However, she further warns that some darker meme accounts can become unhelpful as they step into self-deprecation territory. “When we get into the realm of self-deprecation, that's where the laughs stop for me,” she explains. Angley herself has unfollowed several of them to protect her own mental well-being.
Something she finds additionally alarming is when people send memes to notify people that they aren’t doing their best. “I saw one meme that said something like ‘The number of mental health memes I share is inversely correlated with the quality of my mental health,''' she explains. “For some people, sharing mental health memes can be a low-key way of signaling that they're not doing well and that they could use a friend.”
Even though it might be difficult to reach for help when a person is in pain, Angley doesn’t recommend using memes to communicate with friends or relatives when they are struggling.
As online discussion can exclude some nuances of certain situations, MacMillan emphasizes that it’s important to be cautious and not accept all social media meme posts and comments as truth. “Not everyone who interacts with a mental health meme may truly understand or respect the experience it's depicting,” she notes.
However, ultimately, she concludes that the benefits of mental health memes outweigh the negatives.
