Teens turning to TikTok to self-diagnose mental health issues [Video]

Young people are turning to social media to research mental health conditions and are self-diagnosing themselves at an increasing rate, a new study found. 

Education Week’s Research Center found staggering results on this trend: 

• 55% of high school students said they’ve used social media to diagnose their own mental health conditions at least once
• 65% of district and school officials said they’ve seen this phenomenon in their classrooms

Aja Chavez, the Executive Director of Adolescent Services at Mission Prep, a California-based facility that provides mental health treatment for teens, spoke with LiveNOW from FOX about the behavior. 

What does it mean to self-diagnosis?

“Self-diagnosing is hearing about a variety of diagnoses and relating with them, identifying with some of these symptoms that are associated with the diagnosis and saying, ‘I think I might also have this,’ and then adopting and taking that label on for themselves and then essentially reporting to others that they now believe that they have …