Mental health misinformation on TikTok is at an all-time high, and poses a huge risk to struggling users, experts warn

More than half of the most popular TikTok videos about mental health peddle misinformation and pose a significant risk to users struggling with complex conditions, British experts warned.Users turning to the social media platform for instant relief and solutions to treat their trauma, depression or anxiety may end up feeling more distressed after taking the flawed advice, a recent study conducted by The Guardian revealed.“TikTok is spreading misinformation by suggesting that there are secret universal tips and truths that may actually make a viewer feel even worse, like a failure, when these tips don’t simply cure,” Amber Johnson, a British Psychological Society-accredited psychologist, told the outlet.“Each video is guilty of suggesting that everyone has the same experience of PTSD with similar symptoms that can easily be explained in a 30-second reel.”The study examined the top 100 videos posted under #mentalhealthtips on the platform, which were then reviewed by psychological professionals for accuracy and potential harm.Experts flagged 52 videos offering mental health advice on trauma, neurodivergence, anxiety, depression, and other serious disorders as misleading – with some clips dishing out vague and hollow fluff.“This is providing misinformation to impressionable people and can also trivialize the life experiences of people living with serious mental illness,” Dan Poulter, a National Health Service psychiatrist, said.Experts criticized the content for misusing therapeutic language, offering counsel rooted in personal experience, and making sweeping generalizations while also minimizing the complexities of certain mental health conditions, the outlet reported.They cautioned that the dangerous tips could warp the public’s understanding of mental illness and urged government officials to implement stronger safeguards against the spread of harmful misinformation. “Short-form, attention-grabbing soundbites can sometimes overshadow the more nu...