Microprocessing
When Mental Illness Memes Stop Being Funny
Online humor can be therapeutic, but it must be shared in certain ways
“The worst thing I ever did for my mental health was treat my depression, anxiety, or suicidal ideation as a relatable meme,” wrote @trashcommunist on Twitter. “Destigmatize these things yes but don’t make light of them, getting help is way cooler than not.”
@trashcommunist’s observation immediately caught my attention. As someone with an anxiety disorder, I’ve often found great joy in anxiety-related memes, which add humor to an experience that can be very painful in the moment. But for the makers and viewers of these memes, these attempts at levity might have a negative effect on their mental health.
There are two differentiating factors between a harmful meme and an innocuous one: disclosure from the person sharing the meme, and the type of humor within it. Decades’ worth of research has shown that generally speaking, humor is very good for people’s mental health—including people with mental illness. One particularly moving study, from 2017, looked at the effect of humor on people with mental illness in a homeless shelter. The study author found that a robust culture of humor brought joy and dignity to the people who lived there. The guests’ jokes…
