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!
Staaahp with the blaming. As a borderline millenial I kick ass at DIY because I chose it to be interesting. The world is just too complex. Our parents are not saints that can teach you everything and anything, they set you up with what they think is important and they do their best. My youngest thinks it's incredibly interesting when I tile a floor or build a wall and is a social bug, my oldest couldn't care less and is dreaming of going to Europa. The moon near Mars. Not the continent. So is that the millenial's fault? That they chose what they find interesting? Or my mom's fault for giving them that extra boost of confidence as a typical boomer grandma? They are sweet and caring human beings, I think that's the best start.
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Or father who were present but still massive d***s. From my friends it is more common to have an absent/jerk father than a nice one. 2 absents, 3 jerks, 1 polite but emotionally stunt and 1 nice father.
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As a millennial, this stereotype pisses me off. My dad, and all his friends, my uncles, etc., spent their entire adult lives working in offices, and thanks to relatively low cost of living (house prices anyone) they could afford to hire people to do all the work. I work a normal job, make a great salary, and thanks to not having the extra income after paying for my bills, mortgage, and basic necessities for my kids, I have had to teach myself to be a handyman or things just won't get done. I've taught myself to make some furniture, remodeled my kitchen, finished my own basement, built my deck, landscaped my yard, built my shed, installed a flagstone patio in my yard, etc and I taught myself how to do it all because my dad wouldn't know how to do anything except look up in the yellow pages who can do it for him.... I love my dad, but hate this stereotype.
I agree. Most people who can do it learned most of it themselves. Working on building sites helped me.
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My mom was a boomer and she never told me she loved me. No affection at all. I'm actually a GenXer. My daughter is 12 and I tell her I love her all the time
I tell my kids I love them all the time. Do something right? I love you. Do something wrong? I still love you. I think they may get tired of hearing it so much, but I don't get tired of telling them.
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So true. My parents didn't tell me they love me until I was in my twenties. I tell my two sons every day.
Thanks for just simplifying it like that. Because yes.
Load More Replies... Honestly it wasn't they didn't have the ability. It just was a different time with different expectations. They showed they loved their families in ways that matter. Action speaks louder than words.
I'm a Boomer and the only time I see this Boomer/ Millennial stuff is on social media. I've never been hassled over being a Boomer and I've never hassled a millennial. (Although I just call them "younger than me"). An asshole is an asshole blame them not a whole generation.
I still remember my dad working on the car growing up, I would come and try to help him and he would get aggravated and tell me to leave him alone, then when I was a young adult he was disappointed I didn't know how to work on my own car.
Divisive talk is bringing this country to its knees. Stop it now, today. Celebrate the good. You want something good from the Boomer generation to celebrate? Youngbloods' Get Together: Come on people now, Smile on your brother, Everybody get together, Try to love one another, Right now
My family of boomers have been very vocal about how much we love our kids, brought them up to learn what we learned but also gave them freedom to become their own versions, and with a conscience toward humanity and the planet. Our kids are capable DIY'ers because they grew up working with us on our projects from very young ages. We're also proud of them, who they've become and how they've managed to weave in their own ways to contribute to the planet and people around them. That said, I know people growing up who had boomer parents like the ones you speak of and it was bleak. My brothers and I grew up under terrible abuse from our mother and perhaps that's why we were a different kind of boomer with our own kids. So we're not all like that..
Such a false stereotype. Baby boomer here. My family always said we loved each other. Hubs and I and our daughter say it all the time and we mean it. My sister says she doesn't do that with her adult child. My nieces and nephew and I say it all the time. It's heart fully expressed.
Dont need as many DIY skills when you rent and your landlord is responsible for (or doesn't allow) work on the property.
My millennial daughter's DIY skills are impeccable...because I (a GenXer) took the time to teach her basic plumbing, carpentry, electrical, etc. I learned these things from my Greatest Generation grandfather, because my dad lacked mechanical skills and the desire to learn them.
It's called DIY for a reason. You can do it yourself! You don't need a teacher. Growing up in the 50s, my parents had a couple of DIY books on the shelf. Those books were used a lot. Now we have You Tube etc so it's much easier. And those emotionally stunted parents could just as easily open their big mouths and say "I love you". Again, not that hard.
Millennials don't have good home DIY skills because many didn't get to own their first house until their 30s. You don't need DIY if you don't own the thing that's broken. I spent my entire 20s doing nothing more complicated than hanging a picture in my rented houses. Add in the fact that when it comes to daily objects, there are fewer and fewer things that someone of ANY age can actually fix anyway. How many boomers are servicing their own cars in 2021 for example?
I'm a boomer. I'm really tired of the boomers, the Millennials, the caveman did/didn't do this and this is why the world is falling apart. Every generation had/has it's issues. I remember in the 70's the start of "Save the Earth", "Stop Litter and Vandalism", "Clean the Beaches" and an assortment of other ways to lessen the litter and all that crap. The generations before us started ways to change the world to a better place for their children. It's no you did this, it's the entire world did this and every generation took part in it. Stop pointing fingers and get off your a**e and do something.
Who would post this. As a boomer I apologize. We need to stop with generalizations. My father who died at 93 always told me he loved me. My SIL is very handy (as are so many millennials I know) and my husband has never had a problem saying I Love You.
Sorry, you are not talking about baby boomers, you are talking about the parents of the baby boomers.
Generalizing. It's so easy to generalize, and it's as f*cked up. Neither all the baby boomers parents are bad teachers in DIY, or have the emotional spectrum of a spoon, nor all millenials are bad at DIY, or did have a bad baby boomer parent
If a student fails, despite giving all their efforts (whilst the teacher does the bare minimum of what is required); it’s the teacher who is at fault, not the student. Same applies to this. 🤷♀️
My father was a "boomer" he told me every time he saw me, before I went to sleep, and before he took me to my mom's house that he loved me. When I moved out and got married he called me every morning at 9am when he got to work to tell me good morning and check on me and then myself and the grand babies until he died when I was 23. The entire year he was off work with cancer before he passed away, he would visit me and the grand babies up to 3×'s a week chemo and radiation allowing and bring them cheetos and iccees and rest in my recliner while I made him grilled cheese and soup. Such a huge loss of a great father/grandfather.
If we wouldnt pick up every weird accusation someone is posting, we would just be muuuch happier. I wouldnt even bother to ask "how so", i would (and I am) just ignore all of those posts...
My dad taught my sister and I how to do some DIY stuff, so it's not all millennial. I really wish this war between the generations would stop. There really is no need for it.
My boomer dad taught me well. There isn't anything my dad couldn't do, build, fix or make. And same goes for me his millennial daughter.
I think a lot of people don't realize just how absent many fathers were from previous generations. Men who were taught to never show any emotion b/c real men don't do that. Men who had zero part in raising their kids b/c that was a mother's job.
I'm a Boomer and my GI Generation dad didn't teach me anything. He didn't teach our brother anything much about doing repairs, let alone us girls. If I had had kids, I wouldn't have been able to teach them. My husband is a Boomer raised by a Silent Generation builder(!) and his dad didn't teach him anything either. Some dads don't teach their kids this stuff. My sister is an amazing cook but she didn't let either of her girls in the kitchen while she cooked and laments that neither knows how to cook. I'm also a good cook and the funny thing is our dad was a professional chef and he didn't teach any of us how to cook either! We learned on our own. I do think we became good cooks with practice partly b/c we were exposed to good food and spent a lot of time in the restaurant kitchen with him. Even though he wasn't actively teaching us, we may have learned by osmosis a bit.
And then you have my parents who are regressing. They told me they loved me at least once a day when I was a kid. Now, I’m almost 40 and I can’t remember the last time either one said it to me. Hell, my mom turned around and walked away when I broke down crying over painful news a couple of weeks ago.
She may have walked away to hide her own tears, but then again that's speculation. That's so sad, G. Hugs.
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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.
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...