Trauma memes are taking over the internet. Why that can be a good thing.

<!doctype html> <html lang="en"> <head> <title>Trauma memes are taking over the internet. Why that can be a good thing. | Mashable</title> <meta charset="utf-8"> <link rel="canonical" href="https://mashable.com/article/trauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <meta name="theme-color" content="#00aeef"> <meta name="application-name" content="Mashable.com"> <meta name="description" content="Trauma memes are taking over the internet, as a way to look at our past with humor and grace."/> <meta property="fb:app_id" content="122071082108"> <meta property="fb:pages" content="18807449704"/> <meta property="og:site_name" content="Mashable"> <meta property="og:title" content="Trauma memes are taking over the internet. 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Why that can be a good thing.","articleBody":"Erin Taylor started creating memes on her Instagram page @atmfiend in 2018 as a way for her to talk about her own trauma and \"work out the shame\" she had connected with those experiences.\"I really feel like shame kills people,\" Taylor told Mashable on the phone. \"And for me, the more I talked about it, the less I was alone, because all of a sudden I had so many strangers reaching out being like, I also have this experience.\" Taylor, a 25-year-old writer and artist whose upcoming book of poetry is titled Bimboland, said she found that there was a need for herself and others to have a space to go to on the internet that wasn't just \"haha this is funny,\" but was \"ha ha this is funny, but it's kind of painful.\" One of her posts shows someone using weed to solve for, or cover up, \"every trauma that exists in my body every illness every pain every anniversary of moments lost in memory.\" Another incorporates a photo of naked legs in bed with an artist's background and text saying: \"I can feel myself slipping away from the certainty of tomorrows, I see now that it all ends.\"Her posts differ greatly in their content, but always come back to one thing: They are trauma memes. She's not the only account posting memes that tackle issues like trauma, therapy, and healing: Look at Instagram accounts like @69possums420, @binchcity, or @manicpixiememequeen. When Taylor creates these memes, she's digging into her own trauma and using art and humor as a way to communicate that. She says it can feel cathartic to create. But these memes can also be helpful and healing to the audience, Theresa Nguyen, the chief program officer at Mental Health America, told Mashable. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n View this post on Instagram\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\n\"When a person suffers from trauma or a very sad and painful time in their life, there is something to say about the use of humor both to heal or deflect from the pain, or distract and deflect,\" Nguyen, a licensed clinical social worker who is also speaking from personal experience, told Mashable. \"I use humor as a way to lean into moments of suffering while also using humor to help me feel OK.\"She points out that what these memes are really doing — whether they involve a dark quote about eating disorders on top of a picture of a possum or a picture of famous women from the early aughts overlaid with depictions of a manic episode — is opening up the conversation to talk about trauma.\"Talking about trauma is always helpful,\" Nguyen said. \"Whether you're doing it through a meme or you're doing it with a friend or with a therapist. When you experience a painful event that causes extreme anxiety, like we see in PTSD, there's a period of time where you want to avoid, but avoidance is a trap you don't necessarily want to fall into. And so a meme is a way of expression.\"In response to toxic positivityThese memes actually popped up in direct response to an increase in a toxic positivity movement online, Amanda Brennan, a meme librarian and the senior director of trends at XX Artists, a digital marketing agency, told Mashable. That was right after the 2016 election in the U.S., when you may have seen posts popping up on Instagram and Twitter urging you to check in on your friends or reminding you to drink some water. On its face, these might not seem like toxic positivity — after all, you probably should go drink some water. But toxic positivity is the idea that all experiences can and should somehow be spun into the positive, even if those experiences are truly negative ones. Drinking water isn't a substitute for going to therapy, nor is it a solution for a traumatic experience or mental illness. \"I think by going through this time where positive and wholesome memes were really the fabric of the language, [we saw] a lot of discussion around toxic positivity,\" Brennan said. \"And I think by acknowledging these methods of being positive in life, you also have to acknowledge, 'Hey, not everything is sunshine and roses.'\"Brennan said that pointing out the toxic positivity of the new post-2016 internet trend led to some more acknowledgement of the difficult parts in life overall. Memes were the perfect way to explore that because, she says, \"I'm going to just laugh at them because, otherwise, it's too hard.\"Aiden Arata is another creator of memes and videos about mental health. Much of her work on her Instagram page @aidenarata looks at the relatable absurdity of healing. Think: manifestation videos and positive thought generators, but she places you at the supermarket, or another mundane place you'd least expect to do this kind of work. And, while she didn't necessarily start creating the memes in response to an onslaught of toxic positivity online, she told Mashable that she \"certainly doesn't believe\" that toxic positivity is the solution to pain or the ideal response to trauma. She strives to acknowledge \"the full spectrum of human experience as best we can on the internet.\"\"I consider myself an optimist, but I think it's actually a very hard and informed choice,\" Arata said. \"It's not naive toxic positivity or success manifestation. I want to critique those models, and I want to unpack them and figure out why we're drawn to them and what we really are seeking.\" The downfallsOf course, using humor to cope with trauma can be considered a defense mechanism. And despite the fact that these memes deal directly with trauma and therapy and healing, they aren't actually a substitute for therapy. Creating memes and flipping through them can be cathartic, but it is not the same thing as speaking to a mental health professional. Further, as with any trend that takes over the internet, there's space for the negative along with the positive on a larger scale — especially when it comes to something as nuanced as mental health and trauma recovery. While many of these specific memes accounts show the gritty truth of mental health, trauma, and healing, some social media use can glamorize mental health and trauma that isn't always helpful.One of the downfalls is that this content can be triggering for people who aren't anticipating it. There isn't a sensitivity covering of the meme when it's shared on anyone else's page. Some original posters will have a trigger warning in their bios, but not all creators do. And it's rare that any individual post or meme or video will come with a trigger warning at all. That means these memes can pop up into anyone's timeline and have the potential to trigger them. \"I can't look at [trauma memes] too much, because then I will end up in a whole thinking about my trauma for a very long time,\" Brennan said. \"You end up just looking at them because at first you think it's funny, and then all of a sudden it can be more triggering than you anticipate.\"Beyond the potentially triggering content, as with any content you enjoy, these memes can also cause you to spend an increased amount of time on social media, which has the potential to have a negative effect on a users' mental health, depending on where and how they're spending their time online. And, the fact is, a lot of us are spending time online: According to the Pew Research Center, 69 percent of adults and 81 percent of teens in the U.S. used social media in 2017. Significant time on the internet puts users at an \"increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use,\" according to the McLean Hospital. \"I'm also keeping people's eyes on their screen and I'm playing into this attention economy that is sort of designed to exploit people and to make them feel bad sometimes,\" Arata said, adding that she spends time thinking about how her work could drive people to spend more time online. \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n View this post on Instagram\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\n\nBut increased time on social media isn't always a bad thing. As we learned over the pandemic, the internet can do incredible things for our mental health and connectivity — it can help people learn new abilities, hang out with friends, make new friends, and even fall in love. So the same rule applies to whatever meme pages or influencers you are following on Instagram. It matters what you're looking at while you're online, and what you're missing out on in other parts of your life.A 2020 study out of the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health shows that using social media every day as part of your routine, and responding to others' content, is positively associated with social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health. However, checking apps \"excessively out of fear of missing out, being disappointed about or feeling disconnected from friends when not logged into social media\" has the opposite effect. \"It's not all bad or all good, like anything. In this particular context, with the sharing of trauma, I cannot see a downside,\" Nguyen said. \"When you experience a traumatic event, there's so much shame associated with it. Certain handles, ones that talk about therapy but in the context of humor, I think it reduces the fear that someone has about maybe going to therapy and saying, you know what, it's totally OK to go sit with someone, a friend or their therapist and process whatever happened to you in a safe space. And that's going to be a good thing.\"Creating a communityMoreover, some creators feel pressure to process complicated feelings in front of that community in real time. These creators aren't mental health professionals, but that also isn't the point. They aren't speaking from a place of professionalism, like a therapist would be. Instead, they're coming from the same angle as an artist or a filmmaker or a comedian. \"We are a community of people with lived experience,\" Nguyen said. \"So we are the experts in our own lives.\" It's similar to talking to friends about trauma, where often something is so wild and horrible that you cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Sharing these stories can also make people feel less alone or vulnerable in their trauma, which can help the healing process. The memes are art that can feel very \"casual\" and almost \"cavalier,\" Taylor said. \"That's very purposeful... that's a part of the de-stigmatization of discussing trauma within society.\"Carving out that space can be cathartic for the creator, too. Making art about trauma can help them work through their own past while helping others access the language to do that, too. But burnout for these creators is real.\"I had to just take a step back and be like, 'OK, this is a thing that I do because I love doing it and it makes me feel good and it makes other people feel good, but it has to be on my terms and all my schedule,'\" Arata said about creating boundaries with her own work. \"Like I can't spend three days a week making little videos, but I don't know, I really like doing it.\"\n Meme is art, right?\n \n\"We've spoken to creators about that pressure, that responsibility that weighs on you, which is why a lot of creators say, 'I need to take time off from my community,'\" Nguyen said. \"And it's OK for anyone to say that. That's what I would say to any creator.\"Just like a therapist might recommend you paint, or draw, or write music or poetry, you might want to try your own hand at meme creation.\"Meme is art, right? It's art from today that helps us empathize with one another about our personal experiences,\" Nguyen said. \"And because memes are democratic, anyone can create a meme. There are so many; I think memes do a better job of reflecting the human condition as a whole than the art of before, where it was only a reflection of a certain subset of the population.\"If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, Crisis Text Line provides free, confidential support 24\/7. Text CRISIS to 741741 to be connected to a crisis counselor. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. You can also call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255. Here is a list of international resources.If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting online.rainn.org.If you feel like you’d like to talk to someone about your eating behavior, call the National Eating Disorder Association’s helpline at 800-931-2237. You can also text “NEDA” to 741-741 to be connected with a trained volunteer at the Crisis Text Line or visit the nonprofit’s website for more information.","datePublished":"2021-08-04T13:56:18+00:00","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","url":"https:\/\/mashable.com\/","name":"Mashable","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/mashable.com\/images\/mashable-logomark.png","width":2400,"height":2400},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/mashable\/","https:\/\/twitter.com\/mashable","https:\/\/flipboard.com\/@Mashable","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/mashable\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/mashable"],"description":"Mashable is a global, multi-platform media and entertainment company.\n Powered by its own proprietary technology, Mashable is the go-to source for tech,\n digital culture and entertainment content for its dedicated and influential audience around the 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href="https://mashable.com/videos" class="block mt-4 font-bold" data-ga-click data-ga-label="$text">All Videos</a> </div> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <header class="max-w-7xl z-10 px-4 mt-8 text-primary-400 font-sans mx-auto"> <div class="flex flex-wrap subtitle-2 "> <div class="max-w-3xl"> <section style=""> <div class="text-gray-700 subtitle-2 text-uppercase" style=""> <a href="https://mashable.com" style="" aria-label="Navigate to the Home page">Home</a> <span class="ml-1">></span> <a class="ml-1 " href="/life" style="" aria-label="Navigate to the Life category">Life</a> <span class="ml-1">></span> <a class="ml-1 " href="/category/health-wellness" style="" aria-label="Navigate to the Health & Wellness category">Health & Wellness</a> <span class="ml-1">></span> <a class="ml-1 " href="/category/mental-health" style="" aria-label="Navigate to the Mental Health category">Mental Health</a> </div> </section> </div> </div> <h1 class="mt-4 header-100 leading-tight max-w-5xl ">Trauma memes are taking over the internet. Why that can be a good thing.</h1> <div class="mt-2 leading-tight md:leading-normal text-xl max-w-4xl ">Laugh when you can't cry.</div> <div class="w-full relative z-10 subtitle-2 mt-8 text-left md:flex md:flex-wrap md:items-baseline md:space-x-8 "> <div class="relative"> By <div class="inline-block md:relative" aria-describedby="flyout" x-data="{ showAuthor: false }" @mouseover="showAuthor = true" @mouseout="showAuthor = false" @click="showAuthor = !showAuthor" @click.outside="showAuthor = false"> <a href="/author/christianna-silva" class="underline-link">Christianna Silva</a> </div>  on <time datetime="Wed, 04 Aug 2021 13:56:18 +0000">August 4, 2021</time> </div> <div class="flex flex-initial content-start mt-4 text-base md:mt-0"> <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Ftrauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford" data-ga-element="social-share-link" data-ga-action="social_share_link" data-ga-position="1" data-ga-label="facebook" data-ga-click aria-label="Facebook Share" class="pr-3 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)"> <svg class="inline-block w-5 h-4 fill-current"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-facebook-f-brands"></use></svg> <span class="sr-only">Share on Facebook</span> </a> <a href="https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Ftrauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford&text=Trauma+memes+are+taking+over+the+internet.+Why+that+can+be+a+good+thing." data-ga-element="social-share-link" data-ga-action="social_share_link" data-ga-position="2" data-ga-label="twitter" data-ga-click aria-label="Twitter Share" class="px-3 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)"> <svg class="inline-block w-5 h-4 fill-current"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-twitter-brands"></use></svg> <span class="sr-only">Share on Twitter</span> </a> <a href="https://share.flipboard.com/bookmarklet/popout?v=2&url=https%3A%2F%2Fmashable.com%2Farticle%2Ftrauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford&title=Trauma+memes+are+taking+over+the+internet.+Why+that+can+be+a+good+thing." data-ga-element="social-share-link" data-ga-action="social_share_link" data-ga-position="3" data-ga-label="flipboard" data-ga-click aria-label="Flipboard Share" class="px-3 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)"> <svg class="inline-block w-5 h-4 fill-current"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-flipboard-brands"></use></svg> <span class="sr-only">Share on Flipboard</span> </a> </div> </div> <div class=""> </div> </header> <main class="justify-between items-stretch px-4 mx-auto lg:flex max-w-8xl"> <section class="flex-grow 2xl:pr-4" data-ga-module="content_body"> <div class="mx-auto -mx-4 max-w-5xl lg:px-8 lg:mx-auto"> <div class="max-w-7xl px-4 mt-8 text-primary-400 font-sans mx-auto mt-10"> <img class="w-full border border-gray-100" src="https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/02SYUFXsomCXh3RLFA0Ia5s/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1628085613.jpg" alt="Trauma memes are taking over the internet. Why that can be a good thing." width="1248" height="702" srcset="https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/02SYUFXsomCXh3RLFA0Ia5s/hero-image.fill.size_400x225.v1628085613.jpg 400w, https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/02SYUFXsomCXh3RLFA0Ia5s/hero-image.fill.size_800x450.v1628085613.jpg 800w, https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/articles/02SYUFXsomCXh3RLFA0Ia5s/hero-image.fill.size_1248x702.v1628085613.jpg 1600w" sizes="(max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px" > <div class="mt-2 leading-none text-left"> <span class="font-sans normal-case subtitle-2 text-gray-1000">Trauma memes are taking over the internet, and there's good reason.</span> <span class="font-sans text-gray-600 subtitle-2">Credit: INSTAGRAM @ATMFIEND/ ERIN TAYLOR</span> </div> </div> <div class="max-w-7xl px-4 mx-auto"> <hr class="border-top border-gray-100 mt-12"> </div> </div> <article id="article" data-autopogo class="mt-8 font-serif editor-content"> <p>Erin Taylor started creating memes on her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/atmfiend/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">Instagram page @atmfiend</a> in 2018 as a way for her to talk about her own trauma and "work out the shame" she had connected with those experiences.</p><p>"I really feel like shame kills people," Taylor told Mashable on the phone. "And for me, the more I talked about it, the less I was alone, because all of a sudden I had so many strangers reaching out being like, I also have this experience." </p><p>Taylor, a 25-year-old writer and artist whose upcoming book of poetry is titled <a href="https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/Bimboland/Erin-Taylor/9781576879917" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>Bimboland</u></a>, said she found that there was a need for herself and others to have a space to go to on the internet that wasn't just "haha this is funny," but was "ha ha this is funny, but it's kind of painful." </p><p>One of her posts <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CO0gVaKjr5a/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">shows someone using weed</a> to solve for, or cover up, "every trauma that exists in my body every illness every pain every anniversary of moments lost in memory." <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/COIX5IvD0IJ/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">Another incorporates a photo of naked legs in bed with an artist's background and text saying</a>: "I can feel myself slipping away from the certainty of tomorrows, I see now that it all ends."</p><p>Her posts differ greatly in their content, but always come back to one thing: <a href="https://www.thecut.com/2021/06/how-did-memes-turn-into-interactive-trauma-diaries.html" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">They are trauma memes</a>. She's not the only account posting memes that tackle issues like trauma, therapy, and healing: Look at Instagram accounts like <a href="https://www.instagram.com/69possums420/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">@69possums420</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/binchcity/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">@binchcity</a>, or <a href="https://www.instagram.com/manicpixiememequeen/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">@manicpixiememequeen</a>. </p><p>When Taylor creates these memes, she's digging into her own trauma and using art and humor as a way to communicate that. She says it can feel cathartic to create. But these memes can also be helpful and healing to the audience, Theresa Nguyen, the chief program officer at Mental Health America, told Mashable. </p><blockquote class="mx-auto instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRrTp4NjQV2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin-top: 1px; margin-bottom:1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);"> <div style="padding:16px;"> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CRrTp4NjQV2/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank" title="(opens in a new window)"> <div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;"> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;"></div> </div> </div> <div style="padding: 19% 0;"></div> <div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"> <svg width="50px" height="50px" viewbox="0 0 60 60" version="1.1" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"> <g stroke="none" stroke-width="1" fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd"> <g transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)" fill="#000000"> <g> <path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path> </g> </g> </g> </svg> </div> <div style="padding-top: 8px;"> <div class="text-sm" style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram </div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div> </blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> <p>"When a person suffers from trauma or a very sad and painful time in their life, there is something to say about the use of humor both to heal or deflect from the pain, or distract and deflect," Nguyen, a licensed clinical social worker who is also speaking from personal experience, told Mashable. "I use humor as a way to lean into moments of suffering while also using humor to help me feel OK."</p><p>She points out that what these memes are really doing — whether they involve a dark quote about eating disorders on top of a picture of a possum or a picture of famous women from the early aughts overlaid with depictions of a manic episode — is opening up the conversation to talk about trauma.</p><p>"Talking about trauma is always helpful," Nguyen said. "Whether you're doing it through a meme or you're doing it with a friend or with a therapist. When you experience a painful event that causes extreme anxiety, like we see in PTSD, there's a period of time where you want to avoid, but avoidance is a trap you don't necessarily want to fall into. And so a meme is a way of expression."</p><h2>In response to toxic positivity</h2><p>These memes actually popped up in direct response to an increase in a toxic positivity movement online, Amanda Brennan, a meme librarian and the senior director of trends at <a href="https://www.xxartists.com/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">XX Artists</a>, a digital marketing agency, told Mashable. That was right after the 2016 election in the U.S., when you may have seen posts popping up on Instagram and Twitter urging you to check in on your friends or reminding you to drink some water. On its face, these might not seem like toxic positivity — after all, you probably should go drink some water. But toxic positivity is the idea that all experiences can and should somehow be spun into the positive, even if those experiences are truly negative ones. Drinking water isn't a substitute for going to therapy, nor is it a solution for a traumatic experience or mental illness. </p><p>"I think by going through this time where positive and wholesome memes were really the fabric of the language, [we saw] a lot of discussion around toxic positivity," Brennan said. "And I think by acknowledging these methods of being positive in life, you also have to acknowledge, 'Hey, not everything is sunshine and roses.'"</p><p>Brennan said that pointing out the toxic positivity of the new post-2016 internet trend led to some more acknowledgement of the difficult parts in life overall. Memes were the perfect way to explore that because, she says, "I'm going to just laugh at them because, otherwise, it's too hard."</p><p><a href="https://mashable.com/article/meet-aiden-rata-meme-queen-of-depression-instagram" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body"><u>Aiden Arata</u></a> is another creator of memes and videos about mental health. Much of her work on her <a href="https://www.instagram.com/aidenarata/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>Instagram page @aidenarata</u></a> looks at the relatable absurdity of healing. Think: manifestation videos and positive thought generators, but she places you at the supermarket, or another mundane place you'd least expect to do this kind of work. And, while she didn't necessarily start creating the memes in response to an onslaught of toxic positivity online, she told Mashable that she "certainly doesn't believe" that toxic positivity is the solution to pain or the ideal response to trauma. She strives to acknowledge "the full spectrum of human experience as best we can on the internet."</p><p>"I consider myself an optimist, but I think it's actually a very hard and informed choice," Arata said. "It's not naive toxic positivity or <a href="https://mashable.com/article/motivational-shitposting-instagram" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">success manifestation</a>. I want to critique those models, and I want to unpack them and figure out why we're drawn to them and what we really are seeking." </p><h2>The downfalls</h2><p>Of course, using humor to cope with trauma can be considered a defense mechanism. And despite the fact that these memes deal directly with trauma and therapy and healing, they aren't actually a substitute for therapy. Creating memes and flipping through them can be cathartic, but it is not the same thing as speaking to a mental health professional. </p><section x-data="window.newsletter()" x-init="init()" class="relative p-8 my-12 mx-auto w-full max-w-3xl border md:p-12 md:my-16 border-secondary-300" data-ga-impression data-ga-category="newsletters" data-ga-module="incontent_nl_signup" data-ga-label="top-stories"> <div class="absolute px-2 font-sans text-lg font-bold leading-8 bg-white top-[-15px] left-[1.5rem] text-secondary-300 md:left-[2.5rem]"> Mashable Top Stories </div> <div x-show="!isSuccess" class="flex flex-col mx-auto font-sans"> <div class="font-bold leading-tight text-left md:leading-8 header-300">Stay connected with the hottest stories of the day and the latest entertainment news.</div> <div class="mt-2 leading-tight text-left bg-white md:mt-0 md:leading-8 header-600">Sign up for Mashable's Top Stories newsletter</div> <form x-ref="subscribeForm" class="flex flex-col mt-4 sm:flex-row sm:gap-x-4 text-primary-400 border-primary-400 focus-within:text-secondary-300" data-initial-lists="top-stories" x-on:submit.prevent="submit()"> <input type="email" x-model="email" class="py-4 px-4 w-full text-base font-normal leading-5 placeholder-gray-600 text-gray-600 bg-white border border-gray-200 sm:w-2/3 md:w-3/4" placeholder="Enter Email" aria-label="Email"> <input x-bind:value="selectedListsValue()" type="hidden" name="lists" value=""> <input type="hidden" name="source" value="incontent"> <input type="hidden" name="courierList" value="Mashable On-Site - Incontent"> <button :disabled="isLoading" type="submit" class="py-4 px-1 mt-4 w-full text-lg font-bold leading-5 text-center text-white sm:mt-0 sm:w-1/3 md:w-1/4 bg-secondary-300 btn-secondary subtitle-1"> <span x-cloak x-show="isLoading">Loading...</span> <span x-show="!isLoading">Sign Me Up</span> </button> </form> <div x-cloak x-show="isError" class="flex flex-row px-4 mt-4 text-red"> <svg class="inline-block w-4 h-4 leading-4 fill-current"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-exclamation-square"></use></svg> <div x-text="error" class="ml-1 font-bold leading-4 text-left subtitle-2"></div> </div> <div class="mt-4 font-sans text-xs leading-normal text-left subtitle-1"> By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our <a href="https://www.ziffdavis.com/terms-of-use" class="underline text-secondary-300 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)">Terms of Use</a> and <a href="https://www.ziffdavis.com/ztg-privacy-policy" class="underline text-secondary-300 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)">Privacy Policy</a>. </div> </div> <div x-cloak x-show="isSuccess" class="py-1 mx-auto max-w-xl text-center"> <svg class="inline-block w-24 h-20 leading-4 fill-current"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-mailbox-regular"></use></svg> <div class="header-300">Thanks for signing up!</div> </div> </section> <p>Further, as with any trend that takes over the internet, there's space for the negative along with the positive on a larger scale — especially when it comes to something as nuanced as mental health and trauma recovery. While many of these specific memes accounts show the gritty truth of mental health, trauma, and healing, some social media use can <a href="https://www.redbrick.me/does-social-media-romanticise-mental-health-issues/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">glamorize mental health and trauma</a> that isn't always helpful.</p><p>One of the downfalls is that this content can be triggering for people who aren't anticipating it. There isn't a sensitivity covering of the meme when it's shared on anyone else's page. Some original posters will have a trigger warning in their bios, but not all creators do. And it's rare that any individual post or meme or video will come with a trigger warning at all. That means these memes can pop up into anyone's timeline and have the potential to trigger them. </p><p>"I can't look at [trauma memes] too much, because then I will end up in a whole thinking about my trauma for a very long time," Brennan said. "You end up just looking at them because at first you think it's funny, and then all of a sudden it can be more triggering than you anticipate."</p><p>Beyond the potentially triggering content, as with any content you enjoy, these memes can also cause you to spend an increased amount of time on social media, which has the potential to have a negative effect on a users' mental health, depending on where and how they're spending their time online. And, the fact is, a lot of us are spending time online: <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/01/12/evolution-of-technology/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>According to the Pew Research Center</u></a>, 69 percent of adults and 81 percent of teens in the U.S. used social media in 2017. Significant time on the internet puts users at an "increased risk of feeling anxious, depressed, or ill over their social media use," <a href="https://www.mcleanhospital.org/essential/it-or-not-social-medias-affecting-your-mental-health#:~:text=According%20to%20the%20Pew%20Research,over%20their%20social%20media%20use." target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>according to the McLean Hospital</u></a>. </p><p>"I'm also keeping people's eyes on their screen and I'm playing into this attention economy that is sort of designed to exploit people and to make them feel bad sometimes," Arata said, adding that she spends time thinking about how her work could drive people to spend more time online. </p><blockquote class="mx-auto instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/CQeeDZ7jTdV/?utm_source=ig_embed&utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="12" style=" background:#FFF; 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font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"> View this post on Instagram </div> </div> <div style="padding: 12.5% 0;"></div> <div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;"> <div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;"></div> <div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);"></div> </div> <div style="margin-left: 8px;"> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)"></div> </div> <div style="margin-left: auto;"> <div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);"></div> <div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);"></div> <div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);"></div> </div> </div> </a> </div> </blockquote> <script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script> <p>But increased time on social media isn't always a bad thing. As we learned over the pandemic, the internet can do incredible things for our mental health and connectivity — it can help people learn new abilities, hang out with friends, make new friends, and even fall in love. So the same rule applies to whatever meme pages or influencers you are following on Instagram. It matters what you're looking at while you're online, and what you're missing out on in other parts of your life.</p><p>A 2020 study out of <a href="https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/features/social-media-positive-mental-health/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">the Lee Kum Sheung Center for Health and Happiness at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health</a> shows that using social media every day as part of your routine, and responding to others' content, is positively associated with social well-being, positive mental health, and self-rated health. However, checking apps "excessively out of fear of missing out, being disappointed about or feeling disconnected from friends when not logged into social media" has the opposite effect. </p><p>"It's not all bad or all good, like anything. In this particular context, with the sharing of trauma, I cannot see a downside," Nguyen said. "When you experience a traumatic event, there's so much shame associated with it. Certain handles, ones that talk about therapy but in the context of humor, I think it reduces the fear that someone has about maybe going to therapy and saying, you know what, it's totally OK to go sit with someone, a friend or their therapist and process whatever happened to you in a safe space. And that's going to be a good thing."</p><h2>Creating a community</h2><p>Moreover, some creators feel pressure to process complicated feelings in front of that community in real time. These creators aren't mental health professionals, but that also isn't the point. They aren't speaking from a place of professionalism, like a therapist would be. Instead, they're coming from the same angle as an artist or a filmmaker or a comedian. </p><p>"We are a community of people with lived experience," Nguyen said. "So we are the experts in our own lives." </p><p>It's similar to talking to friends about trauma, where often something is so wild and horrible that you cannot help but laugh at the absurdity of it all. Sharing these stories can also make people feel less alone or vulnerable in their trauma, which can help the healing process. </p><p>The memes are art that can feel very "casual" and almost "cavalier," Taylor said. "That's very purposeful... that's a part of the de-stigmatization of discussing trauma within society."</p><p>Carving out that space can be cathartic for the creator, too. Making art about trauma can help them work through their own past while helping others access the language to do that, too. </p><p>But burnout for these creators is real."I had to just take a step back and be like, 'OK, this is a thing that I do because I love doing it and it makes me feel good and it makes other people feel good, but it has to be on my terms and all my schedule,'" Arata said about creating boundaries with her own work. "Like I can't spend three days a week making little videos, but I don't know, I really like doing it."</p><q> Meme is art, right? </q> <p>"We've spoken to creators about that pressure, that responsibility that weighs on you, which is why a lot of creators say, 'I need to take time off from my community,'" Nguyen said. "And it's OK for anyone to say that. That's what I would say to any creator."</p><p>Just like a therapist might recommend you paint, or draw, or write music or poetry, you might want to try your own hand at meme creation.</p><p>"Meme is art, right? It's art from today that helps us empathize with one another about our personal experiences," Nguyen said. "And because memes are democratic, anyone can create a meme. There are so many; I think memes do a better job of reflecting the human condition as a whole than the art of before, where it was only a reflection of a certain subset of the population."</p><p>If you want to talk to someone or are experiencing suicidal thoughts, <a href="http://www.crisistextline.org/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">Crisis Text Line</a> provides free, confidential support 24/7. Text CRISIS to 741741 to be connected to a crisis counselor. Contact the <a href="https://www.nami.org/Find-Support/NAMI-HelpLine" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><em>NAMI HelpLine</em></a> at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m. ET, or email <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#4f262129200f212e222661203d28" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="0a63646c654a646b67632465786d">[email protected]</span></u></a>. You can also call the <a href="http://www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">National Suicide Prevention Lifeline</a> at 1-800-273-8255. Here is <a href="https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>a</u></a><a href="https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"> </a><a href="https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><em><u>list</u></em></a><a href="https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"> </a><a href="https://findahelpline.com/i/iasp" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>of international resources</u></a>.</p><p>If you have experienced sexual abuse, call the free, confidential National Sexual Assault hotline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673), or access the 24-7 help online by visiting <a href="https://ohl.rainn.org/online/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>online.rainn.org</u></a>.</p><p><em>If you feel like you’d like to talk to someone about your eating behavior, call the National Eating Disorder Association’s helpline at 800-931-2237. You can also text “NEDA” to 741-741 to be connected with a trained volunteer at the</em><a href="http://www.crisistextline.org/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"> </a><a href="http://www.crisistextline.org/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>Crisis Text Line</u></a> or visit the <a href="https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)"><u>nonprofit’s website</u></a> for more information.</p> <section class="mx-auto max-w-7xl"> <div class="flex flex-wrap mt-8 w-full font-sans subtitle-2 editor-content"> <p> <span class="mr-1.5 font-sans font-bold">Topics</span> <a class="underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 mr-1.5" href="https://mashable.com/category/health" aria-label="Navigate to the Health tag" data-ga-click data-ga-label="$text">Health</a> <a class="underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 mr-1.5" href="https://mashable.com/category/instagram" aria-label="Navigate to the Instagram tag" data-ga-click data-ga-label="$text">Instagram</a> <a class="underline-link hover:no-underline text-secondary-300 " href="https://mashable.com/category/memes" aria-label="Navigate to the Memes tag" data-ga-click data-ga-label="$text">Memes</a> </p> </div> </section> </article> <section class="mx-auto mt-12 max-w-3xl border-t border-gray-200 border-solid"> <div class="py-8 w-full"> <div class="flex flex-col items-center pb-8 border-b border-gray-200 md:flex-row md:space-x-8"> <div class="flex flex-col justify-center items-center space-y-4 text-center md:flex-row md:justify-start md:space-y-0 md:space-x-6 md:text-left"> <img class="w-24 h-24 rounded-full border border-gray-200" src="https://helios-i.mashable.com/imagery/defaults/fallback-thumbnail.fill.size_100x100.1.png" alt="Mashable Image" width="100" height="100" loading="lazy" > <div class="flex flex-col space-y-2"> <div class="w-full font-bold header-200">Christianna Silva</div> <div class="w-full text-xl font-bold">Senior Culture Reporter</div> </div> </div> <div class="flex flex-row justify-center pt-4 mt-8 w-full border-t border-gray-200 md:justify-start md:pt-0 md:pl-4 md:mt-0 md:w-auto md:border-t-0 md:border-l md:border-solid space-x4" style="height:75px;align-items:center;"> <a href="https://twitter.com/https://twitter.com/christianna_j" class="px-3 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)"> <svg class="inline-block w-5 h-5 fill-current md:h-4"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-twitter-brands"></use></svg> </a> <a href="https://www.instagram.com/christianna_j/" class="px-3 hover:text-primary-400" target="_blank" rel="noopener" title="(opens in a new window)"> <svg class="inline-block w-5 h-5 fill-current md:h-4"><use href="/images/icons/spritemap.svg#sprite-instagram-brands"></use></svg> </a> </div> </div> <div class="mx-0 max-w-3xl font-serif editor-content"> <p>Christianna Silva is a senior culture reporter covering social platforms and the creator economy, with a focus on the intersection of social media, politics, and the economic systems that govern us. Since joining Mashable in 2021, they have reported extensively on <a href="https://mashable.com/article/trauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">meme creators</a>, <a href="https://mashable.com/article/content-moderation-changing-language-fast" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">content moderation</a>, and <a href="https://mashable.com/article/strava-anxiety-joy-self-surveillance" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">the nature of</a> <a href="https://mashable.com/article/why-social-media-sucks-instagram-meta-backlash" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">online creation</a> <a href="https://mashable.com/article/productivity-aesthetics-scams" target="_self" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body">under capitalism</a>. </p><p>Before joining Mashable, they worked as an editor at NPR and MTV News, a reporter at Teen Vogue and VICE News, and as a stablehand at a mini-horse farm. You can follow her on Bluesky @<a href="http://christiannaj.bsky.social" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">christiannaj.bsky.social</a> and Instagram @<a href="https://www.instagram.com/christianna_j/" target="_blank" data-ga-click="1" data-ga-label="$text" data-ga-item="text-link" data-ga-module="content_body" title="(opens in a new window)">christianna_j</a>.</p> </div> </div> </section> <div class="mx-auto max-w-3xl" data-spotim-module="conversation" data-spot-id="sp_oHE136vk" data-post-id="96264" data-post-url="/article/trauma-memes-are-the-therapy-we-can-afford" data-article-tags="Mental Health, Life, Health & Wellness"> </div> <div class="mx-auto max-w-3xl" data-spotim-module="pitc" data-spot-id="sp_oHE136vk" data-article-tags="Mental Health, Life, Health & Wellness"></div> </section> <aside style="width:300px;" class="hidden flex-none 2xl:block" 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