Bored Panda got in touch with the person behind PTSD.eezenuts and they were kind enough to answer some of our questions. Firstly, we wanted to hear why they made a page dedicated to mental health memes. “I started PTSD.eezenuts right in the thick of Quarantine. The “early Covid era” was already a tough, dark and devastating time that happened to coincide with some incredibly intense issues that were arising in my personal life.”

“As someone who already lives and struggles with the effects of PTSD, I was finding it harder and harder to cope with the isolation, fear, depression and uncertainty. I found that memes, dumb as it may sound, were an increasingly comforting means of escape. I had been posting two memes per day on my personal stories and was getting more and more views, reactions and generally positive responses to them,” they shared.

“People kept messaging me to say that my stories were a bright spot in their day, or that they looked forward to it like “their favorite show,” and curating those two posts everyday was such a joyful escape for me; it had become the thing I looked forward to the most. I felt almost embarrassed about how much I liked memes and meme pages, but I did (and, of course, still do!) and had been wanting for the longest time to make one of my own.”

“I had this name, “PTSD.eezenuts” that kept coming into my head and just decided to go for it one day. I think of it almost like a form of therapy, it’s definitely catharsis- a fun way to take the power back. I joke (with some sincerity) that the more actively I’m posting, the worse my mental health is; I just really find it healing and am so grateful to have this outlet. Running this page has definitely saved me in some ways,” they shared with Bored Panda.

We also wanted to hear their opinion on what helps the page remain so popular with its almost one-hundred-thousand followers. “I think my page is popular for all the same reasons that I enjoy posting on it; the main one of course being that laughter is healing. It’s a mini escape from some of the struggle and darkness of the world around us, but not in a way that denies it- more like an irreverent embrace.”

“Another big reason, and the one I find most poignant, is that the acceptance and acknowledgement of people’s struggles with mental health is relatively new. For most of human history we’ve had to hide it; we’ve been made to feel ashamed, othered, different and bad, but recently there’s been this sort of mental health revolution where it’s become increasingly acceptable and even encouraged to be vocal about your struggles.”

“I think one of the best and most fascinating things that’s come out of this is the realization that it’s not just a small group of sad, defective little weirdos skulking in the shadows, it’s everyone. There really is no “normal” in the traditional sense and most people are struggling with their mental health to some degree. It’s not looked down upon so much anymore as a weakness or a defect or a dirty little secret. I think the people who like my page like it because it's an embodiment and celebration of that,” they shared.

“It’s not denying the seriousness of what people go through, more so just reframing how we think about it, taking a little of the sting out and providing a place where you can say, “Yeah I hurt and what of it.” It’s irreverent, it’s stupid, it’s funny- it’s dumb little memes about depression and sex and honestly it’s just fun. My hope is that people can laugh, take things a little less seriously, feel seen and understood and maybe even feel a bit better.“

So we wanted to know if they had any parting thoughts on mental health memes and anything in between. “The only thing I’d like to add is to just say, genuinely, thank you. Thank you to everybody, who follows, likes, supports and just interacts with PTSD.eezenuts in any way. It’s so fun for me to run this page and I’m so humbled that people like it and am grateful to any and everyone who allows me to do this.”

“If you like the page, or even if you hate it, and would like to check out my merch, you can find it online.” They also recommend getting in touch if you would want to contribute something. “I’m also always taking merch ideas and design suggestions so if you have any, I’d love to hear them- just hop in the dm’s!”