Comprehensive Summary
The study being conducted by Bell et al aimed to study the rise in claims that individuals may be “faking” psychiatric disorders online and the dominant conditions and conversational themes present within this discourse. The study used data from a subreddit called r/FakeDisorderCringe containing over one million posts critiquing people who appear to be “faking" or glorifying psychiatric disorders. Researchers used topic modelling and Latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) to summarize the text and categorize words that belonged to 15 specified topics in a sample of 850,274 posts. Topics found to be discussed on this forum included attention-seeking, self diagnosis, trauma, gender identity, and autism. However, the researchers note that it is difficult to determine if someone is genuinely faking a psychiatric condition, especially with limited information from social media. However, the research was able to ascertain that mainstream destigmatization efforts are being curtailed by this subreddit and highlights the general public’s concern for the misuse of psychiatric labels. There is a wide spectrum of the methods in which people convey their psychopathology, including specific disorder claims and individual identities, that make it difficult for researchers to verify the legitimacy of the claims. There is also limited research into how online culture may influence expressions of mental illness, which may have implications for future mental health research and the reciprocity between technology and mental illness.
Outcomes and Implications
Due to awareness campaigns, especially over the last fifteen years, mental health has become more visible in public conversation. More people, especially young people, have begun to seek help or identify with mental health issues, which has also led to a subsequent increase in skepticism regarding the validity of individuals' psychiatric concerns that may be self-diagnosed. Some people question the authenticity of self-reported mental illness, seeing it as an exaggeration, misinterpretation of normal distress, or attention-seeking. This study aimed to explore the topics most frequently discussed on an online forum dedicated to identifying falsified mental health conditions. Although researchers note that they were unable to determine the genuineness of individuals' claims, this may have important implications for mental health awareness and the field of psychiatry. While there have been strides in the destigmatization of mental illnesses, there is a resurgence in the mistrust of those who choose to reveal their mental health diagnoses online, which could lead to difficulties in future diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, if public skepticism about self-reported mental health conditions continues to grow, especially online, it could discourage people from seeking help out of fear of not being believed. Overall, while there may be evidence that psychiatric illness is sometimes exaggerated online, this should be the exception, not the rule, and providers should look forward to being open and understanding so as to not widen the gap between clinical services and the populations they aim to serve.