Unbeard of treatments and false claims were the most common forms of misinformation contained in the videos.Photo: Antonio Guillem/Shutterstock
Thousands of influencers appear on social media platforms in mental health misinformation -some out of naive conviction that their personal experience will help people, others, because they want to increase or sell their following or sold products.
As part of a Guardian examination, experts found clear topics for the misinformation contained in videos, which were published with a #MentalhealthtiTSHASHTAG on TIKTOK.
Several videos about Borderline -Personality disorders indicate symptoms that represent everyday experiences – how the feeling of anxiety when people change plans, experience mood swings, the fear of abandonment and reflection of the behavior of the people that are to be liked.
Another video is intended to show how depression in the workplace manifests itself as a lack of concentration, feels tired, a low level of energy, loss of appetite and irritability.
“While some of the” symptoms “overlap with depression, they can be attributed to a number of stresses and fights,” said Liam Modlin, therapist and psychological or researcher at King’s College London.
A video said that people with bipolar disorder experience mood swings because their emotional pendulum swings greater and quickly than most others. However, this is a misunderstanding because people have learned over weeks of atmospheric mood changes and not about quick “mood swings”.
“This is an example of abusing a diagnosis of mental health in order to incorrectly explained or justify behavior,” said Dan Poulter, former health minister and NHS psychiatrist. “A person with bipolar disorder can find this trivialization of their experiences with a weak and serious mental illness.”
Another popular video indicates that someone who will die from suicide to “Fast Bipolar” – “Language [that] Can continue to stigmatize mental health, ”said Prof. Rina Dutta, a consultant psychiatrist and psychiatric professor at King’s College London.
Another video claim of abuse constantly apologizes. collapse in small disagreements; Need to calm down; Difficulties to be open; Be hypersensitive to criticism and hide feelings.
“The behavior that it describes may be in abusive dynamics, but are not exclusively for abuse and can occur in a variety of other contexts,” said Modlin. “By presenting these characters without sufficient context or diagnostic nuance, the video risks encourage viewers to diagnose or fall complex relational struggles as abuse themselves.”
This was the most common form of misinformation contained in the videos.
A video promotes a method that it means that it was cheaper than therapy and less side effects than antidepressants that could enable people to “heal out of trauma in an hour” and to write about the traumatic experiences for 15 minutes.
“No studies indicate that this is sufficient for remedies, definitely not in an hour, and there is a risk of force itself independently of one another into this traumatic way of thinking without supporting an experienced therapist,” said Amber Johnston, an accredited psychotherapist.
Another clip indicates that the crying is self -operation and is good for the processing of emotions, including the stimulation of the release of cortisol. “Cortisol changes in connection with crying are complex and cannot be distilled in this way,” said Amy Durden, a psychotherapist. “Cry can bring relief, but not always. It can be self -operation, but if the person who cries negatively judges their wines, they do not experience this benefit and may feel acute shame.”
Several videos showed that the experts were not considered helpful, e.g.
“This is an enormous simplification of how complex emotional conditions can be tackled,” said Durden. “It seems to be drawn from behavior activation in CBT, but without context or individualization.”
A specific breathing technique for the treatment of anxiety was encouraged in another video. “There is no individual, universally effective breathing technique that is helpful in all cases,” said David Okai, a neuropsychiatrist with consultants. “If it is carried out incorrectly, the exercises can be equivalent to hyperventilation, which can be extremely uncomfortable and can worsen fear.”
Another video indicates that depression is caused by alcohol, tobacco, msg, caffeine, sugar and hydrolyzed wheat. Modlin said that lifestyle factors can help “this frame overview is excessively simple and possibly misleading”, since there are complex factors, including genetics and neurobiology, psychosocial stressors, adversity in childhood, medical illnesses and personality styles.
Other clips promote nutritional supplements, including saffron, magnesium glycinate and holy basil extract to relieve fear. Although the PsychiaterFamia Askari said there are some studies that show some of them, there is not sufficient consensus for them in order to have become part of clinical practice – they are also nutritional supplements in contrast to the “natural” claims that have been presented.
Two videos recommend admission to psychiatric units based on personal experiences, including one that suggests that someone has been significantly improved after six days, and another template for children to ask their parents to allow them.
Poulter said this was “misleading” and can “create misunderstandings about the advantages of inpatient approval”. “In fact, inpatient approval can create and reinforce misjudged coping mechanisms,” he said. “It is also very rare for someone to go to the mental health hospital in the way the video is shown.”
Another video shows someone in a hospital dress in a seemingly psychiatric station that says: “I was too honest with my psychiatrist.” This could be harmful because it “potentially encourages people to not be honest and open to members of the health professions about their mental health,” said Poulter.
In another clip, a woman gives her strategies to cope with anxiety, including the food of an orange in the shower. “There is no evidence of eating citrus fruits in the shower as a means of reducing anxiety, and I would worry that this would lead to an ever larger spiral of unusual behaviors,” said Okai.
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