Don’t Listen To TikTok: You Don’t Need To Act Like A Child To Heal Your Mental Health
A grown woman covered in paint shows that she has just destroyed her fridge, kitchen cabinets, and floor. By throwing a tantrum, she insists, she’s healing. A concerningly large number of TikTok users agree with her. Is this really what therapy looks like?
A pseudo-psychological trend has made waves on social media recently: TikTok users are making videos of themselves acting like children in order to “heal their inner child,” sometimes by destroying their own houses with finger paints, buying themselves toys, or even using baby pacifiers as “anxiety reducing toys.” Many of the users cite real psychological frameworks, making it seem as though their recommendations are backed by real research. So is therapy as simple as child’s play? Or is this trend just chasing clout and hurting people’s mental health in the process?