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When Reality Gets Too Dark Or Boring, Here Are 90 Memes To Save The Day
Something has gone very wrong with morning routines. What was once a peaceful drift from sleep to coffee has become a five-minute window of global catastrophe consumption before your feet have even hit the floor. The news app, the political thread, the comment section you swore you would not open again. By 8 am, you have absorbed enough to ruin the entire day, and technically nothing bad has even happened to you personally yet.
These memes from @itsbaefeelings are the antidote. They will not solve the healthcare crisis or explain the economy, and they are not trying to. They are just here to make you laugh before the world gets a word in, which is a completely valid use of your morning.
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Doomscrolling is now an official entry in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, which is a very damning indication of the times that we live in. The American Psychological Association has consistently found that following the news is one of the top sources of stress for Americans, with the majority saying it makes them feel worse, and yet the scrolling continues.
At least 95% of adults in America say that they follow the news, which is great! We should certainly all stay informed. But there are limits because more than half say they are stressed because of it. This doesn't mean you are weak, though. The brain evolved to prioritize negative information as a survival mechanism, and that same brain is now pointed directly at a content machine specifically designed to hold its attention indefinitely.
#5
The_Nicest_Misanthrope 1 week ago (edited)
I'm working as a cleaner atm. Even having the boring stuff automated will still leave some people jobless.
#6
Michael Largey 1 week ago (edited)
Trump is a grandparent who does the same thing, but they're built actual size and at taxpayer expense.
The timing of morning doomscrolling also makes it worse than it sounds. The cortisol awakening response is a physiological event in which cortisol levels peak within 30 to 45 minutes of waking up. This morning surge is meant to prime your body for the day ahead.
What it also does is make you significantly more reactive to stress during that window, which means absorbing a geopolitical crisis before breakfast is not the information literacy you might think it is. It is stress-loading a system that is already running at full capacity, so don't feed the monster!
#7
keyboardtek 1 week ago
Republicans would approve of a girl giving birth at age 13. They would probably cause her pregnancy and force her to carry to term.
#8
Laughter moves in the opposite direction. Research from the Mayo Clinic confirms that laughing lowers cortisol and adrenaline, triggers endorphin release, and provides a short-term boost to immune function. It is available for free, from your phone, in the time it takes to look at a photo of a golden retriever doing something inadvisable. The science is almost embarrassingly simple, which makes it even more baffling that we are choosing war coverage over it at 7am instead of this feed.
#10
Laszlo Larthlanc 1 week ago
We let all of our spiders live, for the same reason. The ceiling and upper walls look as if the house has already been decorated for Halloween. We don't clear out those webs until the spiders abandon them after about 3 months.
#11
David Paterson 1 week ago
My CCTV has a wasp nest in it. I call it my second level of protection.
What makes memes specifically effective is the speed. A good meme delivers recognition and an emotional payoff in about two seconds flat. The kind of instant endorphin release that we have become obsessed with. It is an immediate gut reaction of "yes, that is exactly what that is like," followed by an involuntary exhale. The best memes are just accurate, and accuracy about the small absurdities of daily life turns out to be one of the more reliable mood adjustments available without a prescription.
A study published in the Journal of Mental Health found that 47% of college students intentionally seek out memes as a way to manage anxiety and psychiatric symptoms. So instead of reaching for a drink or crying their eyes out, almost half of college students are doing the smart thing. Now, if only we can convince the other half that this is the way forward...
#16
Colleen Glim 1 week ago
Or a plea for breakfast. Because it’s 3am and they haven’t eaten in years
#17
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
"If you're going to look at me the least you could do is feed me." - Cillian Murphy
The threshold for results from meme-scrolling is also lower than you might expect. Research led by Professor Jessica Myrick at Pennsylvania State University found that viewing just three memes is enough to meaningfully elevate mood, generate positive emotion, and increase a person's confidence in handling daily stress. The bar for a better morning is apparently a very short scroll, so this thread is basically Zoloft. You are welcome.
#19
Sara Frazer 1 week ago (edited)
Awww 💔❤️ sweet baby...I have a hard time thinking about any of my three bois passing... 😭 They are so important to me and helped me through many hardships. They reminded me there's good in this world, and they love us. Actually as I type this my partner is taking an afternoon nap on the couch and our oldest boy is sleeping on him. Love these cats more than life
#21
Lily bloom 1 week ago
Alternate possibility- conditions so bad in old age home, 92yo woman scales fence to escape atrocious care
There is also a finding that complicates the popular idea that dark or self-deprecating humor is just an avoidance tactic. Global research published by Nature Research found that people experiencing depressive symptoms actually rated relatable, dark, and self-deprecating memes as having greater potential to improve their mood than non-depressed participants did. The humor validates what they are feeling, which is the least any of us can ask for at this point.
#23
OjibweIkwe 6 days ago
And the orange cat tattoo on the right is done in anime style, but with a huge head.
The most compelling case for the humble meme, though, comes from a study published in First Monday, which found that people who regularly share memes with close friends report higher relationship satisfaction than those who do not.
So you don't have to commit to long-winded conversations or painful moments of vulnerability. Just sending someone something that made you think of them, with no explanation needed, is enough. It is intimacy without the overhead, and it works precisely because it is low stakes. So use this thread as your point of contact for the day, and make a few friends feel seen!
How many memes have you already saved to your camera roll at this point? Tell us in the comments!
#25
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
I'm with BentoBalls69 (no, YOU snickered). It's very hard to find the motivation to do things when some oversized children are sending the world to Hell.
#29
Nicky Colohan 1 week ago
If itwas a reindeer it could have been a girl. Female reindeers have antlers that don't shed in the winter which means all of Santa's reindeers were female.
#30
Lee Gilliland 6 days ago
Not to startle you, but the "ring offire"got established in the 1880s.
#35
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
Fun fact: Tom Holland was 19 when he was cast as Spider-Man in 2015, prior to filming his role in 'Captain America: Civil War'. He recently reprised this role in 'Spider-Man: Brand New Day' at the age of 21.
#38
#40
Luke || Kira (he/she) 1 week ago
The clowns' living conditions are still improving since they can now hold major political positions
#46
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
I get it. They're all right at the end of the misery and you hope they herald in something positive for a change.
#53
Sara Frazer 1 week ago
I WAS THERE, GANDALF, 3000 YEARS AGO......(reference to my earlier comment about playing Minecraft in the ol' days lol)
#54
David Paterson 1 week ago (edited)
The left one from 1972 is false colour, with saturation turned up to the max. Nearly every photograph from NASA is false colour. They call it the NASA palette. Both have a faked background, you can't actually see stars behind the Earth because daylight is so bright.
#55
#61
LinkTheHylian 1 week ago
The salutatorian. Duh. She hid her true greatness so nobody would suspect her.
#63
Peter Bear 1 week ago
Appreciation is not appropriation. Learn the difference, because it matters.
#65
keyboardtek 1 week ago
I wonder what kind of jazz Dave Brubeck would compose in interstellar time.
#66
Laszlo Larthlanc 1 week ago
People sometimes smirk when they see me using my Canon, but it takes great photos, and its settings are incredibly adjustable. It's most definitely not even close to being the best digital camera, but it still takes better photos than even the newest iPhone and the battery just lasts and lasts. The only downside is that it doesn't fit into my back pocket and it doesn't send texts or make calls.
#68
Rob Jameson 4 days ago
I found a free eastlake 1880s chair that was fully renovated recently! Solid Walnut, and in sturdy condition. Only had a storage and cigarette smell which aired out pretty quick!
#69
Laszlo Larthlanc 1 week ago
The one on top has been turned red via the use of hexane gas, but is not ripe at all. It does, however, survive shipping and handling. The one on the bottom ripened naturally and the red color is caused by lycopene. It will not survive shipping and handling, but is 100 times better that the other tomato, of not more so.
#71
BarkingSquirell 1 week ago
Not mentioning the grueling and stressful workdays of the Japanese.
#72
Annika Kremer 6 days ago (edited)
I have a mate like that, when he says he'll be there at nine, I plan to be ready at ten. Usually, I still wait.
#73
Sara Frazer 1 week ago
I don't know who this is but I ABHOR these super thin fake plastic surgery Michael Jackson noses 🤮
#81
Sara Frazer 1 week ago
Back when I was on instascam I followed a local popular burlesque troupe (The Atomic Bombshells!! 🩷), we've seen them a few times, I adore them. One lady would post her manicures, with the forefinger and middle finger on her right hand being short and rounded, not long like the others... Yes, she had a wife 😘
#82
Sara Frazer 1 week ago
Ah, controller 🎮 order. Yup 😂 I play Minecraft with my teen daughter and teen nephew pretty often, on the switch. You bet I'm player 1. I remind them I've been playing Minecraft since before they existed ⛏️😂
#85
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Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 6 days ago
I made multiple comments on this list that have since disappeared. Anyone else having the same problems?
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Yes! That was also yesterday. And I’ve noticed since about a week ago I don’t get notifications either, or they are about 18 hours late…😡
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Multa Nocte (she/her 8647) 6 days ago
I made multiple comments on this list that have since disappeared. Anyone else having the same problems?
Whiskers 6 days ago
Yes! That was also yesterday. And I’ve noticed since about a week ago I don’t get notifications either, or they are about 18 hours late…😡
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