This week, the University of Missouri came out with results of a study that analyzed social media activity and its links to mental illness. The research was conducted to assist therapists in identifying and diagnosing mental disease through early indicators, many of which are now publicly available on Facebook and other social profiles.

According to MU doctoral student and lead researcher Elizabeth Martin, “Therapists could possibly use social media activity to create a more complete clinical picture of a patient. The beauty of social media activity as a tool in psychological diagnosis is that it removes some of the problems associated with patients’ self-reporting.” Martin went on to tell Mashable, “Because of the real or imagined perception of anonymity, the Internet may allow unique access to the psyche. One’s social networking information can be understood as an example of one’s naturalistic behavior.”

Whether it’s cryptic status updates or posting self-taken photos every other hour, you may be thinking of some of your own Facebook friends who already demonstrate what the study refers to as schizotypy symptoms (anomalous experiences of one’s senses) or magical ideation (the belief that events with no physical cause-and-effect are somehow causally connected).

What do your Facebook posting habits say about you?

Read the full study, “Social networking profile correlates of schizotypy”, here.