Is Self-Diagnosing ADHD From TikTok Really That Bad?

A recent headline about ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), which more and more UK adults have received treatment for over the past couple of years, said the condition is being “wildly overdiagnosed”.

The article’s author adds the condition “has become a scam” because so many people say they have it.

Some worry that apps like TikTok are giving people misinformation that leads them to inaccurately “self-diagnose” the condition, too.

But, perhaps down in part to long and highly variable NHS ADHD assessment wait times, ADHD UK says roughly two million cases are still undiagnosed in the UK.

So, we spoke to psychotherapist and founder of Philadelphia Talk Therapy Matt Sosnowsky about what he thinks about the increase in diagnoses, including self-diagnosis, from social media videos.

Sosnowsky doesn’t think regular people are mental health experts, but that’s not always the point

Sosnowsky says that he works with people of all ages, and says “very few clients” have a professional-level understanding of mental health diagnoses.

But they are, he told us, “the authority on how they feel and what they’re experiencing – which is critical.”

“Perhaps surprisingly, I’m not against folks using media and social media to get a sense of what might be troubling them,” the therapist added.

After all, he points out, “Mental illness remains disproportionately unrecognised and underdiagnosed” (2024 research from the UK Longitudinal Household Study found 12 times as many people in the ‘undiagnosed distress’ category than those considered ‘overdiagnosed’).

“Further, many mental health issues are quite subtle,” Sosnowsky adds.

“Pure ‘O’ OCD, for example, involves constant mental checking – a version of OCD different from what we see in movies, and not dissimilar to regular old rumination. Yet, I’ve had clients suffer from this for decades with absolutely no idea that they had a very treatable diagnosis.

“If seeing your own struggles mirrored back to you in a TikTok video prompts one [person] to seek help, that’s a win to me.”

That’s not to say actual diagnoses should be left to non-professionals, though

“Of course, the devil is in the details and moderation is key,” Sosnowsky said.

He doesn’t, for instance, think identifying with a social media clip amounts to a formal diagnosis or anything like it.

“If you suspect you have a diagnosis, that’s your cue to get it checked out with a professional,” he told HuffPost UK.

“In the interim, avoid jumping to conclusions or catastrophising as neither is likely to give you good data or the help you need.”

That’s not to say you should ignore any signs of ADHD you think are worth exploring completely, he writes.

“Instead, consider doing some light-touch research from responsible sources to educate yourself.

“Not only will this empower you, but it will improve your ability to convey concrete symptoms to your future therapist or psychiatrist.”

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