Psychologist warns against ‘candy salad’ TikTok trend that see Gen Z ‘trauma dumping’ with their friends (over a bowl of sweets) and urges people to get mental health support instead

For most of us, even the utterance of a ‘salad’ would bring tears to the eyes – usually for the anticipation of kale, cucumber and cold chicken – but the latest ‘salad’ social media trend is making Gen Z cry for a very different reason.

Rather than mixing a selection of vegetables and superfoods together, Gen Z are taking to social media to share their ‘trauma’ by making a ‘candy salad’ of confectionery, revealing their life woes while adding sweets into a bowl.

The booming sugary trend has gathered 70.2 million views on the app, with youngsters sharing gob smacking ‘trauma dumps’.

In one clip, a creator says ‘Hi, I’m Abby and when I was 16, my aunt drove me off a cliff’, while another outrageous ‘dump’ revealed ‘My name’s Bella and when I was born, my dad hid his drugs in my crib.’

In every emotional release, users will then ‘dump’ a packet of sweets into a large mixing bowl, usually amid pained laughter. 

But now, a leading psychologist has warned that relying on emotional purging to friends, might not be so healthy. 

Clinical Director of Bloom Clinical Care Counselling and Therapy Services, Vikas Keshri, said that while the trend could be useful for some to unload their trauma uniquely, they shouldn’t skip out on more pragmatic methods of healing.

The latest twist on the trend has Gen Z cooking up a concoction of sweets while sharing their deepest ‘trauma’. One TikToker 

Pictured: In one of the more lighthearted clips, the social media influencer, Joseppi Baggzelini, filmed a ‘candy salad trauma dump’ with his family, revealing a humorous story from him childhood

In another clip, two British social media creators share their ‘trauma’ from their work as influencers.

The video starts with one creator saying: ‘My name’s Angelina and one time a group of 16-year-old boys started throwing rocks at me while I was doing interviews.’

The confession is then followed by a second trauma dump from a friend who revealed: ‘one time I got so much hate on a video that I was driving while crying and then I crashed my car’.

In another dramatic video, amid piles of sweets being piled into a bowl, one revealed: ‘I got robbed at gun point on a first date and then the guy ghosted me’.

Another ‘dump’ revealed: ‘My mum has me blocked on Facebook and we haven’t spoken in over two years.’

The end of the video even revealed the two young women next to a pile of medication, offering a darker side to the trend. 

One pair of American TikTokers shared their terrible memories from childhood including one incident where on of their mother’s used their money for drugs when she was younger 

In one of the more lighthearted clips, the British social media influencer, Joseppi Baggzelini, filmed a ‘candy salad trauma dump’ with his family.

During the clip, he tells the bizarre story: ‘Hi, I’m Joe and when I was two and potty training, I saw my poo for the first time and and was so scared that I didn’t poo for 11 days and got taken to hospital … these are Minion squashies.’

The next inline to offer a comical ingredients said: ‘Hi, I’m George and when I was in year seven, we’d run out of moisturiser so my mum put me in fake tan and I got bullied… I have Randoms.’ 

Several viewers leapt to the commenters to express their concern for the video makers who appeared to reveal some of their deepest pains.

A concerned viewer wrote: ‘I’m so glad you two found each other. I’m so sorry for all the trauma you’ve both endured. I hope you are living amazing lives now.’

One commenter wrote: ‘You all are like so strong for pulling through all that. Also that candy salad looks amazing.’ 

A third said: ‘The way you all seem so sweet. My heart aches for you all, I hope you guys are doing well.’ 

Several viewers leapt to the commenters to express their concern for the video makers who appeared to reveal some of their deepest pains

One pair of American TikTokers shared their terrible memories from childhood including one incident where on of their mother’s used their money for drugs when she was younger

A psychologist warns that oversharing with ‘trauma dumping’ might not always be so healthy and should be avoided

However, the recent trend of ‘trauma dumping’ has raised the eyebrows of psychologists who warn that relying on emotional purging to friends, might not be so healthy. 

Clinical Director of Bloom Clinical Care Counselling and Therapy Services, Vikas Keshri, said that while the trend could be useful for some to unload their trauma uniquely, they shouldn’t skip out on more pragmatic methods of healing.

He told FEMAIL: ‘Everyone copes with trauma differently, so this could be a method of coping with traumatic events via something light-hearted and humorous such as the candy salad trend.’

He noted that several of the clips deal with ‘trauma’ dating back from many years ago with several mentioning grievances from childhood.

Vikas warned that it is essential that individuals seek help professionally rather than relying on humouring themselves on social media. 

‘Generally speaking, if you are experiencing flashbacks, insomnia, or are struggling with traumatic memories from events that occurred more than a few weeks to a few months ago – it is best to speak with a licensed mental health professional,’ he said.

Psychologist, and Oxford University associate fellow Nelisha Wickremasinghe, has previously encouraged those who have experiences trauma to avoid ‘trauma dumping’.

Psychologists warn that individuals shouldn’t rely on humouring traumatic events and should use more pragmatic tools for healing 

One woman shared her awful experience of being told by an ex boyfriend that he wasn’t interested in ‘bigger women’

‘People who “dump” traumatic thoughts, feelings, energy onto others – who speak and behave with “wild vulnerability” – find it very difficult to organise, process and filter their feelings appropriately,’ she said.

She said the act of trauma dumping can sometimes suggest the person is experiencing a deeper psychological problem, such as borderline personality or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

However, in day-to-day life, the expert said the lines are becoming blurred between what to share with a friend, and what should be kept to themselves or discussed with a professional.

‘People are increasingly confused by culturally mixed messages regarding what and when it is OK to share,’ she said.

The author also explained that there is such a thing as oversharing, and it has become the norm.

‘Over emoting is encouraged and has become the norm on social media and in talk and reality shows. 

‘What’s more, there’s now a mountain of self-help manuals and messages instructing us to get in touch with our feelings and tell each other about them,’ she explained.

She explained trauma dumping also was a consequence of what she calls the ‘threat brain,’ the ‘part of our emotion system that is alert to and responds to danger.’

‘An overactive threat brain will flood us with powerful feelings and thoughts which, if we do not soothe and contain them, will eventually spill out in daily life and relationships,’ she explained.

‘Our threat brain can be activated by both real and imagined threats which is why, for some people, relatively minor problems can feel terrifying – our ability to replay, imagine and over-think makes it so.’