“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.
And with some ND conditions, you get so good at the game on hard mode that all the people on easy mode get jealous of your skills. Nevermind that you need those skills just to hit par!
From now on I will be using this game analogy. Up to now I have been telling kids that school for ND's is like they are training with a backpack full of rocks. It's exhausting and unfair, but when you find your place - you will be stronger. Just need to survive people saying your lazy or stop trying through choice - they are the ones who have things all wrong.
Load More Replies...Fantastic allegory. One of the best I’ve ever heard, and I heard many.
So true, my husband was undiagnosed for 11 years complete with medical gaslighting. Just because you can't see their pain and/or injury doesn't mean that it's not real!!!!!!! When someone says something is wrong BELIEVE them!!!!!!
Truly sorry your husband experienced such unprofessional behavior. Lost my Mom, sister, and dear friend to medical incompetence. Boggles my mind how those jetsam-level doctors keep their licenses.
Load More Replies...Just got my authism (ye olde asperger) and this was exactly how I experienced it.
as an ASD I can put it this way: everyone seems super touchy and sensitive and prone to random temper tantrums and super illogical. It is SOOOOOO bizarre . Just chill jesus christ nothing is serious enough to lose your temper about. Every day I think I am living in a loony bin. It is such a relief to deal with other ASD people who just stay chilled and get on with the job, albeit talk too much.
Plus it gives you the rights to tell people its a hard mode without getting attacked for it or them saying no its not
I had to sit and think on this a spell, but it really does track. I have an unofficial group of ND friends and we meet up from time to time. It's nice to be able to help each other with challenges, or to connect dots. Most of us were diagnosed early on, so we didn't suffer the developmental gaps that some do. Occasionally, someone new might pass through the group that may have been diagnosed much later in life, and it's it's pretty exciting to see them have those "light bulb" moments where they start to understand why people would maybe question or get frustrated with their responses (or lack thereof in my case) I like 👍
Undiagnosed neurodivergence sound a whole lotta like people are just gaslighting you into thinking like you are bad at an easy video game
So true. Having been diagnosed with HF Autism at 38, I likened my 2 (completely separate at different universities) unsuccessful attempts to finish Medicine as trying to run a marathon... and only realising after the second unsuccessful attempt that I only had one leg. You can complete a marathon with one leg (you can also become a doctor with HFA), but it helps to know that about yourself beforehand...
I think this is possibly an analogy for any undiagnosed condition that interferes with your life. Although depending on the diagnosis and further treatment options, strategising can be extremely limited (if you have a condition with zero treatment and zero recognition/support from the health system, strategising is very limited if you are very unwell).
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.
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.
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.
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.