40 Hilariously Accurate Memes About Mental Health, As Shared By This Instagram Page

Depression and anxiety are very common in the United States. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, around 21 million American adults have had at least one major depressive episode in their lives. That’s 8.3% of all adults in the country. Meanwhile, over 40 million (nearly 1 in 5) adults in the US have an anxiety disorder. 

‘How Mental’ is a project that’s dedicated to promoting mental health. “We are proud to call ourselves mental health advocates,” the team behind the project writes on Facebook. “There is no limit to the possibilities of things we can do to improve the world’s mental health & wellbeing,” they share on their website.

The project has 783k followers on Instagram, 1.5k on Twitter, and 8.4k on Facebook. ‘How Mental’ combines important social questions—taking care of one’s mental health—and spreads the word about it with the help of memes and spot-on social media posts. Many of them are very relatable.

George, the founder of ‘How Mental,’ has been working in the mental health sector for over a decade, building innovative technology to help people’s wellbeing.

“Then, about 6 years ago, a friend of mine approached me and said, 'George, I'm feeling really depressed. What should I do? Where should I go? Should I just go on this ancient-looking charity's website?' It stopped me in my tracks and made me realize that no matter how much support is out there, most people don't know where it is, don't know what's right for their mind, and don't want to engage with these old charities, they're too clinical, not relatable and make us feel 'less than'!” he told Bored Panda about the roots of the project.

“So I got angry about it! There was clearly a gap between people and mental health support. And so I started How Mental, initially on Instagram, now on our website www.howmental.com to bring together the world of mental health/wellbeing support in one place and make sure support is accessible to people around the world.”

However, George pointed out that accessibility is more than just having access to support: it’s about making mental health relatable, engaging, and even fun.

“Just like we go to the gym and try to stay healthy for our bodies, why not do the same for our minds? And thankfully, there are plenty of ways to take care of our mental health that don't involve breaking a sweat,” the founder of ‘How Mental’ told us via email.

Bored Panda was interested in getting George’s take on what can be done to raise awareness about mental health. He told us that everything starts by understanding and advocating for your own mental health.

“We all have a mind and everything around us (and inside us!) affects our wellbeing. Don't make this cause about other people just because they have a diagnosable condition. Everyone has their own unique 'mental condition,’ so start with you! What do you need for your wellbeing from your school, work, or government?”

He also suggested finding some humor in the topic as a whole. “Mental health, like anything else, can be pretty dark at times. We need to find the levity in it. Humor allows us to process difficult things. Yes, life can be tragic, but it's also pretty funny when we take a step back and that's equally valid.”

On top of that, George urged everyone to continuously take care of themselves and the people around them. “Put the effort in to ask people how they're doing and really mean it, community is an invaluable resource for ourselves and everyone else. And, when it comes to you, check in and take care of yourself every day, don't wait for things to get bad! We actually have an app called 'How Are We' that helps with tracking our feelings and taking care of our wellbeing together.”

According to the founder of ‘How Mental,’ some people still consider mental health issues taboo out of fear. “People think they might actually be 'crazy' or have the propensity to 'go crazy'. They're scared that they might have lost grip or may lose grip on reality so they prefer to shun it. People also prefer to present an air of strength and infallibility. That they could never be weak or vulnerable. It's an unhelpful kind of 'survival' mechanism, a kind of 'posturing,'” he explained to Bored Panda.

“The truth is, we are vulnerable, we all question our reality, we are all constantly changing our minds. In fact, it's healthy to do that. People stuck in a certain frame of mind may be more likely to suffer mentally,” he said.