I’ve followed conversations and content on the r/Anxiety subreddit for years. It has always intrigued me how many top posts are meme-related.

It really shouldn’t be a surprise. After all, Reddit is the internet capital of memes. Reddit is a social network and, by nature, memes are the most spreadable content in a network.

Nonetheless, it strikes me as important that the most up-voted and commented-upon content are image-based memes. For whatever reason, people like anxiety memes, and what’s more, they seem to help.

Memes are typically thought of as funny. Though they often are, humor is just one factor that can fuel the spread of a meme. The larger dynamic at play is that memes have a certain insider quality. It makes sense that an experience like anxiety, which can be difficult to put into words, is fertile ground for meming.

In addition to helping people, anxiety memes spread awareness for mental health issues. It’s not just Reddit anymore, anxiety memes can be found all over the web. Memes, in general, can be frivolous, absurd, or hurtful, but in this case, memes are doing good.

As the r/Anxiety community has grown, it seems that the moderators are steering the content more toward text-based posts. That’s a good thing for many reasons, but hopefully, memes won’t disappear from the top posts altogether.

Below is a collection of the most shared anxiety memes from all around the web.

If you have see an anxiety meme that particularly resonates with you, add it in the comments for other readers. I will update this this list periodically.

Calming Anxiety Memes





Funny Anxiety Memes





Poignant Anxiety Memes





Encouraging Anxiety Memes





Reddit has great mental health communities and resources. I recommend checking out r/Anxiety if you have not already.