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Isn't it awesome that we live in an age when going to therapy isn't as frowned upon as it was, for example, for Tony Soprano?

I'll go out on a limb and say that the internet culture has contributed to mental health awareness too.

There are countless online discussions where people not only share their struggles but also relate to each other, letting the other person know that their feelings are valid and offering suggestions on what they could do to make everything a little easier to bear.

And let's not forget the ultimate tool used for social normalization—humor; laughing at yourself and with others can remedy even some of the biggest wounds.

'Therapy Memes Group' is a Facebook community that invites us to do just that. Let's try!

However, as the public perception of therapy changes, new challenges are arising. A 2022 study from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that 6 in 10 psychologists "no longer have openings for new patients."

The shortage comes as demand for therapy soars: since the beginning of the pandemic, about three-quarters of practitioners have seen their waiting lists grow.

In the same period, almost 80% of practitioners reported an increase in patients with anxiety disorders and 66% have seen an increase in those needing treatment for depression.

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Edward Finger Hands
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

And you’d think having all 3 would cancel them out…instead I end up standing in my kitchen turning in circles like a broken sim

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“I started my private practice just before Covid hit, and it was certainly filling up then,” Dr. Jennifer Reid, a psychiatrist, writer, and podcast host in Philadelphia, told The Guardian. “But the numbers have exponentially risen since that time.”

Reid even stopped advertising her practice on sites like Psychology Today and other places where people can find therapists. There's simply no need now.

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Being an MD who worked as a psychiatrist and suffering from 3 of the above mentioned myself I can only say... it's true. No freaking other way that we know of, and it's frustrating the hell out of me.

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Schlay van Gay
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Removed "the chair" when remodeling my bedroom to avoid the pile of clothes. Let me introduce: "the floor".

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Reid focuses on anxiety and insomnia, which have been “major players” in the pandemic. According to her, people with anxiety, phobias or obsessive-compulsive disorder related to germs had particular trouble. Then there were the isolation and doomscrolling.

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Now, she noticed, people are struggling to re-enter the world. "People are finding they're having anxiety trying to re-engage in social settings in situations that were previously not as safe", she said. “Now they’re having to kind of retrain their brains.”

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Chihuahua Mama
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Even great parents give you an awful lot of terrible gifts you just can't seem to get rid of

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Reid said people often may need to return to their primary care doctor for a period of time, “or they just end up going without and waiting on waitlists, unfortunately”.

The APA study also found that the average psychologist reported being contacted by 15 potential patients every month.

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Reid, who combines therapy and medical approaches, said she generally has space for about one new patient every few weeks.

To manage the growing demand, Reid works with a platform for Philadelphia therapists that allows them to see each other's availability. “We really feel a sense of responsibility to try and get patients some good options if we can, if we’re not able to see them,” she said.

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Seeking a therapist through word of mouth – asking friends or calling practitioners even if they’re fully booked – is a good first step. The increasing use of telehealth may also help, particularly under programs such as PsyPact, a legal framework that allows practitioners to work in multiple states. But remember that you can also simultaneously express yourself through memes!

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Jesse
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

me sharing that one time i hit my head and my mother yelled at me for getting blood on the table instead of helping me be like

Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I'm very much trying not to be that parent. Looking good so far, but she's only 20 months old

Aroace tiger (she/they/he)
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I bet ur gonna be amazing and remember all u can try ur best and that that's literally the best thing u can do for ur daughter :)

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Where’s The Shovel?
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yes, I hear you. When I laughingly tell tales of my youth where it was normal for my parents to go out and leave us all alone and unsupervised, it's surprising we never burned down the house, we always tried to make toffee or fudge for some bizarre reason (basically it was burnt sugar). Aah the 70's...

Old Roadie
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Discovered early on that pulling up dead grass left a nice dirt clod, which made the grass aerodynamic ... so we lobbed them at each other. Then we discovered aerodynamic dead grass + fire. Ohh boy. INCOMING! ☄️ It's a wonder Mom let us grow up in recognizable life forms.

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Mindghost
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

A woman at work told us how she had not enough food at home and couldn't eat lunch at school when she was young and thought it was very funny. Nobody else did.

foxgirl158
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me but my mom got mad at me for freaking out that I made Allstate in my speech competition and when I said "sorry, I'm excited" went "yeah it's cool but you have to miss school". Its literally the most selective thing in my state AND this is my first year in the program. I just wish she would be proud of me.

P.A. Yearsley
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Ah yes. I learned a long time ago that I should never mention my family. It's always dark.

A girl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I get that from my got a concussion story. I'm the rare bird that got sober on a vacation in Las Vegas. There's a reason the carpet is so hideous in the casinos.

JPotts
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me telling a childhood story, and at the end someone asks "was that real, or made up?"

Sandra Gleeson
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My father pointing a gun at me and me stupidly saying, "I dare you".......felt that sucker whizz right past my ear....ah fun times

celeste hall
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

you should see the looks i get when I say " I was 5 when i was taught to make my first explosive" or my sister "I was 7 when dad gave me chloroform to clean my oil paint brushes with.

KnightOwl
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I once told a bunch of my friends about the time when I was 5 and fell off my bunk beds. I landed on top of a scooter and a toy box, bursting my lip and nose and cutting my eyebrow opened really badly, my mum screamed at me for 'being an idiot because only an idiot would fall out of bed' my stepdad eventually forced her to take me to hospital. She refused to pay for a taxi and made me walk there 'as punishment' it was the middle of the night, in winter, in about 3ft of snow and I was only wearing my pyjamas and was covered in blood. The hospital was roughly 3 miles away, I got a bunch of stitches then was made to walk home again. My friends were horrified but i just shrugged, all my childhood stories are like this.

Audra Sisler
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me as a young kid choking on a cherry tomato,my mom did the heimlich, got it out, landed on floor and she told me to pick it up and eat it😳😳😳I threw it away

the_harbringer_of_doom
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

me telling my bestie about the time i had no friends and still have abandonment issues

Sherman
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Biiiiiiitch.... this happened to me so much growing up... but I also have horrible social anxiety so on top of just spewing TMI when I'm nervous I have that extra layer of being scared that I'm going to say something that's going to make ppl uncomfortable... but I can't shut up and my brain likes to sabotage me!.... it's a catch 22!

miameows
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

"if it's not bleeding, just stay outside" why are Gen X so traumatized by taking sick days?? lol

Kyndal T
Community Member
1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I feel this. I'm still learning that all my memories are bad things and not funny. One tale at a time. Usually followed by pity or curiosity or both. I'm cool with it.

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But even in Poland you can't stop playing this out in your head over and over...

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

As your brain is inside your head, yeah, everything related to it is 'only in your head'

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Artsy Bookworm
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Went on a wine tour yesterday and the guide explained how it's champagne only if it is from the town Champagne. It was destiny that made me open this post!

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fair_weather_rose
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

But... but I made a list! See, it's a list with all the stuff I need/want to do today, and it's written in purple pen, which is my favorite pen to write in even though blue is my favorite color, but sometimes I tell people my favorite color is red or black, because those are the colors I wear the most, but I actually really like silver, but I don't think I have any silver clothes... wait, what was I talking about?

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Jill
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Umm...this sounds like me....hides in corner. Oh, I mean latibulate!

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yeah brain, you should really wait for my consent before putting your thoughts in my head!

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#53

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Katie Lutesinger
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I used to be a lot more resigned about unacceptable things I can't change, but now I'm really f*****g angry.

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Dawn Marie
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I use to be an extrovert. I taught public school for 25 years. Took early retirement to fight cancer. Now, I don't want to leave the house, don't want to deal with people. What happened to common kindness and goodness? Where went the days that you didn't think twice about helping your neighbor? Does it now cost to give of your time to your those less fortunate? Is family no longer the most important thing?

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Kali Chaos
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My fiance has a degree in psychology and he talks me through some things when I have anxiety attacks and whatnot. But it's irresponsible and very much not recommended to have a biased person treat you. It's not fair to either person.

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Sad Quokka
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha, I've got this on one of my leaflets. I used to have medication for acne and it was such a severe medicine it said that one of the side effects 1/100000 people actually committed suicide. 1/100 people got depression. It was the closest I've ever been to depression and I always used to laugh it off. I've also had back pain ever since. Needless to say I wasn't on it for long

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

About how I felt when working as a psychiatrist. The work made me so sick I had to switch to another field

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Feathered Dinosaur
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1 year ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That's bullshît, you have to diagnose them first before you can decide on the right therapy

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