People who post mental health memes on social media

[DonkeyHohtay]

AIBU in thinking they are the last people you'd turn to in a crisis?

Those twee little "my door is always open" or "I know who will repost this and who won't" and "Always providing a listening ear to those having a tough time".

I have an acquaintance on FB who posts them all the time. She is the most self-obsessed, selfish and rubbish listener there is. She's only posting the trite shite to make herself feel better.

Anyway. It's mental health week this week. If you're struggling, call a helpline or just tell someone you're having a tough time. In most cases it gets better.

Ha MintyCedric nope but glad to see it’s not just my industry that’s crap!

Someone posted a really good thread on here a while back, about 'Why it always 'talking' and 'awareness' and never any practical support and care?'

Tell you what, why not let the people who want to post the memes post them, and the people who want to ignore them ignore them. Just like we all do every day with tons of other stuff we think is "shit " on FB every day.

Isn't that exactly what the OP is doing though?

She's not stopping anyone from posting them and she's not stopping anyone from ignoring them.

She's simply stating how she feels about them, along with other MN posters who are 'for' and 'against' them

Awareness, for me, means that more people know that it is OK to talk about mental health issues, and I think that is vital.

But you are right, @GarnierBBCream - there is simply not enough practical help and support available, and it can be a real fight to get what help is available.

I waited over a year for group therapy on the NHS - but at least I got therapy, and it was open ended - I could stay in the group for as long as I needed. I don’t know how many other people getat sort of help.

I am also lucky that dh has health insurance, through his work, and I was able to use it to get 1-2-1 cognitive behavioural therapy, and to see a psychiatrist when my own GP was not allowed to prescribe me a combination of anti-depressants that might help me better than a single one.

Mental illness is very much the Cinderella section of the NHS, in my view.

The people in my list that share mental health posts ,similar to the OP or otherwise, are:

1. Attention seeking twats.
2. Genuine nice people that would help in a pinch,if not complete strangers,at least those close to them.
3. Former or current sufferers of various illnesses,to raise awareness (not jus of the condition but how it affects people ), to combat the stigma etc.

I see a lot of PTSD posts on my newsfeed currently, the only thing I wish for is that my friend hadn't suffered the trauma that makes her speak from personal experience.

I got discharged from my CMHT because my psychiatrist didn't get a message from the team secretary that I couldn't attend my appointment. I never missed any previously. It took months to get seen and in 18 months i have seen her 4 times for 10 to 15 mins.
No discharge care plan.
Nothing. Just a note to say you've been discharged for DNA...go see your GP.
I complained loud and long and have been readmitted but my next appoint is in 2 months time.
I struggle. There is really not much on offer.

Fuck mental health memes because people dont know the struggle it is to even get treated.

I have MH issues. A stranger looking at my FB profile would have no idea - it's my space away from all that crap.

I know exactly whose doors are open (literally) or who I can call in the middle of the night. Some of these people might post memes (I don't really take note) but will also know that I would never be one of the people to repost in the name of awareness etc.

I keep the 2 quite separate.

By "that crap" I mean how I regard my MH issues - just in case anyone thinks I mean MH in general.

I wanted to post something very similar to this just today. I think most of my FB friends who do this are well-intentioned, but it all seems so dreadfully naive - a cup of tea and a chat wouldn't scratch the surface with me, even if I was able for it - when I'm in the depths of it, I can barely manage the shallowest of social interactions never mind a cosy chat about mental illness.

I'm lucky though, I have people who understand.

Quite - if you are having such a dark time that you can't get out of bed, or are so anxious you can't leave the house, the person who sat next to you in Geography when you were 15 isn't going to have the skills to help. The best you can hope for is that they recognise that you need to get professional support, and help access it, if it's available.

A wee cup of tea and a chat isn't enough, is it? Being open and honest about your mental health is a good thing but thoughtlessly reposting memes is definitely the approach taken by a certain type of person.

Yeah, sometimes I get a bit down about it (obviously...) - I have kids now and you know, the effort you put in, the amount of loving attention you give them, and I got none of that, and what proportion of what I missed as a child would I need to get as an adult to fully recover? Like ten percent of that? One percent? It would be totally unreasonable to want that off anyone. The truth is, people like me, we never really make it back to normal. You have to count it as success to just function. My therapist said it was "a miracle" I hadn't ended up in serious trouble, substance abuse issues and that sort of thing. You have to go about being proud that you didn't end up an alcoholic, that all that's wrong is that every interaction with other people seems to go subtly wrong, you never really make it in any job, friendships don't stick, you struggle constantly with your health (chronic conditions like asthma, that seem to be exacerbated by stress) and managing how much you eat and drink and forcing yourself to exercise. And always the nagging feeling that it shouldn't be this hard, that life should at least sometimes feel like not a struggle but an easy thing that flows. Every day is an effort to get up. And it's always been like this, and now in my mid 40s, I can't kid myself that it's ever going to be any different. This is it.

I do agree with you about the darkest moments, @DonkeyHohtay - at that point, it would be impossible for someone who isn't close to you to help you.

But maybe a bit more awareness from everyone, and a bit more support from people might help those of us with mental illnesses before they reach rock bottom.

I know that I don't always recognise when I am starting to slide down into a bad depressive episode, but other people may be able to see more clearly what is happening, if they know what to look for.

I do get why people dislike these memes, when they are being reposted by people that you know wouldn't actually BE there for you - but I also believe that any increased awareness of mental health issues, and willingness to talk about them more openly, has to be a good thing.

I don't want to feel that I can't share memes about depression and anxiety, for fear that people think I am shallow, and virtue signalling, without any real intention to be there for my friends - and by extension, to feel that I can't talk about it openly. I already feel isolated by my illness - I don't want that isolation to worsen.

I am very, very open about my mental health both online and in real life. I have had many people both close friends and acquaintances approach me for help in accessing mental health services (I have a lot of experience!) and just reaching out for a chat.

I post mental health memes because sometimes mental health disorders can be illogical, daft and just plain hilarious. As horrible and life-altering as they are, a lot of people find it therapeutic to look at the funny side of these disorders. It helps me to cope with mine and also helps to curb some of the ill-effects. If I'm stuck in an OCD-fuelled routine that's causing me distress, I can sometimes break this and move on just thinking about how hilarious this must look to others and how illogical it really is. It's just a dark sense of humour and sometimes this can be a life saver.

I do understand that it may look insensitive and I don't agree with non-sufferers posting them, but a lot of the time it's a comic relief from the otherwise all-encompassing misery of mental health disorders. I also think that it is another way of opening up the conversation. Not everyone is comfortable hearing about the deep dark depths of mental health (which I also share) when they are just browsing Facebook but may feel that a humorous and lighter-hearted post on social media is easier to interact with and from that a deeper conversation can build if and when the person ever needs it.

Just my feelings and experience though :)

Ah, by memes I thought you meant the jokey type ones. But if it's the sharing of helplines and things, my post makes no sense!