Man Urges People To ‘Stop Acting Like Life Is A Medical Condition’
He claimed people should start building resilience instead of turning to mental health services like therapy.
Daniel Hoz | Shutterstock It's no secret that life feels worse over the last several years. From a global pandemic that forced people inside and upended people's lives in a far greater way than anyone could have anticipated, to the cost of living skyrocketing to the point where people have to choose between basic necessities like having air conditioning or being able to buy groceries, and to a recent presidential election that has left many wondering about the future of their rights, life in general has been rather grim.
Despite this reality, a content creator named Ja'Von Cross claimed that people are being incredibly dramatic when it comes to how they go about life, and that they're confusing stress with a mental condition instead of building resilience.
The man agreed that times are hard but people need to 'stop acting like life is a medical condition.'
"You don't need a therapist," Cross began in his TikTok video. "You need to stop acting like life is a medical condition. Bad days aren't trauma and feeling loss isn't a disorder, and not getting your way, that's not oppression."
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The man said normal struggles and stress are not the same as psychological disorders.
Cross explained that he's noticed people have started diagnosing normal struggles that come with living as psychological crises, when in reality, stress is just a part of being a human being.
He claimed that reality is full of setbacks and obstacles, but it shouldn't be seen as dysfunctional. He criticized people who immediately turn to therapy as a way to cope with being stressed instead of knowing how to handle these types of things on their own.
Considering the amount of people in this country who have admitted to just being unhappy with the state of the world and the direction this country is going in, it's no wonder that people feel helpless, stressed, and overwhelmed. The one place that can help work through those feelings is therapy. To say that people don't need therapy, or that it's not the direct solution to dealing with issues is simply not correct.
Cross argued that while therapy has its place, individuals need to develop resilience, as that can help more than therapy. "You have to stop overanalyzing every inconvenience and start handling things like a functional adult," Cross said. "Resilience isn't outdated, it's just rebranded as toxic positivity."
The number of Americans who feel 'very satisfied' with their personal lives has reached a record low.
According to Gallup's annual Mood of the Nation poll, the number of Americans who say they are "very satisfied" with their personal lives has reached a new low in 2025. In the survey, 44% of respondents said they are "very satisfied" with the way things are going, the lowest level since Gallup started their study in 2001.
Another 37% said they are "somewhat satisfied," while 9% admitted that they are "somewhat dissatisfied" and 8% said they are "very dissatisfied." Similarly, about one in eight American adults take an antidepressant, and one in five has recently received some mental-health care, an increase of almost 15 million people in treatment since 2002.
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Cross is right about one thing: Therapy is not always the answer, but it can be a tool to help navigate rough moments. If people want to start therapy because their bad days are outnumbering their good days, or because they feel stressed and overwhelmed, that's their prerogative.
Instead of being critical, we should be extending grace and kindness to everyone because it's not always easy to know what someone else might be going through.
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor's degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.