'Hot girls on SSRIs': Antidepressants are trending on TikTok. Not everyone is happy about that

While youth despair is rising, reports that antidepressants are being rebranded as a ‘lifestyles accessory’ for women has some unnerved

By Sharon Kirkey
Published Jan 02, 2026
Last updated 3 days ago
11 minute read
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Drugs and a cellphone.
Most guidelines say antidepressants can be helpful in managing moderate to severe depression but some are uneasy with the casual way drugs that act on the brain are sometimes being touted, particularly to Gen Z women. Photo by Getty Images

In a TikTok video shared with her followers last year, Tiffany Kay described how the antidepressant Lexapro was, “poof,” like magic, making life much better, “which I did not think was possible.”

That cinder block of anxiety no longer weighs on her chest, Kay, 29, recently told National Post. She’s able to sleep at night, less emotional and not overthinking things the way she used to, or getting caught up in the “what-ifs.”