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Don't judge a social media page by its likes. Sometimes the best content comes from the smallest creators. But just as good books can have beautiful covers, so can big accounts share quality material. Plus, if we're talking about relatability, the sum of its fans can actually be a good indicator of a project's success.

Ran by Nicole Argiris and sisters Lola, Gina, and Nora Tash, My Therapist Says is an Instagram account with 7.2 million followers that shares both aggregated and original memes about pretty much every aspect of everyday life. From modern relationship problems to struggles at work and the inability to cope with anxiety, it's all there!

Since its creation in 2015, My Therapist Says has shared thousands of hilariously accurate jokes, so in an effort to save a little bit of your time, we at Bored Panda went through its feed and hand-picked a selection of our favorite uploads. Enjoy!

More info: Instagram

#1

Thx For Adopting Me @mybestiesays

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The name of this account implies it centers around mental health bent to the jokes, but it offers more than that. Many are more relatable gags about being a stressed young adult who struggles but somehow manages to continue with life.

According to Lola and Nicole, the account is "one of the fastest-growing aggregate Instagram accounts in history," climbing to 500,000 followers in its first six months. They also say it was the biggest meme account on Instagram to be run anonymously, until they introduced themselves to their fans and the internet.

At first, they didn't want to give away their identities in an attempt to avoid the criticism that women often face when they make jokes about how messy they feel. Only their mothers knew they ran the account. Both women even made their personal Instagram accounts private when they started My Therapist Says and don't post on them anymore. Their Facebook pages were made private too. They have given up on virtually all online presence outside of their memes.

#3

Like What Are You Guys On?!?? @mybestiesays

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Vicky Z
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm scared of the first ones to be honest! They are capable of anything!

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#4

This Meme Was Brought To You From ✨bed✨ @molls

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Luther von Wolfen
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My house. I have this about my house. I'm in my house and I'm "This is my house and I can do anything and there's nobody here but the cats and I can throw them out the window if they bother me."

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Lola and Nicole met about 17 years ago in their hometown of Toronto and have been best friends ever since. After high school when Lola started spending long stints in Los Angeles picking up small acting gigs and Nicole was busy studying psychology at the University of Western Ontario, they started sending each other a lot of memes.

"The account just kind of came about as a way for us to keep in contact," Nicole told Cosmopolitan.

The name of their project isn't random. Both of them have been in therapy for years. Lola has what she calls "crippling shyness" and Nicole suffers from anxiety. "Every time I would talk to Nicole, I was like, 'My therapist said this,' and she'd say, 'No, I said that,'" Lola explained. "And I'm like, 'Well, you are basically my therapist, so.'"

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Their memes reflect common complaints they make to each other (as well as their real therapists) about their anxiety-prone twentysomething lives: aggressive crush texting, impulsive shopping, canceling plans in order to sleep.

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But Dr. Jaclyn Cravens-Pickens, a licensed marriage and family therapy associate who does not know Lola or Nicole scrolled through the account and told Cosmopolitan, "I'm not sure I see memes about mental health issues ... or anything that really reflects what I, as a therapist, say to my clients."

But something in the content did connect with Instagrammers who deal with anxiety and depression, and many followers began opening up in DMs and comment sections under the memes about their own problems.

#11

*sunday Scaries Have Entered The Chat*

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Eppe
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Relaxing is an essential part of being productive. I'm still integrating that knowledge myself.

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"In the past, older generations have shown disdain at our preoccupation with our phones and our online lives, but during a pandemic, it's been an advantage to us to have this online presence solidified," Nicole explained to Daily Mail.

She said that millennials and Gen Z "have such a powerful online community where it's normalized and encouraged to seek help," which was an advantage going into quarantine.

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"When we're all stuck at home, we feel less alone, as the initial shock was less pronounced for us given how intertwined our social lives already were with social media."

#16

Ruff Life
@cottoncandaddy

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Ellie J
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My dog likes to stare at me and cry for the hour before her dinner time. She's channeling her inner Karen

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Lola said that the idea to publicly talk about mental health would legitimize the advice they themselves had received to the point where they would have to take it.

"This new generation, however, is so open and verbose on all things we used to deem inaccessible or unapproachable," she said. "I think it's going to do a lot of good for people in the long run, not having to feel ashamed or ostracized for feeling, or being, a certain way."

#18

Being Tired Is Just Part Of My Personality At This Point @mybestiesays

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Pheebs
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wait, people have experienced “not sleepy” at some point in their life?

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Lola said that "laughter is a powerful thing," adding that humorizing and satirizing a mental health issue helps "take away its power over you." And she's not alone. A few months ago, for example, we covered a social media manager who said making silly comics about his depression and anxiety have helped him tremendously in dealing with them.

Throughout the pandemic, the women behind My Therapist Says have shared and created quite many memes about quarantine, online dating, and Zoom calls, but they admitted there was an added pressure to not cross the line during a year that was clouded in tragedy.

"Each day was a fog of uncertainty, of worry, of what news tomorrow might bring — but we knew we had a responsibility to find the lightness amidst the dark," Nora said. "We certainly felt entitled to our own grief and confusion, but it was almost therapeutic trying to alleviate other people's worry with memes so as not to focus on our own."

#21

Taking The High Road @theseanodonnell

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athornedrose
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

omg where do i get this on a business card for handing out in everyday life?

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#22

Setting The Tone For The New Year @pradahag

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Laura Mende (Human)
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That would make sense. With all the firework, nobody will hear the screams... That sounds creepy, but is perfect!

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In October, the gang published their first self-help book, titled My Therapist Says: Advice You Should Probably (Not) Follow, which they wrote in collaboration with — guess who? — their therapists.

"Our therapists were incredibly involved in the writing of this book, not only with the lessons they imparted on us, but the advice they took the time to give out as they heard some of the questions we were being messaged," Nora said.

Each of the women contributed to the book and incorporated different aspects of their lives, but it's written in a singular voice to make it more cohesive.

"We decided to create this character, an alias almost, that embodied fractions of us all to make this wonderfully flawed whole who people could resonate with," Lola said.

Just like their memes, this book covers the ins and outs of almost every area of one person's life!

#28

Thx @myrealitysays

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Mistralok
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sure. I'll bring some for myself as well and we can curl up together and play snugglebunny.

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#29

*knees Crack*

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athornedrose
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

i don't. i am 31 and old. i want to apologize to people that society has made feel that their natural aging process is bad or undesirable

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#35

*curtsies*
@the_drake_gatsby

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Monday
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Pfft I'm not depressed at all! It's super easy to just be happy. Just look at all the great things in life! Yup, no depression for me, only a healthy dose of denial!

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#40

And Just Like That @myrealitysays

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Note: this post originally had 101 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.