Concerns are growing about the quality and accuracy of mental health advice shared on social media, with research suggesting that much of the content on platforms such as TikTok can be misleading.
Against this backdrop, UK-based psychotherapist Booker Woodford has launched The Happiest Person on the Planet, an online docuseries examining viral mental health trends promoted by social media figures who present themselves as experts.
The series follows Woodford as he personally tries a range of popular wellbeing practices in a fly on the wall format. Rather than endorsing or dismissing the trends outright, each episode documents his lived experience, including discomfort, humour, frustration, and reflection.
One of the most confronting episodes, titled The Enema, sees Woodford undergo a colon irrigation procedure, a practice some influencers claim can detox both the body and mind. During the episode, he reflects on the emotional reality of pursuing increasingly extreme interventions in search of mental relief, saying:
“I just keep thinking how sad it is to do this to improve my mental health.”
Each weekly episode focuses on a different trend circulating online, ranging from extreme interventions to everyday wellbeing activities such as visiting cat cafés, decluttering the home, and using cold plunge pools. The series also contrasts viral trends with established therapeutic approaches, including an episode on sandplay therapy, which Woodford practises clinically.
Explaining the motivation behind the project, Woodford said: “After struggling with my mental health, and becoming evermore attached to doom scrolling through Instagram, I began to feel fed up and irritated by all the social media ‘expert’ claims being made on there for people to ‘feel better’.
“Not only did they counteract my beliefs as a therapist, they just sounded like utter nonsense. So, I decided there was no better way to test them out than giving them a go myself, and I was genuinely intrigued about if any would actually work and I was wrong all along!
“However, with ‘Happiest Person’, I always stress that these are my personal experiences and it’s important to note that my feelings and reactions towards these ‘experts hacks’ are unique to me. Some work and some don’t. I just hope what we’ve done helps people form a more balanced perspective, rather than taking everything they’re seeing from these ‘experts’ as gospel.”
Woodford also reflected on his experiences during filming, noting that his highlights varied widely: “My personal highlights are separated between the experiences I actually enjoyed filming, and experiences that, although may make for some compelling content, I didn’t enjoy at all. I knew the ‘Enema’ episode would be impactful because I was so angry and fed up shimmying my arse onto that tube…
“I am a qualified Humanistic Sandplay therapist, so I got a lot from the ‘Sandplay’ experience, and it felt important to showcase how magical and effective the modality can be when practised well.
“‘Look Good, Feel Good’ was just a fun shoot that ended with me feeling a million dollars. I still have the suit I bought and genuinely like to wear it whilst hanging the washing out if I’m feeling down.”
Woodford grew up in an industrial, working class town in the South West of England and explored several careers before training as a humanistic counsellor and psychotherapist. After practising in the UK, he emigrated to Melbourne, where he now works in community mental health care. He is also a co founder of emote Care, a UK based online therapy platform designed to reduce barriers to accessing therapy.
The series encourages viewers to approach online mental health advice with caution while highlighting the value of professionally grounded therapeutic methods. By sharing his own vulnerabilities, Woodford offers an insight into both the appeal and the limitations of popular wellbeing trends.
New episodes of The Happiest Person on the Planet are released weekly on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Plans are already underway for a second series, with further viral mental health trends currently being researched.