It’s great the taboo is fading. But as TikTok influencers tout them, it’s a slippery slope to the memeification of disorders
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ntidepressants are all the rage now, so much so that influencers are promoting them on TikTok, where mostly millennial and gen Z women have built micro-communities around hashtags like #lexaprotok, #zoloftgang and #livelaughlexapro.
According to data analyzed by the Wall Street Journal, content related to antidepressants has recently exploded. The hashtag #antidepressants has surpassed 1.3bn views, according to the data, and searches for #lexapro have more than tripled since 2022. The data also showed that user shares per video tagged #ssri nearly quadrupled from 2022 to 2025.
As a Black woman who has been taking antidepressants for years, I’m glad that we’re continuing to demystify and destigmatize mental illness. But it’s a slippery slope from that to the memeification of very serious disorders, and drug companies are not doing enough to find a healthy, responsible middle ground.
