Mental illness is not to be joked about, but alcoholism is fun, shareable content
While you’re stirring up a social media sob fest shit storm regarding Christmas sweaters that made a joke of the acronym “OCD,” millions of alcoholics, both still suffering and actively recovering, are forcibly exposed to a daily endless slew of memes and blog posts labeling the disease of alcoholism as “fun” and “quirky.”
Insensitivity surrounding mental illness is consistently brought to the forefront by individuals who have been personally offended. Rants and outcries are heard loud and clear, and shared widely, when they pertain to ailments like anxiety, depression, and obsessive-compulsive disorder being depicted in a jokey manner or viewed as not severe. Millennial women and men flock to their keyboards to raise Hell, whether it stems from self-centered personal gain or a genuine desire to assist in shifting a stigma for the benefit of millions. Reasoning behind the voiced concern is of no importance. The point is this widespread fight against trivializing mental health issues is present and growing.
The disease of alcoholism, on the other hand, remains an absolute joke to most who aren’t suffering from it. Facebook and other social media feeds are ridden with memes and articles that steadily make light of heavy drinking, escapism through alcohol, reliance upon booze, and preoccupation with the stuff. A story made rounds this week about a woman who turned her fridge’s water dispenser into a wine dispenser. Millions shared various publications’ reports, referring to it as “goals,” and playfully likening themselves to the woman of discussion. News outlets didn’t come forth to call her behavior a problem or alcoholic tendency. Instead they marked it genius, knowing the story would cultivate thousands of shares, because finding a way to drink more wine more quickly is largely considered funny and relatable.
That’s precisely what content creators and publications want us to think of heavy drinking as: Relatable. We live in a society that has normalized boozing and party culture. This happened way before the rise of the Internet, but social media preys upon the notion that binge drinking and working hard throughout the week with a drink in mind is how everyone lives. Those who are capable of drinking normally likely don’t think much of the “I need a beer…or 10!” style content. In fact, many echo such sentiments, as evidenced by the popularity of drinking-related memes and articles. For those of us who can’t drink like normal people, these seemingly harmless jokes are reminiscent of the destructive past that led us to where we are.
The plethora of “low-key alcoholism is quirky and relatable” content won’t be dying down any time soon. After all, drinking heavily to escape the pain of reality or be social is embedded into our culture. It’s viewed as commonplace behavior; therefore not regarded as a potential problem to the masses.
Mental illness is a different story. There’s no amount of anxiety or depression that’s deemed healthy, nor a good time. Warranted outrage arises when these diseases are re-framed to be comical or not a deadly issue. Despite alcohol being the deadliest of substances, its trivialization will never conjure the same sweeping repulsion. Booze destroys lives and families. It’s a poison and catalyst of sickness for many who possess the alcoholic allergy. Those with the allergy find themselves unable to manage their lives while the juice is still an active factor. With that being said, it’s also a means of relaxation or standard part of socialization for the millions of folks who don’t have a dependence or allergy. For that reason, painting a comedic portrait of alcoholism may never receive the perturbed public opinion that emerges when mental health issues are the butt of a joke or passed off as relatable humor.
Alcoholism, anxiety, obsessive compulsiveness, and depression are all sicknesses. They’re not necessarily exclusive, and usually tend not to be. Despite all falling under the umbrella of deep-seeded sickness, alcoholism seems to be the only fair game disease within the world of shareable online comedy. I’m not urging for a stop to your “I require a wine glass the size of a toilet” cries for social media appeal. I’m merely asking you to consider how making drunk memes your entire online presence might affect someone who has dedicated their life to actively moving forward from the addiction which created nothing but misery for them. For people like myself who chose alcohol recovery to be of paramount importance in life, it’s a bit unsettling to log onto social media apps and get bombarded with content about how being a drunk mess is enjoyable and engaging. At the very least, turning excessive alcohol consumption into your quirk isn’t the best look.
