With all the global issues and personal problems, positivity can feel pretty hard to come by. But some corners of the internet are trying their best to preserve sanity through one of the easiest and time-tested methods available — memes.
Positivity and Laughs, a Facebook page with over 300,000 followers, is a bit different from the usual sarcastic or existential-dread-themed memes. Instead, it tries to keep things lighthearted.
So if you’re looking for a quick breather in the middle of the chaos, you’ve come to the right place.
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Startlingly accurate. "Please make some tea". You don't want to see what happens next.
A simple way to let go of negativity is through laughter, and there’s plenty of research to back that up.
A good laugh can actually help lower cortisol and epinephrine (the body’s fight or flight hormones) and boost endorphins — your natural feel-good chemicals.
“One of the most immediate benefits of laughter is its ability to reduce stress… Laughter helps build resilience, making it easier to stay calm and focused even when life gets hectic,” says Dr. Sohail Nibras, a psychiatrist in Texas.
Memes are like little cheat codes for your brain.
Research conducted during the pandemic found that viewing memes —particularly funny and relatable ones — was associated with higher levels of positive emotions compared to non-meme content.
Memes can also indirectly increase “coping efficacy,” or a person’s belief in their ability to manage a difficult situation.
The Facebook page these posts come from was created at the start of the lockdown in March 2020. The hundreds of thousands of followers it has since gained suggest a clear demand for this kind of feel-good content in difficult times.
Dark humor memes offer comfort through relatability, but wholesome and positive memes have something more: hope.
These memes often use cute content like animals or babies, which, studies say, can grab our attention and distract our minds from immediate stressors.
They also try to turn a distressing thought into a humorous and sometimes inspirational image. This can help us look at a negative situation from a less threatened perspective.
BeardMeatsFood can finish it for you. He loves drinking diet coke with his food.
Funny posts are not just brain food, though. Studies show that a hearty laugh can actually relieve physical tension and relax muscles for up to 45 minutes.
It can also boost our immunity in the long run.
A study found that genuine laughter increases the production of antibodies and activates immune cells, such as T-cells and natural killer cells. This strengthens the body’s resistance to illness.
In another study done in 2023, patients with coronary heart disease who regularly watched comedy saw improvements in their heart's circulatory system. It was found that laughter causes the inner lining of blood vessels to expand, increasing blood flow.
Even 10 minutes of laughter can boost heart rate and oxygen intake similarly to light physical activity, which helps lower blood pressure over time.
Laughter is a free resource we’re all born with, but it’s not always something we use enough, especially as adults. Even babies laugh, smile, and react to playful moments.
Studies show that children laugh far more than adults. One study even suggests that children laugh up to 400 times a day compared to 15-20 times for adults.
One of the reasons for this gap is that as we age, we often suppress laughter to maintain a professional image or to avoid looking silly.
Another reason is experience. Laughter is usually a response to something unexpected, and as adults, we develop a sort of pattern recognition. Fewer things strike us as novel or strange enough to trigger a reflexive laugh.
“The real reason is far simpler — children laugh from the heart, while adults tend to laugh more from the head. Where a child might burst into a belly laugh, an adult might say, ‘That’s really funny’ and barely crack a smile,” says Ros Ben-Moshe, a wellbeing and positivity author.
This is why intentional humor — like following positive meme pages — is so important for adults to bridge that gap.
"I was FINE, Samuel. I could get myself down from there any time I wanted to."
I'm so happy though that some people were willing to grab the mitts and just barge in
The best part about this kind of content online is that you won’t feel guilty of doom-scrolling.
Experts believe that while social media can be harmful, the intentional consumption of positive content acts as a protective buffer for your brain.
By flooding your feed with wholesome content, you are also essentially training your algorithm, and making sure that your daily digital intake is nourishing rather than toxic.
Ok, a bit of reality for OP: in a sudden worsening of weather, pool water may be and feel warmer / safer than the air around. You still don't want your face to be beaten by rain and hail tho.
The following joke dates from about 50 years ago. "A teenager came in today and asked for a dollar's worth of petrol. The attendant sprayed a little behind his ear". I've been thinking about that joke recently.
Laughter is a social superpower. By sharing a positive meme, you’re basically offering someone else a moment of sanity.
Notice how your body feels right now — that ease is exactly what the world needs more of. So, pass the magic on, and let’s make the internet a lighter place together.
It's not the one you see that'll burn you, it's the cousin you CAN'T see that will cause insurance claims.
I think I'm weird (I definitely am) but my 1st thought was "younger version of that pigeon lady from Home Alone"
I'd say walk. But my legs aren't built for a humongous feat anymore.
