A recent Guardian investigation found that over half of the top mental health TikTok posts contain false information. These are the latest findings to show that the internet can pose a real risk to those seeking information and resources for mental health.
Around one in five adults in the U.S. lives with a mental health condition, including more than a third of young adults. Social media use, along with social isolation and loneliness, is increasingly driving a national mental health crisis, with rising rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide.
Despite the high rates of mental health conditions, fewer than half of all people with diagnosed mental health conditions have reliable access to mental health care. High cost, lack of insurance coverage, a shortage of mental health professionals, stigma, and lack of trust may prevent people from seeking mental health treatment.
With these barriers, it’s unsurprising that many people go online for mental health support and resources.
“I do think that there are some positives to this trend,” said Amori Mikami, professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, in a PBS News interview.
“For instance, people … feel seen or feel heard in ways that they often haven’t before or haven’t from the traditional health care system or from mental health professionals.”
Still, many experts warn that turning to the internet for mental health information can be risky.
Online content is a breeding ground for mental health myths
Social media has become a growing source of health information, including around mental health. A 2024 KFF poll found that mental health is one of the most common health-related topics on TikTok. Two-thirds of users reported seeing mental health content on the platform, including over 90 percent of young adults.
The Guardian report identified several trends in false mental health claims on TikTok, including characterizing “normal” emotions as medically significant, promoting unproven treatments, and using so-called therapy speak, or misuse of the language used by mental health professionals.
Previous research on TikTok and other social media platforms found similar trends. A 2025 analysis of 500 top TikTok posts related to mental health revealed that over 90 percent of content about depression and bipolar disorder, and all content about ADHD, contained misleading information. A 2020 analysis of Instagram posts about depression revealed misleading claims and negative sentiments about evidence-based mental health treatments.
In addition to promoting misleading information, social media has also become a source for self-diagnosing mental health conditions, which some experts warn can lead to misdiagnosis and delayed treatment.
“People normally get these self-diagnoses wrong, often because they are diagnosing based on inaccurate misinformation,” wrote Rebekah Ninan, a student fellow at Harvard Law School, in an April article.
People are getting inaccurate and dangerous mental health advice online
The flood of inaccurate mental health advice online has become a major concern for mental health professionals. The American Psychological Association reported on instances of AI chatbots that allegedly described themselves as therapists to teenagers experiencing mental health crises. Another recent report tells the story of a woman with schizophrenia who was advised by ChatGPT to go off her psychiatric medication.
And it isn’t only AI that offers bad health advice to those seeking mental health information. Mental health treatments like antidepressants and cognitive behavioral therapy are frequently painted as wholly negative and even deadly on social media. Meanwhile, popular social media posts have promoted supplements to treat anxiety and avoiding masturbation to cure depression.
“I don’t think people should rely on social media for their health information,” said Lorenzo Lorenzo-Luaces, associate professor of psychology at Indiana University, in a 2023 interview.
“It makes sense to check with other patients about what their experience with a treatment was, but the problem is that when you do that, you usually are not getting the full context of the treatment that the person went through.”
Where to find reliable mental health resources online
Despite the risk, online mental health content can be a valuable resource for people seeking information and support—as long as you know where to find it.
Here are some reliable online resources for mental health:
- CDC: Mental Health Resources
- Crisis Text Line: Resources
- National Alliance on Mental Illness: NAMI National HelpLine Resource Directory
- Public Good News: Searching for mental health resources? Here’s where to look.
- Public Good News: These mental health helplines don’t contact police
- The Mental Health Coalition: Resource Library
If you or anyone you know is considering suicide or self-harm or is anxious, depressed, or upset or needs to talk, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988 or text the Crisis Text Line at 741-741. For international resources, here is a good place to begin.