Self-Diagnosis on Scripps News

Self-diagnosing via social media is a big trend these days, especially on TikTok. As many more people seek a better understanding of their own mental health it’s important to be careful about the information you consume online. I recently talked with Kristin Krauss of Scripps News on the topic.

Take a look at the coverage below!

The Hidden Danger in Your Social Media Feeds

Social media is a part of everyday life for many of us. We view curated stories from friends, celebrities and brands that are of interest. We keep in contact with people who mean a lot to us, or once did, in a world where many of us end up relocating from our hometowns in search of new adventures and opportunities.

These reasons make sites like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram a huge positive in our lives, but there could be a hidden danger to your mental health lurking everyday in your social media feeds. This danger is vicarious traumatization. In the past, this has been a particular concern for mental health providers, but is a phenomenon that anyone may experience.

We haven't been prepared to understand the implications of social media. Experiencing vicarious trauma (sometimes out of our own immediate control) is a risk we take when we engage in social media regularly these days.  Open any feed and you will readily see photos, images or videos of violence and injury. You’ll also hear stories of suicide or recovery from mental health or addiction issues. While the latter stories help us authentically connect in ways that we haven’t before, all of this exposure can also negatively impact our mental health.

The idea of social media negatively impacting our mental health isn’t new, but few have talked about the impact of indirect experiencing, or vicarious trauma, intentionally. To better understand what vicarious trauma is, it’s important to take a look at a basic description of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is a mental health condition characterized by a cluster of responses (or symptoms) after experiencing a traumatic event. These indicators may manifest as:

• Intrusive thoughts or memories of the event(s)
• Physical reactions to cues reminding you of the event(s) ranging from discomfort to dissociation and even re-experiencing traumatic event(s) in the present
• Intense and significant responses to being exposed to triggers (such as sights, images, videos, sounds, smells, etc.) that remind you of said event(s)
• Thoughts of self-blame, guilt or hopelessness
• Feelings of sadness, fear, guilt, anxiety, etc. and greater difficulty experiencing positive feelings such as happiness, peace, joy, etc.

All of these symptoms must have been experienced in the context of some traumatic event(s). In the past, this only included events like war or sexual assault, but the criteria for PTSD has become broader over time. Now, the diagnostic criteria indicates it is possible to experience PTSD even if you did not directly experience or live the triggering event yourself. Fear or threat of seriously bodily injury to someone you know also qualifies as an activating event. That means that you could potentially also experience PTSD if you knew a friend or loved one experienced terrible events.

What does that have to do with social media?

Consider that you’re a Black mother. Routinely you log on to Facebook and encounter racist rhetoric or see yet another video of police abuse of power resulting in the death of a young Black person. How might you feel to see these videos over and over again? How might that impact your ability to see the world as a safe space for your child(ren)?  How might that impact your mood and ways you navigate different spaces with your child(ren)?

Now imagine you’re a trans woman of color and you predominantly have  found social safety and security online. Almost every week not only do you encounter transphobic rhetoric in comment sections of posts and articles, but you also cross news story after news story of yet another young trans woman of color dying at the hands of someone else. How would that make you feel?

You may end up feeling pretty unsafe walking in the world. You might become less prone to interact and trust others. You might wish that you were someone else. You might wish that the identities of your loved ones weren’t reflected in these kinds of horrific stories. You might feel hopeless and powerless. Everyday, on every social feed, you’re reminded of how your life is viewed as less than. You question the validity of your worth in the world. You wonder if anyone would care if that happened to you or your loved one.

You might hide. As that mother, you might wake up in the middle of the night in terror that your young son is out late. As a trans person, you may not perform gender in the way you might ideally for fear of bodily injury or worse.

There are many people with a whole host of different identities that may be reflected in the stories you see and read in social media. And the reality is, if you’re on these sites multiple times per day, you’re consistently faced with images of people who look like you experiencing violence, at worst, and sometimes snarky comments and/or personal attacks.

How do we navigate this confusing world of endless connectivity?

The answer may not be to disconnect from social media completely. After all, if you disconnect you will miss out on the positivity and connectedness you experience from your online communities. Taking time be more intentional and mindful about your use, as opposed to following each impulse to check your feeds, could be a wise way to manage your connectivity and moderate your exposure to traumatizing material.

The next time you log on, ask yourself, "What am I hoping to gain right now?" One simple question might drastically change your relationship to social media and how you use it. Until then, happy scrolling.