Memes: What are we talking about?
Memes……Some may like it, some may withhold themselves? I would consider the second one, as understanding the nuances of reporting mental health symptoms requires some amount of detail. Reading an article on meme culture in the “Everyday Magazine” (2019), (the everydaymagazine.co.uk) United Kingdom made me think about the act of denial that sometimes becomes a major barrier in talking about mental health concerns, as society wants us to be “OK” all the time. To be “OK” according to the social norms, we go out of our way to stay at the midpoint of the normal curve and pretend of being not so much scattered from the average. Hearing this your eyebrows may get raised, your lips can be apart and your brain, thinks me to be an absolute “jerk”!! Well, you have every right to think and act according to your wishes. The freedom to act with acceptance bears a contrast with the freedom to act with denial. Moreover, this is the source of all troubles!
The word “Memes” was used first by Richard Dawkins in his book “The selfish Gene” in 1976. It talks about passing a behavior or culture from one individual to the other without non—genetic means by imitation. Not disapproving of its utility, Memes have been thought to be a useful way of starting a conversation or even behavior modification. Nevertheless, the latest example of Covid 19 and its memes for safety had an effect on most of the population as human beings, we struggle to survive and add behaviors to our repertoire if we feel threatened. This meme was not a meme that would reinforce us to open up before someone that would listen to us non –judgmentally but rather help us to deal with an infection that had a physical interface. Sadly, enough the mental health concerns came later and memes were not reinvented for the same because people took some time to think about what was happening to them; because of closed functioning without societal contact, which is unlikely for the human species in centuries past. The constant meme changing about the characteristics of the changing virus left us with unpredictable behavior changes. In addition, most of us did what was required of us. It did lead to conversations but somehow it reached a blind alley. Conversations like “Oh! you have a fever! Please maintain distance” had already started finding their way towards the unseen image of different forms of mental health concerns like adjusting to the normal cough and cold of neighbors and had no clue about how functioning at home without colleagues and peers would affect us. Initially, everyone was enjoying the togetherness with close ones but sometimes it became a major barrier for those who had difficult relationships within the family. Nonetheless, Covid safety memes did show that human behavior is constructive and we can do things that are good for us in the end then why not understand the goodness of opening up about mental health. Does that mean that we purposely restrict our constructive behavior?
Mental health is a very sensitive area where most of human beings need to gather a lot of courage to speak about it as every individual is always worried about the fact about how he will be evaluated. This may lead to seeing the meme, creating some private conversation in the brain that may or may not lead to desired outcomes, thus leading the individual to carry the burden of untreated mental health problems. According to Clubhouse International 2017) about 76 %– 85% of cases of mental illness went untreated in developing countries. Out of this, lesser serious cases were 35% to 50% in developing countries (https://pphr.princeton.edu/2017/04/30/untreated-mental-illnesses-the-causes-and-effects/). In return, the meme can lead to not-so-helpful behaviors like searching the net, self-diagnosing, and then self-treatment, which is in fact a big risk. What we really need to understand is that the power to act for betterment will not come from memes that may offer some relief. (The Guardian, July 2021). It will instead come from the power to observe “SELF” first. Memes could be just a temporary way but not a permanent solution. The article in the magazine talks about the memes as engaging but my question is what if I fail to understand, that how creation can help me to disengage and help me towards recovery. What if I do not want to spend much time understanding what the meme is trying to say, as I am too much busy with my disturbing thoughts?
With due respect, it is important to understand that a person who is suffering needs a non-judgmental evaluation for which we need professionals in the starting phase. Maybe in the middle phase when the individual is coming to terms with his/ her own problems then memes can be of help of trying to reach the “SELF” further trying to make necessary changes that would help her through the adaptation process amidst the constant active environmental stimuli. Sometimes, it may so happen that people can react to a meme that identifies with their mental thought “juggle “and can turn the table around.
However, the fact remains that as soon as we think about the “OK” factor, stigma enters our thought chains, and a barrier is witnessed. It is also important to understand that as memes can bring some enlightenment in the form of humor, it may run the risk of overlooking serious conversations, which ethically is only possible in a closed chamber that gives a feeling of being not evaluated and accepted as the individual is. Therefore, concise memes can start a conversation but not continue a therapeutic and treating conversation, which requires other sets of skills.
