The Backlash of Society’s Obsession with Self-Improvement

Is social media making us believe we are mentally ill when we aren’t?

There is an entire movement in our society toward self-improvement. People write articles and books, create podcasts, and dedicate entire social media channels to self-help.

Ten steps to a better life, a better marriage, and a better career.

Change your mind, change your life.

Do this and instantly feel better.

We eat this information up. We chew and swallow it, hoping that the tips and tricks will, in fact, change our life. Self-improvement is a topic so popular it can gain authors a slot on the New York Times bestseller list.

What does this say about our society?

We are searching for answers. We want to know the key to a happy, successful, prosperous, and healthy life. When we are searching for answers, it typically means something isn’t working, leaving us with a life that is unsatisfactory. So, we start looking for the problem in hopes that we will then find the solution. Problems are written into the self-improvement dialogue because there must be a reason for our train-wrecked lives, right?

And suddenly you are mentally unwell, your relationships are toxic, and your past is traumatic. You have a slew of issues plopped into your lap, unsure what to do with them, or where to move from here. All you know is that the issues are heavy and turning your legs numb in the process.

Instagram and Tik Tok Therapy as a Form of Self-Improvement

I’m a mental health therapist. I primarily see teenagers and young adults who are struggling with various mental health issues such as eating disorders, trauma, LGBTQ+ concerns, anxiety, and depression.

Now, I went to a “top” university for my graduate degree and have completed hours and hours of training on various topics. So, you would think I would have a solid foundation for my work as a counselor. However, there is a new phenomenon brewing amongst clients.

Instagram and Tik Tok therapy.

Instagram and Tik Tok therapy are when therapists create social media accounts to spread mental health knowledge and awareness. These accounts typically post definitions of various mental health terms, helpful tips about how to care for yourself and others, and tips on how to navigate the world when you find yourself emotionally struggling. Some examples of these accounts are @the.holistic.psychologist, @mamatherapy, and @thefatsextherapist.

In ideal circumstances, this resource shouldn’t be used in place of actual therapy. However, it could be a helpful alternative for individuals who don’t have access to therapy. These posts can help reduce the knowledge gap between those with a degree in psychology and those who are searching for a better understanding of how they operate in the world.

The difference between these accounts and social media influencers is that these individuals are confirmed to have degrees in counseling as well as thriving practices where they meet with real-life clients.

So, this begs the question, should we trust Instagram therapy? Could this truly be a resource for the laypeople who simply want to better their lives and heal their minds?

I want to say yes. And, in some instances, I have seen the benefits of these social media accounts. I know that my clients in eating disorder recovery have found it beneficial to “clean out” their feeds and replace them with positive, motivating accounts that promote health at every size as well as intuitive eating.

But I have noticed social media therapy comes with some serious caveats.

The Influence of Social Media Self-Improvement on My Therapy Practice

As I mentioned earlier, I see many young people in my therapy practice. This younger generation has never lived a day of their adolescence without the influence of social media. Each client I work with has a different relationship with social media.

Some clients spend hours at a time on the applications and consistently bring up the impact of social media in their sessions. Others haven’t bothered to even create an account. Some spend time here and there on their accounts reporting it having a little influence over their day-to-day life.

I believe we all have some sort of understanding or opinion on the pros and cons of social media usage amongst young people.

People who fear the harmful effects of social media have reported “cleaning out” their feeds and following new, positive, and educational accounts. These accounts typically include Instagram and Tik Tok therapists.

At first, I felt that following certain accounts was a positive solution to the negative influence several of my clients reported social media having. I encouraged them to do a “clean out”. I even suggested some accounts that my clients could follow. However, now I am having second thoughts about my initial enthusiasm.

I am noticing an over-identification with these therapists’ posts. Suddenly clients are reporting symptoms of OCD verbatim from the DSM-5, labeling past experiences as traumatic, and writing their parents off as toxic. I have new clients coming into my office boldly listing off the diagnoses they believe they have. When I ask where these diagnoses came from, they mention Tik Tok and Instagram.

Second Guessing the Positive Impact of Social Media

This problem is sticky and messy primarily because, once these clients have read this information online, they begin to present in ways that suggest new diagnoses.

For example, a client reads a therapist’s post or watches a video where they show examples of ways OCD can manifest in your day-to-day life. Then, the client comes to my office the following week and reports these exact symptoms. The conversation takes some twists and turns and eventually I find out — in one way or another — that the client was able to identify these symptoms after reading or watching a post on social media.

What Came First the Chicken or the Egg?

Did my client have these OCD symptoms prior to watching the videos on Tik Tok and was simply unaware of their behaviors or did my client start exhibiting OCD symptoms as a result of the video on Tik Tok?

Over the last few years, there has been an increased interest amongst researchers on the impacts of social media. Countless studies have started to emerge and one of the findings suggests a decreased ability to create original thought. It is hard to differentiate between our own true experiences and opinions and those of the public at large. If a post gets millions of likes and is reposted across thousands of channels, then we are more inclined to believe the information of the post.

So, if social media is decreasing our ability to form original thought, then how do we expect the posts from Instagram and Tik Tok therapists to be properly digested by viewers? Especially when trauma and various mental health disorders are being attached to such short and vague explanations — after all, Instagram and Tik Tok aren’t exactly lengthy, researched articles.

This is only one therapist’s opinion, but I am beginning to believe you can’t. I am beginning to believe that every single piece of information we receive from social media needs to be taken with caution. But this isn’t something I can expect of my thirteen or fourteen-year-old client, is it? After all, they are still a child.

The New Wave of Self-Improvement

Social media is the avenue toward self-improvement for our children and young adults. This population is less likely to pick up a book written or read an article from the New York Times. Most of their information comes from these quick, fast, and easily digestible outlets.

As I mentioned before self-improvement is a cultural movement. We are obsessed with this idea of “better” and “greater” and “more successful”. We want to understand how to shed our “past selves” and become our “best version”.

But self-improvement suggests there is something that needs improving. It causes us to search for a problem we can identify. The issue with this mindset among young people is the outlet for which they are searching for answers.

Social media is now full of therapists posting information about mental health, trauma, and toxic relationships. These posts are short and simple and commonly offer vague examples that most people could find a way to identify with.

I have noticed my clients absorbing the information in these posts and then applying it to their own mental health. I do have a few examples of when absorbing the information has led to increased understanding of themselves and a true acknowledgment of a problem they are struggling with, but I have also seen this information get misconstrued by clients adopting traits of a previously nonexistent mental illness.

Take Away

As a society, we are drawn toward self-improvement. We want to fix our lives, become happier, and find success. Self-improvement offers the formula to be able to finally have the life we’ve always wanted. However, many individuals’ guides for self-improvement are coming through social media channels.

As a therapist, I see the impacts of the over-identification of various mental illnesses. This over-identification comes from what clients have read or listened to on Instagram and Tik Tok.

Instagram and Tik Tok therapists are a new vessel for young people’s self-improvement journey. I have noticed a negative backlash from this outpouring of information and now my clients are exhibiting symptoms that weren’t previously present.