When the whole world decides it’s a perfectly sunny day to turn against you (and trust me, it happens way more often than you think!), there's little you can do about it. You can sit in denial, go into a full breakdown without a return ticket, or you can laugh your ass off through staring straight into the depths of your pain.
In fact, there’s a whole online community dedicated to this coping mechanism where people share examples of self-deprecating humor. No wonder it’s such a huge success! Created in 2016, the r/2meirl4meirl subreddit has a whopping 1.3M members who come here for a daily fix.
I mean, if we cannot fight that pain, at least we can sit right next to it and have a good laugh at each other. So scroll down and upvote your favorite posts!
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Their DIY skills are pathetic because the Boomers DIDN'T teach them!
A growing body of research has suggested that laughing during difficult situations may help to ease our pain and distress. In order to find out how that works, we reached out to Jennifer Williams, the founder of Heartmanity, which provides people with support and vital skills needed to create a healthy and thriving life with relationships that enrich and uplift us. Heartmanity provides groundbreaking skills and programs based on brain science and 30 years of experience.
Jennifer explained that an ability to laugh during painful or difficult situations requires resilience, which is an emotional intelligence ability. “Humor and laughter during tough times don’t mean that we are not taking our lives seriously, but rather, laughing acts like a release valve on a pressure cooker.”
Moreover, “This resilient mindset stems from innate confidence in ourselves to handle life’s curveballs and challenges successfully. The quality of our life is not about what happens to us; it’s about how we interpret and respond to our experiences,” she explained.
Hard work, persistence, and never giving up... The things that arrogant toxic-positivity personal development life coaches tell you to do so you feel more miserable and buy more of their books.
we're always the joker , trying to be the light in others lives we need in ours
I wrote my comment on the (currently) first post - the one starting with "Depression isn't always dark rooms..." - before reading yours. My therapist says it's a sort of coping mechanism. And that people don't fake being depressed; they fake being ok. Hugs.
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I always played the Joker, ready for a laugh and when it got too much for me and I had a breakdown, all of my so-called friends evaporated.
Me also. Makes me cry every time I watch ms doubtfure.
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So true. And that, despite being so loved. Robin Williams, though, had a debilitating disease that was taking away his intellect and would erode his motor skills. He knew he couldn't live like that. When he no longer felt like himself, he ended it. So sad he didn't have someone like Dr. Kevorkian to work with him.
Isn't it crazy that we have to wear so many mask just so people dont see what's really happening in our own minds. Its It's scary.
And then there’s my ex best friend who told me I can’t possibly have depression because I’m not really sad all the time and I smile
A friend of mine committed suicide ten years ago. Prior to that, I had told him I'd suffered from depression since puberty. He looked surprised and said, "But you're always smiling!" Yes, because smiling causes your brain to produce dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins.
I have been there as the life and soul of the party or chairing complex and demanding business meetings. And no one knows my arms are bandaged under my neatly ironed suit shirt and stinging like hell because they've been cut to ribbons. And I'm even savvy enough to cut so that the scars don't last. No. One. Knows. It's not a cry for help or attention seeking behaviour. It's my private way of coping. Badly. But preventing the worst.
I feel you. The worst thing is your eyes are probably telling your story, but very few souls will be able to see it. Very few people take the time to really look into them.
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I had a salesman that came into where I work. Funniest, most upbeat person you'd ever met. I had no idea what was going on with him, until the company told me he killed himself. I was dumbstruck, but it educated me. Never accept what you see on the surface.
I recently had a patient who asked to shake hand of "the big guy" (me - I'm quite tall and broad shouldered). When I asked him why he wanted to shake my hand, he told me it's "because you have smile in your eyes." It was very lovely, and surprising: I have struggled significantly with severe depression for decades...
Phillip Michael Seymour... I know what incredible talent we have arranged here, but the range he and Robin Williams represent, are monumental in their loss.
Uhu. Does that mean I am -not- depressed? Because I -am- actually sulking and bitter?
No, the title should have been: This is what depression can also look like.
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Indeed...each and every person in the collage were so bubbly and positive. The Joker....laugh and laugh...
I only know Williams Farley and Seymour who the heck are the rest of those people
yea i was clinically depressed in my childhood( was never diagnosed but realized it later) i was always smiling and laughing but i was miserable. i am much better now
This is me a lot of the time. I am always trying to be happy and jovial and make others laugh, but I am falling apart on the inside.
I always went to the same amazing giftshoo. And at one the darkest times in my life the store manager said'there's that girl who's always happy'. Never forgotten that.
I thought Farley died from alcohol, not depression and that was the culture he grew up around playing Rugby.
He suffered with depression most of his life and although he may have ended his life after his LBD diagnosis, that does not negate that fact.
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You have no way of knowing which came first though - some drugs can mess up people's heads and can cause depression. Some people may have taken drugs BECAUSE they were depressed. Being surrounded by judgemental bstards - that certainly doesn't help.
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I think that the point of the posts is that depression can go unnoticed. It doesn't say that's how it feels, just how it can look too. Not that everyone with depression hides it necessarily, but many definitely do, so much so that suicide often takes families by surprise.
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Moreover, growing your inner optimist and practicing mindful optimism trains our brains to see the good even when things go awry. Jennifer said that in this way, we start seeing the world through a new lens. “Laughter and humor are wonderful ways to release stress and reset our perspective.”
When asked whether self-deprecating humor can be seen as a useful coping mechanism, Jennifer said that since she believes that we need self-compassion to be at our best, she’s not a fan of self-deprecating humor as a coping mechanism. “In my experience, when a person uses this kind of humor, they tend to be avoiding the reality of what is happening (evading tough emotions like grief or anger) and can be neglecting to take responsible action.”
Even though poking fun at ourselves is a healthy part of humility, the founder of Heartmanity believes that since deprecating means “to belittle or cheapen,” this type of humor can backfire, so you have to be careful. It may cause us to “feel more overwhelmed and less equipped to handle what we are facing in life,” Jennifer warned.
Me : "I'm depressed." Therapist : "Well, don't be." Me : "I don't pay you to sound like my parents!" Therapist : "You don't pay me, you are French."
“On the other hand, science shows that gratitude helps to alleviate stress, offsets psychological disorientation caused by unexpected suffering, and increases positive emotions and a sense of well-being. Therefore, regularly practicing gratitude is a far more effective strategy for stress.”
Jennifer concluded that “through appreciation, we keep what is most important to us top of mind, and then we can better stay encouraged in difficult or painful situations.”
How to get a restraining order, how to find the worst retirement house in the world...
I just like the way it makes my skin tingle on a cold morning. The fact that I live alone has nothing to do with it. Probably.
Same... I hate being a people pleaser only to forget to take care of myself
Looking at little screen, reads this, looks up at big screen...aw snap
Signed off work. Now have lots of weird and witchy hats that make people smile. And clothing colours that resemble an explosion in a paint factory.
Coping mechanisms are the only things that keep you alive. My favorite ones are denial and rationalization.
Comparing yourself to others is the best way to become unhappy. Thats why people love Instagram so much. It brings a lot of easy accessible misery in your life.
Looking at the way things are going in the world today, this might be the wisest thing to do.
That's just the doctrine that all governments use. "Your personal interests are not important to our society." also "Climate change happens because YOU drive a car."
Still better than "pull yourself up by your bootstraps and count your blessings".
and for each 7 year old doing that, there is probably a few thousand 7 year olds working in dangerous mines and jobs in unspeakable conditions ,
Note: this post originally had 98 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
As i understand from the comments we are many little sad bored pandas around here :(
I feel that many if not the majority of people have mental illneses. But since it is a taboo in our society we all think that we are all alone in this :(
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I find a small measure of comfort with my fellow pandas. Big hug to all. One thing a day and one thing at a time.
We aren’t alone, we may feel it but feelings aren’t facts. Putting the phone down and going in nature is the only thing that helps me. My depressed brain says isolate and zone out on screens but getting exercise and seeing the blue sky is what our brains need. I wish everyone hope and joy ❤️
i was going to coment on all the ones I relate to, but i didn't want to comment on all of them
I frequently wish I could be 'normal' for any given definition of normal. Physically I hurt like I'm a 90 year old, I'm so overweight because I'm in so much pain that it's causing more weight gain, my brain hates me, it makes me feel like everything I do is wrong and inadequate, I have zero energy to do anything but the bare minimum to keep myself clean and my clothes clean.
Can't all sad bored pandas meet up and have fun the rest of their lives?
That was really good to read.finally...i m not a spoiled brat who plays cheap drama at 37. Thank you❤🖤
I don't understand,honestly after all these discoveries,inventions and all these efforts to make a civilisations,are we all collectively becoming depressed and existential as a society?Is this really all our own faults like our brains tell us or is this just the algorithm of life you know pain - eee-pain-eee. Those eee s are me pretending to smile.I hope you're happy.
I (partly) blame TV and movies containing fake perfect living and happy endings that give us unrealistic expectations and make us feel like we don't measure up if we don't buy all the carp they're selling us to make us sexier, smell "better", feel special by getting the "next big new thing", etc.
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Hugs out to all my fellow sad pandas using our weird sense of humour.
This post reminds me of an old Monty Python skit where folks were complaining about how hard their lives had been as children, each participant trying to one-up the previous one. "Every day we'd have to get up at 3 a.m., two hours before we went to bed, and lick the driveway clean..." Was there some kind of prize in the offing for who could sound the most pathetically miserable?
The world doesn't revolve around you. Learn some empathy.
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As i understand from the comments we are many little sad bored pandas around here :(
I feel that many if not the majority of people have mental illneses. But since it is a taboo in our society we all think that we are all alone in this :(
Load More Replies... I find a small measure of comfort with my fellow pandas. Big hug to all. One thing a day and one thing at a time.
We aren’t alone, we may feel it but feelings aren’t facts. Putting the phone down and going in nature is the only thing that helps me. My depressed brain says isolate and zone out on screens but getting exercise and seeing the blue sky is what our brains need. I wish everyone hope and joy ❤️
i was going to coment on all the ones I relate to, but i didn't want to comment on all of them
I frequently wish I could be 'normal' for any given definition of normal. Physically I hurt like I'm a 90 year old, I'm so overweight because I'm in so much pain that it's causing more weight gain, my brain hates me, it makes me feel like everything I do is wrong and inadequate, I have zero energy to do anything but the bare minimum to keep myself clean and my clothes clean.
Can't all sad bored pandas meet up and have fun the rest of their lives?
That was really good to read.finally...i m not a spoiled brat who plays cheap drama at 37. Thank you❤🖤
I don't understand,honestly after all these discoveries,inventions and all these efforts to make a civilisations,are we all collectively becoming depressed and existential as a society?Is this really all our own faults like our brains tell us or is this just the algorithm of life you know pain - eee-pain-eee. Those eee s are me pretending to smile.I hope you're happy.
I (partly) blame TV and movies containing fake perfect living and happy endings that give us unrealistic expectations and make us feel like we don't measure up if we don't buy all the carp they're selling us to make us sexier, smell "better", feel special by getting the "next big new thing", etc.
Load More Replies... Hugs out to all my fellow sad pandas using our weird sense of humour.
This post reminds me of an old Monty Python skit where folks were complaining about how hard their lives had been as children, each participant trying to one-up the previous one. "Every day we'd have to get up at 3 a.m., two hours before we went to bed, and lick the driveway clean..." Was there some kind of prize in the offing for who could sound the most pathetically miserable?
The world doesn't revolve around you. Learn some empathy.
Load More Replies...
