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Poking fun at mental health struggles doesn’t necessarily mean you’re downplaying them. It is, in fact, an excellent way to cope, as it helps the person distance themselves from their problems. Here’s what registered clinical counselor and Vedder Counseling owner Dr. Ben Garrett tells Bored Panda:
“There is something powerful about realizing someone else has experienced the same strange thought or behavior. For a moment, the person doesn't feel quite so alone.”
For others, memes are a way to explain what they are experiencing by condensing nuanced ideas into a single image. And for licensed mental health counselor Emily Basirico, these memes also encourage us to view our problems differently while allowing us to laugh at ourselves.
“If we see a meme that someone else made that explains our experience so astutely... we can't help but feel less alone, and our problem becomes more normalized. Memes truly help connect us as people.”
But of course, there must be a balance between laughing at our struggles and avoiding addressing them altogether. According to Dr. Garrett, it has to be a mix of both, where you honestly talk about what’s happening while injecting some humor into it.
Meanwhile, Basirico says poking fun should only be a “first line of defense,” as it can still provide healing. What you don’t want to do is avoid pursuing self-growth or refuse to seek help.
Sure, making light of personal struggles can be an effective coping mechanism. But Dr. Garrett also encourages understanding where the emotions are coming from.
“Mental-health memes can be useful,” he said. “They can make people laugh at something that otherwise feels heavy, and sometimes that is genuinely relieving. But the meme should be the beginning of the conversation, not the place where the conversation ends.”
Basirico says mental health memes should never oversimplify conditions or make serious conditions seem like mere personality quirks. She still urges people to seek help from professionals who can help them understand what they are going through.
“If memes relating to a certain mental health condition continue to feel incredibly relevant to you, seeking support from a counselor or therapist can be helpful, regardless of how serious that problem may be,” Basirico said. “The relatable nature of memes can actually be a helpful tool for a mental health professional to understand you on a deeper level.”
