S2E8 Mental Health: The pros and pitfalls of diagnosis - with Scarlett Curtis and Kamilah McInnis

Warning: This episode contains mentions of mental illness, suicide, and self-harm. Recently, doctors have recognised a strange phenomenon: patients turning up with mental health diagnoses in hand. And they all have something in common: social media. A search of the hashtag #depression on Instagram returns more than 25.3 million posts. On TikTok, the hashtag #BPD (borderline personality disorder) has 3.7 billion views, #ADHD has 14.5 billion views, and #DID (dissociative identity disorder) another 1.5 billion.  This week, Media Storm asks why people are turning to TikTok for help with their mental health, what happens if you get inside an algorithm bubble, and why misdiagnosis can be so dangerous. Plus, host Helena Wadia shares her personal experiences with mental health for the first time. Author Scarlett Curtis and journalist Kamilah McInnis join in the studio, to discuss the media's portrayal of mental health, the dos and don'ts of reporting on suicide, and why it can feel so good to speak out. The episode is hosted by Mathilda Mallinson (@mathildamall) and Helena Wadia (@helenawadia), produced and researched by Zeynab Mohamed (@zeynabmohamed_)  Guests: Zoe Aston @zoeastondotcom  Thea Rickard @thearickard @thelastnightpodcast Lauren Bradley @jointheofficials Zeynab Mohamed @zeynabmohamed_  Scarlett Curtis @scarcurtis  Kamilah McInnis @KamilahMcInnis  Resources: Samaritans.org or call 116 123 mind.org.uk @mindcharity  Kiddycharts.com, resources to help with kids’ mental health Sources: Young Women Are Self-Diagnosing Personality Disorders, Thanks To TikTok, by Zeynab Mohamed https://www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/a39573245/young-women-self-diagnose-personality-disorder-tiktok/ Media reporting on mental illness, violence and crime needs to change https://theconversation.com/media-reporting-on-mental-illness-violence-and-crime-needs-to-change-144856 Mindframe guidelines on media reporting of severe mental illness in the context of violence and crime https://mindframemedia.imgix.net/assets/src/uploads/MF_Guidelines_Violence_and_Crime_spread_FINAL.pdf Mind violence and mental health factsheet https://www.mind.org.uk/media-a/4968/violence-and-mental-health-mind-factsheet-2018.pdf Gresham College Press Coverage of Mental Health and Suicide https://www.gresham.ac.uk/watch-now/press-coverage-mental-health-and-suicide TikTok and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: A Cross-Sectional Study of Social Media Content Quality https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/07067437221082854 NHS failing patients with mental health problems https://www.ombudsman.org.uk/news-and-blog/news/nhs-failing-patients-mental-health-problems Mental health pressures in England, BMA https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/pressures/mental-health-pressures-data-analysis Get in touch: Follow us on Twitter http://twitter.com/mediastormpod or Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mediastormpod or Tiktok https://www.tiktok.com/@mediastormpod like us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MediaStormPod send us an email [email protected] check out our website https://mediastormpodcast.com Become a member at https://plus.acast.com/s/media-storm. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices