'Call Me Crazy': The viral TikTok trend that is exposing the challenges of mental health.

Much like any other internet trend, this all started with something deeply banal and absolutely ridiculous.

It started with a pesto recipe. 

In early September, a US TikTok creator @susi.vidal posted what could have been a simple video recipe for homemade pesto, accompanied by a caption with the ingredients. 

It's a minute-long video following a simple enough formula of social media cooking videos: she's addressing the camera in a harmless monologue while she assembles the ingredients and cooks herself some pasta. And that really could have been it – except it that it wasn't and the TikTok actually became a viral trend.

Watch: What Is Self-care Mental Health Literacy. Post continues after the video.

And that's because the video that Susi posted begins with the following introduction: "Call me crazy if you want but I've never liked storebought pesto." 

In hindsight, it is a fairly bizarre thing to say. And users were quick to point out exactly how ridiculous it was by replying to the video with reactions mocking exactly how "crazy" Susi must be. 

It's difficult to pinpoint where this all began but it seems to have kicked off with a reply from the user @payjthegemini cackling after replying, "Oh my god, you're frickin' crazy girl." 

@payjthegemini #stitch with @Susi so freaking crazy dude!!!! #fyp #viral ♬ original sound - K Payj Burns 🍄

Now, the two-second clip has spurred a viral TikTok trend of creators stitching Susi's introduction into "crazy" stories about their own lives. 

One viral video came from the user @spiritual_af who tells her audience the story that she "once tied a soiled tampon to a man's car door handle". 

@spiritual_af #stitch with @Susi Don’t be nice. #storeboughtpesto #girlmath ♬ original sound - Spiritual_AF

It's addictive viewing to hear hundreds of random people on the internet recount the most unhinged stories of their lives. But while a lot of the responses are centred on stories about wildly overreactive responses to relationship issues or childhood mishaps, there are also many that have taken the trend and are exposing the challenges and absurdity of mental health and dependency issues. 

The creator Morgan Miller is known to speak openly about her mental health issues and describes herself as in recovery from addiction. Miller herself has amassed over 1.4 million views on her own stitched TikTok reply to the pesto video, recalling her behaviour when she was in "active addiction" after a partner broke up with her. She openly discusses consuming a large amount of alcohol and nitrous oxide and being held in rehabilitation institutions.

@morganmillertoks #stitch with @Susi gosh we certainly are crazy in our own ways! 🤪 7 years sober now and grateful for ALL of that. #recovery #mentalhealth #mentalhealthmatters #bipolar #depresion #medicated #sober #alcoholism #sobriety #addict #lgbt #addiction #addictionrecovery ♬ original sound - Morgan Miller

Another user, @EmilyLyoness2.0 has amassed over 58,000 views on her own story of discontinuing antidepressant medication before boarding an international flight. 

@emilylyoness2.0 #stitch with @Susi silver lining i guess 😂 #callmecrazy #fyp ♬ original sound - emilylyoness2.0

And creator Tyler Mahoney, who explains that she lives with Bipolar disorder type I responded to the pesto video with her own story about experiencing a manic episode after driving home from a late night bar shift. That account has received over 780,000 views. 

@tylermahoney8 #stitch with @Susi ♬ original sound - Tyler Mahoney

The internet has long been a place of relative safety for people living with mental health or dependency issues to express themselves, largely untouched by the destructive stigma of real-world interractions. 

Stigma and the discrimination that comes with it, is still a widespread problem for anybody living with a mental health condition or dependency issue. In fact, for many people who live with a complex mental health condition, they will often report that the stigma they endure is one of, if not the worst part about living with the condition. 

While I was researching my book, The One Thing We've Never Spoken About, which was essentially an investigation into the continued stigma that people with complex mental health conditions face, I spent a lot of time in online communities dedicated to people with mental health conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

I quickly discovered that these forums (mostly on Reddit and Facebook) were places of immense freedom for some people to explore some of the most challenging facets of their mental health condition, as well as being able to interact with thousands of other people experiencing similar struggles. 

However, the appeal for most people living with mental health or dependency issues when it came to these online communities was generally anonymity – the ability to hide behind usernames without fear of being 'outed' to their broader community. That anonymity is not totally possible in a place like TikTok and yet, these young creators are all continuining to share some of the most challenging aspects of their lives. 

And discussion of mental health experiences on TikTok aren't just relegated to the pesto trend. There are plenty of creators who consistently capture audiences with reflections on their own mental health issues and provide information and advice to viewers. 

And even the most fleeting depictions of mental health challenges can see a huge upswell of support from commentors who feel like they can relate to a creator's video. Recently, podcaster and musician, Dom Gabriel, has racked up millions of views for sampling a Ludicrous song to reflect his own mental health issues. 

@dontcalldom Bringing this one back for #mentalhealth day ♥️ LOVE YALL, and its okay not to be okay. 🫶🏽 #fypシ #mentalhealthawareness #relatable #foryou ♬ original sound - Chris O’Donnell

It's impressive that young people are so willing to expose their own vulnerabilities online. Partly because sharing content like this can make others facing the same challenges feel incredibly validated. But also because seeing users coming in and out of complex mental health issues can help to dispel the stigma that once somebody is "crazy", they are forever frozen in that state. 

While it might seem ridiculous to laud a bunch of TikTok users for participating in a viral trend, particularly ones so focused on pasta sauce, it's important to recognise when the cogs of progress are turning. And in this case, the fact that young people are willing to be so open and honest about their experiences, all whilst shunning the idea that the word "crazy" should be used so casually in the first place, should ultimately be celebrated.

Featured Image: TikTok.