“Sometimes Laughter Really Is The Best Medicine”: 50 Hilariously Accurate Memes About Mental Health, As Shared By This Page
Isn't it awesome that we live in an age when going to therapy isn't as frowned upon as it was, for example, for Tony Soprano?
I'll go out on a limb and say that the internet culture has contributed to mental health awareness too.
There are countless online discussions where people not only share their struggles but also relate to each other, letting the other person know that their feelings are valid and offering suggestions on what they could do to make everything a little easier to bear.
And let's not forget the ultimate tool used for social normalization—humor; laughing at yourself and with others can remedy even some of the biggest wounds.
'Therapy Memes Group' is a Facebook community that invites us to do just that. Let's try!
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However, as the public perception of therapy changes, new challenges are arising. A 2022 study from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 6 in 10 psychologists "no longer have openings for new patients."
The shortage comes as demand for therapy soars: since the beginning of the pandemic, about three-quarters of practitioners have seen their waiting lists grow.
In the same period, almost 80% of practitioners reported an increase in patients with anxiety disorders and 66% have seen an increase in those needing treatment for depression.
And you’d think having all 3 would cancel them out…instead I end up standing in my kitchen turning in circles like a broken sim
Yeah, but when you have ADHD even the corner seems too much of an effort...
“I started my private practice just before Covid hit, and it was certainly filling up then,” Dr. Jennifer Reid, a psychiatrist, writer, and podcast host in Philadelphia, told The Guardian. “But the numbers have exponentially risen since that time.”
Reid even stopped advertising her practice on sites like Psychology Today and other places where people can find therapists. There's simply no need now.
Being an MD who worked as a psychiatrist and suffering from 3 of the above mentioned myself I can only say... it's true. No freaking other way that we know of, and it's frustrating the hell out of me.
Removed "the chair" when remodeling my bedroom to avoid the pile of clothes. Let me introduce: "the floor".
Reid focuses on anxiety and insomnia, which have been “major players” in the pandemic. According to her, people with anxiety, phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder related to germs had particular trouble. Then there were the isolation and doomscrolling.
Now, she noticed, people are struggling to re-enter the world. "People are finding they're having anxiety trying to re-engage in social settings in situations that were previously not as safe", she said. “Now they’re having to kind of retrain their brains.”
Even great parents give you an awful lot of terrible gifts you just can't seem to get rid of
Reid said people often may need to return to their primary care doctor for a period of time, “or they just end up going without and waiting on waitlists, unfortunately”.
The APA study also found that the average psychologist reported being contacted by 15 potential patients every month.
Reid, who combines therapy and medical approaches, said she generally has space for about one new patient every few weeks.
Yea, laziness is real, but I like this person’s optimism.
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I still suffer immense amounts of internalised shame from being told throughout childhood that I was lazy, when I now know it was mostly a mixture of mental health problems and being neurodivergent, both undiagnosed until I was much older. Plus some genuine laziness, if I'm honest!
Genuine laziness or just prioritizing the right activities?
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Existing! You mean existing, not being lazy. Last time I checked we should have the freedom to do anything we want. Even if that choice is nothing but literally existing, being, and breathing. We've been convinced by those who actually do nothing but have fun and exist that we are lazy when we want to do the same exact thing. None of us asked to be born and I'm tired of the elite having everything they want paying others to take care of them. While they live it up and tell us that it's not ok or possible for us to live the same way and we are lazy if we just want to f*****g exist and do nothing.
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My like has not changed 1 iota since covid. Sorry for dumping all this s**t
I am undeniably lazy! I will sit 4 12 hrs straight and watch TV. Now granted I'm bpII but I don't feel depressed (good medication) my sister lives 30 mins away. I c her twice a year-very. Can't work, obviously. And every single friend I've had has gotten passed at me 4 some reason-I'm sure I something- but no one took the time 2 work it out. Clubs, counseling, chat rooms, nothing. U get used 2 being dead inside. My TV is my only friend and it rips my heart out! Then I go numb again
lazy is definitely a thing. i can happily spend all day doing nothing simply because i dont want to. many people are ill in many ways, but that does not mean that lazy simply doesnt exist!
"The more I think about it"- You know, not bothering to fact check, or research or even have a conversation with someone else. I'm pretty sure I know who the lazy person here is
I know someone that lives in a half-way house and has stayed there for at least 2 years now. He doesn't work at all, no job, doesn't even clean a small bathroom that would take barely 10 mins to clean, only goes to IOP a few times a week, all thanks to his Tribe paying his bills. I very much believe he is just lazy AH.
No some people are actually genuinely lazy and would rather others do the work instead.
Now BP is also mad at me, seems I'm typing comments to fast for its liking ☹️
Where did they get this footage of my last job interview?? (Edited: typo)
To manage the growing demand, Reid works with a platform for Philadelphia therapists that allows them to see each other's availability. “We really feel a sense of responsibility to try and get patients some good options if we can, if we’re not able to see them,” she said.
Seeking a therapist through word of mouth – asking friends or calling practitioners even if they’re fully booked – is a good first step. The increasing use of telehealth may also help, particularly under programs such as PsyPact, a legal framework that allows practitioners to work in multiple states. But remember that you can also simultaneously express yourself through memes!
If only it were this simple... The source is usually that jerk I see in the mirror
But even in Poland you can't stop playing this out in your head over and over...
S**t, did they really have to make this post about all of my shortcomings?
As your brain is inside your head, yeah, everything related to it is 'only in your head'
Went on a wine tour yesterday and the guide explained how it's champagne only if it is from the town Champagne. It was destiny that made me open this post!
Garbage can on fire is about as precise as it can get describing myself 😊
But... but I made a list! See, it's a list with all the stuff I need/want to do today, and it's written in purple pen, which is my favorite pen to write in even though blue is my favorite color, but sometimes I tell people my favorite color is red or black, because those are the colors I wear the most, but I actually really like silver, but I don't think I have any silver clothes... wait, what was I talking about?
Yeah brain, you should really wait for my consent before putting your thoughts in my head!
No way, I need to CHANGE my behavior in order to heal?? I didn't sign up for this
Note: this post originally had 100 images. It’s been shortened to the top 50 images based on user votes.
From religion to internet humor: How humanity copes with the suck of being humanity. ----- my theory after 10 years of therapy, in which I'm told "doing it that way so your abusers don't "win" isn't healthy". Well, I'm alive, I'm functional, and I'm not hurting myself or others, so what's wrong with me seeing it as "I win the war!" versus "ah, they were just lashing out".... Yeah. They were. And?Why must I understand their trauma, while they *caused mine*? .....
May you accept where you are, how you feel, whenever you choose. May each day offer you some instances of when you win the war.. on whatever battle you're taking up. May you give yourself the space and grace to Just BE.
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My mottto is push it down deep and just live in the moment and have fun joking about it while your at it might as well your going down anyway
It just makes me sad that so many people use humour and memes to cover up the fact that we are depressed, mentally ill, unable to get up most days, and simply just want to give up. Why is the world like this? I don't wanna give up, I really don't but sometimes I feel like I don't have a choice.
As someone once said, it doesn't take all sorts - it's just that we've got all of them.
Load More Replies... Sometimes it's nice and funny to commiserate and know many others are feeling very similar. And while some of these memes are painfully familiar, just know that the 'funny' is not directed at anyone in particular. As a therapist, I am just overjoyed we are talking about our journeys and even growing from them. In some spaces, we have normalized getting mental health support. That is SUCH a win for humanity.
From religion to internet humor: How humanity copes with the suck of being humanity. ----- my theory after 10 years of therapy, in which I'm told "doing it that way so your abusers don't "win" isn't healthy". Well, I'm alive, I'm functional, and I'm not hurting myself or others, so what's wrong with me seeing it as "I win the war!" versus "ah, they were just lashing out".... Yeah. They were. And?Why must I understand their trauma, while they *caused mine*? .....
May you accept where you are, how you feel, whenever you choose. May each day offer you some instances of when you win the war.. on whatever battle you're taking up. May you give yourself the space and grace to Just BE.
Load More Replies... My mottto is push it down deep and just live in the moment and have fun joking about it while your at it might as well your going down anyway
It just makes me sad that so many people use humour and memes to cover up the fact that we are depressed, mentally ill, unable to get up most days, and simply just want to give up. Why is the world like this? I don't wanna give up, I really don't but sometimes I feel like I don't have a choice.
As someone once said, it doesn't take all sorts - it's just that we've got all of them.
Load More Replies... Sometimes it's nice and funny to commiserate and know many others are feeling very similar. And while some of these memes are painfully familiar, just know that the 'funny' is not directed at anyone in particular. As a therapist, I am just overjoyed we are talking about our journeys and even growing from them. In some spaces, we have normalized getting mental health support. That is SUCH a win for humanity.
