So much negativity on the internet, and even Reddit has it’s subreddits that mock negativity, like awfuleverything, wewantplates, antiMLM, facepalm, menwritingwomen, idiotsincars and insanepeoplefacebook. Even interesting subs like relationships or stepparents are full of stories of how ungodly life is. It’s momentarily fun to browse these, but they do eat your brain, until negativity is all that you can see.
So here I think are some mentally healthy* subreddits where I love to spend my upvotes:
Bropill
Bropill is an answer to the toxic masculinity that causes insecurity in men, that causes them to numb their feelings. I discovered this somehow after watching Guante‘s poetry reading “Ten responses to the phrase ‘Man up’“, one of the responses being: “I want to be free, to express myself. I want to have meaningful, emotional relationships with my brothers. I want to be weak sometimes. I want to be strong in a way that isn’t about physical power or dominance. I want to talk to my son about something other than sports. I want to be who I am.” The content shared on Bropill follows that view.
Gates open, come on in.
This subreddit is the opposite of sharing an opinion or something you like and having it misinterpreted and critizised (something very common on the internet). It’s more clever than wholesome (which is also great) because it’s not just happiness, it’s also freedom. Freedom for wear, listen or like whatever you want.
Awwducational
Reddit’s aww is super popular, but this is like an educational version of that. Learn about the only non-human primates who are monogamous, or that cows also celebrate their “eureka” moments.
Social skills
How to deal with shyness or other people being rude. This two million members strong sub is a place where people are open and vulnerable and understanding, with thoughtful questions such as “Does anyone else oscillate between wanting to be invisible and wishing they weren’t so lonely“.
Entrepreneur
Just looking at the top posts, there’s someone calling out the stupidity of the ‘hustle movement’, and there’s an analysis of Lil Nas X‘ success. And today there’s a very honest and educational post “My app scaled to 46,000 users two weeks after launch and made $0. Lessons learned.” Despite the many posts on how to make money quickly with dropshipping, call me a fan.
*In fact, ScienceAlert wrote about a trio of subreddits here (depression, bipolar, schizophrenia), and said they reading these subreddits actually increased its readers’ mental health — the same for alcoholics reading the subreddit stopdrinking, as reported by the Washington Post.