Human emotions are a funny thing; you might be feeling ecstatic one moment and become completely devastated the next. If you've ever related to that Pedro Pascal meme where his laughing face changes to a crying face in a second, you're in the right place.
The Internet has been in an interesting collective state in the past few years. We know the world is in a pretty bad place, but all most of us can do is laugh and meme about it. The "Funny and Sad" community reflects this sentiment pretty well, and here we have the newest selection from them for you to feel happy, sad, and confused by.
More info: Reddit
#1 Why This Happened Our In Country?
Image credits: Comfortablejack
#2 It Is A Facepalm To %1 Billionaires
Image credits: Sensitive-Jury-1456
#3 Gay
Image credits: Whiz_Chicken
We might think that crying and laughter are two very different emotions. But think about it: haven't you laughed so hard that you started feeling tears fall down your face at least once in your life? Yale University psychologist Dr. Oriana R. Aragón and her team claim that it's the body's way to regulate itself.
"People may be restoring emotional equilibrium with these expressions," she explained. "They seem to take place when people are overwhelmed with strong positive emotions, and people who do this seem to recover better from those strong emotions."
#4 The 1% Has To Go
Image credits: Sensitive-Jury-1456
#5 The Wage Gap Has Been
Image credits: Sensitive-Jury-1456
#6 The Dad Had No Reason To Be Angry - It's The Truth
Image credits: Green____cat
But this list is hardly about crying from laughter, is it? It's more about things that make us feel so desperate and helpless that we feel that all we can do is cry. Sometimes, we use laughter and humor to deflect so that we don't feel as much empathy.
As psychoanalyst and author of To Heal a Wounded Heart Pilar Jennings explains, sometimes laughter is the body's way of saying "I can't deal with this." If we allow ourselves to empathize with the person or the problem on a deeper level, we might open ourselves up to the same emotion. Thus, humor acts like a protective shield.
#7 Just Like Religion Shouldn’t Play A Factor As Well
Image credits: NeatBi
#8 Well Said
Image credits: ColdCali1
#9 This Is Exactly What It Feels Like
Image credits: BarbieTheeStallion
People also laugh when they're anxious or uncomfortable. Researchers speculate that it's how we relax in stressful situations, similar to laughter's function when we see something funny. Margaret Clark, professor of psychology at Yale University and co-author of the study "Dimorphous Expressions of Positive Emotion", also hypothesizes that it's how we let other people know that we need help to down-regulate our nervousness.
#10 Makes You Think
Image credits: Green____cat
#11 This
Image credits: SophiaLuuna
#12 Class Solidarity Now
Image credits: CapitanJackSparow-33
The "Funny and Sad" subreddit also fits in pretty well with the type of humor millennials enjoy. When we think about the TV shows, movies, and other media that we're consuming at the moment, it's hard not to notice how dark and absurd some of it is. In her article for The Guardian "'Horrifyingly absurd': how did millennial comedy get so surreal?" Rachel Aroesti points to shows like Rick and Morty, The Good Place, and BoJack Horseman.
#13 People Would Really Say That
Image credits: Green____cat
#14 Wanting Or Being Able To Is The Issue
Image credits: Junior_guy87
#15 No Guys, Capitalism Works I Swear
Image credits: Sensitive-Jury-1456
Aroesti seeks to answer the question "Why is millennial humor so weird?" and suggests that it reflects the sentiments of many young people that the world just doesn't make sense anymore. In 2017, The Washington Post offered another reason: we're becoming more rootless with the delay of marriage, kids, and home ownership, and disillusion with religion, so all that gets reflected in the comedy and the content online that we consume.
#16 Interesting
Image credits: BarronGreen89
#17 So Controversial
Image credits: Sensitive-Jury-1456
#18 Democracy
Image credits: I_Always_Have_To_Poo
Aroesti calls the shows she listed "sadcoms" and describes them as "a strain of comedy-drama shuddering under the weight of personal hardship and the idea that actual jokes are largely unnecessary." This type of humor, according to her, pierces the panic-inducing online news cycle and gives us at least some reprieve from the world going to bits.
#19 Faith, Lmfao
Image credits: Devils_negotiator
#20 "F**k You, I Got Mine!"
Image credits: MelanieWalmartinez
#21 Funny
Image credits: Resident_Fan_6410
Gen Z, in turn, amp up their attraction to dark humor by laughing at their own trauma and hardships. Much of Gen Z's humor reflects their struggles with mental health conditions and the dystopic state of the world. Some say that Gen Z is the most honest generation yet: they call it as they see it.
#22 Wtf
Image credits: CuteAngryGirl
#23 Blaming Us For The World They Created
Image credits: sapphirestar411
#24 Lmfao
Image credits: Devils_negotiator
One young person told the Bipolar and Depression Support Alliance that nihilism is the go-to response for this generation because they don't see adults and politicians taking action to solve societal problems like climate change, school shootings, socioeconomic inequality, and many others.
#25 That Is A Fact
Image credits: Isla_RC
#26 This Actually Happened To You?
Image credits: John_1992_funny
#27 Let's That Sink In Already
Image credits: Alone-Translator-155
Experts say that Gen Z is the generation that grew up with many stressful global incidents and the internet. This cocktail brewed an army of nihilistic, absurd humor-loving kids. Columnist Elise Sanders even likened Gen Z to the Dadaist movement, because they, too, reject the logic and restrictions of capitalist societies.
#28 This Is Just Sad
Image credits: yeezee93
#29 Capitalism Cannot Survive Without Poverty
Image credits: joker0z0
#30 Women Are Humans, Really?
Image credits: Devils_negotiator
If you, too, have a nihilistic streak, you probably enjoyed the pics on this list. Let us know which were your favorites by upvoting the best to the very top. And if you'd like to see some more, check out our previous articles with posts from the "Funny and Sad" subreddit here, here, and here!
#31 Amen
Image credits: Robyn_SL
#32 Pls, Why Is The World So Bad
Image credits: Devils_negotiator
#33 Broke Broken Bro-Can’t
Image credits: napmelody
#34 Funny And Sad
Image credits: CoolAid876
#35 I Think This Fits Well Here
Image credits: karaloveskate
#36 Nintendo
Image credits: Green____cat
#37 Still Relevant 90's Joke
Image credits: Daniel_DVf
#38 Well, It's True Isn't?
Image credits: sultanhobbs
#39 My Type Of Woman
Image credits: Devils_negotiator
#40 Americans Be Like: Universal Healthcare?
Image credits: hateful_brianna
#41 Clever Comeback
Image credits: snowpie92
#42 No Way
Image credits: To_Be_Rich_Lady
#43 Probably
Image credits: Green____cat
#44 The Excuses Used Against Us Are Ridiculous!
Image credits: sapphirestar411
#45 Fun Fact
Image credits: beautifulregularity
#46 Middle Class Died
Image credits: Iris_DA
#47 Eh, They’ll Figure It Out
Image credits: ThisIsMyPassword100
#48 We're Married, I Swear
Image credits: JosieMabel
#49 Where You Swipe Left Right Or Up
Image credits: Sourcarrotpie
#50 Sad Indeed
Image credits: Lilly_AR
