Written by The Beginning: From Hashtags to Honesty, Gen Z is calling out the glossy nature of mental health awareness
Gen Z is taking action, saying “stop” to the pastel-fueled quotes proclaiming that every problem can be solved with a “just smile through it” attitude.
The phrase “Mental health is not a trend” is starting to be spread across platforms such as TikTok, X (Twitter), and Instagram, where users (mostly aged 18-25) are calling out what they perceive to be toxic positivity disguised as wellness advocacy. Individual accounts that started as a couple of viral videos calling out “good vibes only” have morphed into a digital rebellion, bringing attention to these mental health trends.
Okay, but what is Toxic Positivity?
Toxic positivity is defined as a form of overgeneralization of a happy, optimistic state in which one denies, minimizes, and invalidates emotions that are unavoidably a part of the human experience.
“Every time I ever said I was anxious or depressed- people would just say, ‘don’t worry, be happy!’ Like.. bro, that’s not therapy, that’s denial,” said 19-year-old Priya Kapoor, a psychology student from Pune, in a trending Instagram reel.
The Internet Is Ironic: Likes Versus Lives
The issue, as many people see it, is the Instagrammification of mental health. Bath bombs, aesthetic mood boards, and journal prompts are now ubiquitous—but therapy bills? Systemic issues? Trauma? Not so much.
Issue critics argue that all these online trends related to mental health and wellness are dangerous in their oversimplifications. “If someone posts a selfie crying with #MentalHealthAwareness but never mentions therapy, coping strategies, or any real emotion, what are we actually doing?” says Sana Rizvi, a 21-year-old sociology major.
But Gen Z isn’t just calling out the improprieties—they’re reclaiming the conversation.
Across platforms, hashtags such as #MentalHealthIsNotAesthetic, #StopToxicPositivity, and #ItsOkayToNotbeOkay have begun to trend. Videos mocking overly positive “self-help influencers” have gone viral—not to ridicule the wellness industry, but to demand authenticity.
This new movement of online content doesn’t shy away from dark days, breakdowns, or emotional messiness. Rather, it emphasizes vulnerability as strength. Many young creators now share their healing journeys as open diaries— with therapy, medication, community care, and boundaries at the forefront.
To Be Continued in Part 2: Gen Z’s Mental Health Revolution — What’s Working, What’s Not, and Where We Go From Here…
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