TikTokToday marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Week - a moment to encourage open and honest conversations about mental wellbeing. TikTok serves as a space for people to do just that, with creators from all walks of life sharing their unique lived experiences and offering support and community to those who need it.
As this year's focus is anxiety, we're launching an array of in-app #MentalHealthAwareness pieces to spotlight wellbeing content and creators on TikTok, while also reminding our community how they can make the most of our safety features to foster positive digital experiences.
We've been inspired by the way our community comes together through hashtags like #mentalhealthmatters and #anxietycheck, connecting on issues that many of us encounter. With creators like @drjuliesmith sharing her ‘quick tips from a therapist’, to @_thislineismine, a creator with autism, documenting their fight to be their true authentic self, TikTok has become a place for people to creatively express their challenges and hopes, and support each other's mental wellbeing.
Encouraging supportive conversations
This week we're launching a new series of #TikTokUnpacks, partnering with creators to encourage open and honest conversations about mental wellbeing. Contributors include:
- Fahima Ali, @fahima.therapy: Fahima is a qualified therapist specialising in individual and relational therapy, who shares her takes on navigating the ups and downs of therapy and her experience of supporting people with mental health struggles.
- Beth Theobald, @livingwith.adhd: Beth has gained millions of views by documenting her life as a "twenty-something living alone" and detailing her ADHD journey, charting every moment - from lowering her screentime to silent Sunday mornings.
- Ella Willis, @ellaellaw: Ella creates content that seeks to answer the questions of those with autism in a mix of direct and lighthearted ways. She brings humour to awkward situations and educates the TikTok community on concepts such as safe food .
- Dr Alex George, @dralexgeorge: Dr Alex creates content and hosts Q&As providing answers and tips on a range of issues, from relieving anxiety to managing alcohol intake. Dr Alex's content often includes expert insights as they discuss managing personal wellbeing.
On the importance of encouraging open and honest conversations in support of mental health, Dr Alex George said:
"Life is for living, not simply for surviving. By investing in our own mental health, sharing with others on platforms such as TikTok and empowering ourselves with the tools and knowledge needed, we can spend more time truly living. Mental health is a beautiful thing to be both appreciated and celebrated. Yes, struggles with mental illness can be the toughest of challenges, but through building resilience, early intervention and accessing the right help, we can prevent so much suffering. Look after your mind and your mind will look after you."
We're also working with chart-topping artist and TikTok legend @lewiscapaldi on a very special takeover of #SelfCare, in line with Mental Health Awareness Week and the launch of his sophomore album, Broken By Desire to be Heavenly Sent. Alongside exclusive new content, he'll be sharing a #SelfCare themed guest playlist for people to listen along to at home - so check out his picks in-app!'
Partnering with experts
We work with experts in the UK and around the world to help foster a safe space for our community to express themselves.
For Mental Health Awareness Week, we have partnered with one of the UK's leading digital charities for under 25s, The Mix. The Mix provides free, accessible support to over 6 million young people every year on a range of topics, including money, homelessness, jobs, break-ups, drugs and more.
Throughout the week, The Mix will be providing motivational and educational content from young people and experts on TikTok focused on mental health, with videos touching on everything from understanding anxiety to coping with burnout and panic attacks.
Zoë Bailie, Deputy CEO at The Mix "The Mix's TikTok service has become a beacon of hope for young people, providing a positive and trustworthy space where they can find support for their mental health and wellbeing. In just under a year, our TikTok campaigns have covered a wide range of topics, from mental health to cost of living, drugs, and exams, with over 2.8 million views and over 155,000 likes.
We are thrilled to see the impact that our service is having, and we remain committed to empowering young people with the tools they need to thrive in today's complex world."
Supporting the wellbeing of our community
As a platform used by millions of people in Europe, and more than 1 billion people around the world, we're committed to protecting our community every day. Not only do we remove content that violates our Community Guidelines, but we also offer a variety of features that help people explore TikTok safely, including:
- Redirecting searches linked to terms like #eatingdisorders or #suicide to prompt people to view support resources, such as helplines along with information on how they can seek assistance.
- Enabling people to refresh their feed if they feel what they are seeing is no longer relevant to them
- Using keywords to tailor their feeds to avoid potentially triggering content .
Additionally, for those aged under 18, we set daily screen time to one hour by default. Since making this change in March, teen use of our daily screen time feature has increased by 583%, with three-quarters of UK teen TikTok users setting a daily screen time limit.
While there's no collectively-endorsed position on the 'right' amount of screen time or even the impact of screen time more broadly, research shows that when teens are prompted to reflect, they can be more intentional about how they spend their digital time.
As always, whenever people search for mental health on TikTok, we direct them to our Wellbeing Guide, which has free educational content with input from charities like the Samaritans and the International Association of Suicide Prevention.
James Stafford, General Manager, marketing & operations UK, Nordics & Ireland at TikTok "From accredited therapists and psychologists offering guidance, to our community sharing their own personal struggles with anxiety; TikTok has become a space for open and honest conversations about mental wellbeing.
"At TikTok, we're doing everything we can do to continue to make our platform a safe space for self-expression, from providing access to resources and partners, to offering even more safety tools in app. We hope our community continues to come to TikTok to share, connect and champion one another this Mental Health Awareness Week."
