mental health, monetised

Last night while scrolling through Instagram, an ADHD checklist popped up.

"Do you forget things?"
"Get distracted easily?"
"Struggling with boring tasks?"

I ticked 8 out of 10 boxes.

My wife ticked 8 too. My cousin, 9. My colleague at work, 7.

Wait.

If everyone has ADHD, does anyone actually have it?

The top 100 #ADHD videos on TikTok collectively hit 500 million views.

University of British Columbia researchers watched all of them.

Less than 50% of the symptom claims matched actual diagnostic criteria.

And when they tested people who self-diagnosed from these videos?

Half of them didn't have ADHD.

This is the latest self-diagnosis epidemic: mental health awareness twisted into mass misdiagnosis.

The algorithm doesn't care if you actually have ADHD.

It cares that you think you do.

In 1948 a Psychologist Bertram Forer ran an experiment.

39 students took a personality test. Each got their "unique" results back.

Students rated it 4.26 out of 5 for accuracy.

Every single student got the exact same description copied from a newspaper astrology column.

That's the Barnum Effect.

Give people vague statements that apply to almost everyone, and they'll think it's uniquely about them.

Look at those ADHD checklist questions again:

The reel made you feel seen.

Researchers at the University of British Columbia studied 843 college students last year.

Half of them had self-diagnosed with ADHD from social media. Only 23.5% had actual clinical diagnoses.

The same researchers analyzed the top 100 #ADHD TikToks. Nearly 500 million views combined.

Less than half the symptom claims matched actual diagnostic criteria.

Young adults who self-diagnosed rated misleading videos higher than clinical psychologists did.

Because inaccurate information feels more relatable than clinical reality.

The algorithm figured this out. Content that makes you feel broken gets more engagement. So it keeps feeding you more.

After I saw that 50% self-diagnosis number, I started digging into where this was coming from.

India's brain health supplements market is projected to reach $1.85 billion (₹15,400 crore) by 2030.

Creator posts ADHD checklist → You relate → Algorithm shows you more → Eventually you see "What helped my ADHD" → Link to supplements.

The market doesn't care if you actually have ADHD.

It cares that you think you do.

Self-doubt keeps you scrolling. Confusion keeps you clicking. Clicking makes money.

In June 2024, the CDC issued a health alert.

A large telehealth company providing ADHD treatment got indicted for healthcare fraud.

The company had been diagnosing ADHD through 30-minute video calls. No comprehensive evaluation. No childhood history check. Just a quick conversation and a prescription.

They made $100 million doing this.

30,000 people got ADHD diagnoses. Most of them probably didn't have it.

But they got prescriptions anyway. Because prescriptions make money.

While this was happening, people with actual ADHD couldn't access treatment.

The ADHD medication shortage started in October 2022.

38% of adults with actual ADHD spent all of 2023 unable to fill prescriptions.

The shortage isn't supply. It's false demand created by viral checklists convincing millions they have a condition affecting only 3% of adults.

In India, the situation is worse.

India's ADHD medication market is projected to grow from $538 million to $1,195 million by 2030.

Yet we have exactly 9,000 psychiatrists for 1.4 billion people.

The market grows while access shrinks.

If you're in a city of 1 lakh people, you're sharing less than 1 psychiatrist with everyone who actually needs mental health care.

197 million Indians need mental health services. The treatment gap sits at 80-85%.

Those 9,000 psychiatrists are now flooded with appointments from people who watched a reel and ticked 8 boxes.

While the 3% with actual ADHD wait months.

Every fake diagnosis takes an appointment slot from someone who needs it.

ADHD is real. For the 3.1% of adults who actually have it, proper diagnosis and treatment changes lives.

But if you're diagnosing yourself from a 60-second reel, ask these questions first:

If you pass all four, see a psychiatrist. Get properly evaluated.

If you don't pass all four, stop watching the reels.

The algorithm wants you to believe you're broken.

That checklist isn't a diagnosis. It's a business model designed to keep you scrolling.

Don't be the reason someone who actually needs help can't get it.

Until next week,
Ritesh

P.S. If you genuinely think you have ADHD after reading this, see a psychiatrist. Get tested properly. I read every email.