Really?”— The Rise of Self-Diagnosis on Social Media

If you've ever scrolled through TikTok and suddenly thought, Wait… do I have ADHD?, you're definitely not alone. Mental health content has exploded on the app, with creators sharing their experiences with everything from anxiety to dissociation. On the plus side, it’s made talking about mental health way less taboo—Gen Z is leading the charge in normalizing these conversations. But with all these bite-sized “signs you might have [insert condition]” videos, it’s easy to start diagnosing yourself based on a 30-second clip. And that can be a slippery slope.

The thing is, while TikTok is great for spreading awareness, it’s not exactly a substitute for a therapist’s office. Studies have found that a lot of mental health advice on the app is, well… not super accurate. A report from the University of British Columbia, for example, showed that less than half of ADHD-related TikToks actually lined up with real clinical guidelines. That means plenty of people might be mistaking normal stress, quirks, or even just bad habits for a full-blown disorder. And when everyone’s self-diagnosing, it can sometimes take away from the people who truly need support.

That doesn’t mean you should ignore mental health TikTok altogether—it just means you should take it with a grain of salt. Use it as a jumping-off point, not the final say. If a video resonates with you, talk to a professional who can help you figure out what’s actually going on. Mental health isn’t one-size-fits-all, and while TikTok can make you feel seen, real help comes from understanding yourself beyond a viral soundbite.