Somehow, I intrinsically embodied that Shakespearean concept of comic relief about a decade before I ever learned there was indeed a term for that.
Comic relief was my bread and butter. There was always a lot of tension in my household growing up. Screaming and crying was the playlist of my childhood. Funnily enough, I learned early on if I was silly or told a joke — or better yet, became the butt of the joke — the tension shifted away from my younger siblings and onto myself. I did everything I could to protect them, but then of course the attention and screaming targeted in on me. But I could handle it. I absorbed the bulk of the abuse to spare them.
I don't know how I knew what to do and say at such a young age, but I was cast as the scapegoat, the problem child, the class clown. My natural comedic nature was bred of survival in a toxic and dysfunctional family unit.
Whenever anyone told me how funny I was, I'd toss my hair over my shoulder and say "thanks, it's all the trauma" — and then laugh. Most people uncomfortably laughed back, not knowing what to make of me.
Now, at 33 years old, I am truly one of the funniest people you'll meet. And for better or worse, it is the trauma that made me this way. Humor is and always has been my favorite coping mechanism. It's why so many of my designs at Self-Care Shirts have that tangible trauma-humor angle.
But there's a difference between making fun of mental health and laughing through it. These funny mental health shirts are the second kind — honest, self-aware, and sometimes a little too close to home.
Something I've learned on my healing journey is that so many more of us grew up in dysfunctional or abusive homes than those who didn't. When you shop at Self-Care Shirts, you're in good company.
Here are 13 of my favorites — hand-drawn and created from my real, lived experience of going through it.
The Therapy Humor Ones
Make Your Therapist Proud — This was actually the very first design I drew for myself, years before I ever dreamt of having my own brand. I made it for me and me alone, printed it on a shirt, and wore it to every Wednesday therapy session. Of course we should aim to make ourselves proud — but when I was just starting back up in therapy, I didn't even like myself, let alone feel proud of myself. Striving to make my therapist proud eventually taught me how to be proud of myself.
My Therapist Knows All Your Names — This one came about on a day I was feeling silly, thinking "oh, the things my therapist knows." It's a funny, tongue-in-cheek design — essentially a warning to anyone I encountered while wearing it. If they acted up, my therapist was sure to hear all about it. A little too relatable.
Therapy Girly — This one is identity-driven. I have genuinely made therapy my whole personality. I've read more psychology books than my own therapist — and he's routinely impressed. Therapy has helped me heal through a rough three decades, and I am proud to be a self-proclaimed Therapy Girly.
I Go to Therapy to Deal With the People in My Life Who Don't Go to Therapy — Oddly enough, this design was drawn during an emergency trip to the ER with my now-husband. Waiting rooms are no joke. The inspiration was very much Mean Girls energy — Burn Book style. I like to think I happened to draw it on a Wednesday.
The Anxiety and Overthinking Ones
My Anxiety Has Anxiety — This design says it all. There are most days I wake up and my body is already overwhelmed and paralyzed. Why? I couldn't tell you. It could be anticipating having to drive somewhere, a deadline approaching, or it could just be a Tuesday. This funny mental health shirt is for anyone who can relate to their anxiety having its own anxiety. Hey — if we don't laugh, we'll cry, right?
Self-Aware & Slightly Unhinged — This one tells it like it is. For anyone who is maybe a bit too self-aware — crippled with anxiety about how everyone else is perceiving them — who lays in bed at night having finally thought of the perfect thing they should have said, or over-analyzing what someone meant by that. You aren't alone, and you are in very good company.
Neurospicy & Thriving (Mostly) — As someone with AUDHD, Narcolepsy, Tourette's Syndrome and way too many more to list here, I can confirm: I am neurospicy. But also I am thriving. At least I'm trying my best. If you also have some neurospiciness, this shirt may be exactly what your wardrobe is missing.
I Can't Even Think Straight — I came out to friends and family as bisexual a while back, and while my grandmother may think I'm just confused, I have finally accepted me for me — waviness and all. It made me laugh designing this one, making the text wavy. It's funny because it's also true.
The Darkly Funny Ones
I've Got 99 Problems and They All Stem From Childhood — This one gets a lot of wear in my day-to-day. The funniest jokes always have some element of truth in them. And the more I unpack in therapy, the more I see how much my childhood really messed me up. Therapists will definitely understand this one. Our core beliefs, our whole sense of self, our attachment style — everything is formed during childhood. Most of our problems can be traced back to that one time when we were five.
Everything Is Fine — It most certainly is not fine. IYKYK. And it's probably going to get a whole lot worse before it gets better. The whole world feels like a dumpster on fire these days, and sometimes all we can do is laugh uncomfortably and whisper to ourselves: this is fine, everything's fine.
Got Trauma? — This is probably my favorite design despite how simple it is. I think that's what makes it so profound. Modeled after the Got Milk? campaign, "Got Trauma?" is a much more relatable saying to wear these days. It's darkly humorous — but that's what happens when you've lived through real trauma and developed a sharp sense of humor. Not everyone will get it. Those who do absolutely will.
I Unpack Trauma Like It's Amazon Prime — Coming off a brief shopping addiction (thanks, Bezos), this one is funny because it's deeply relatable. Every Wednesday I am unpacking childhood trauma in therapy, and I do it with the skill and fervor of a woman with an Amazon shopping problem.
Trauma Queen — This one just cracks me up. I'm not making light of the very real and severe trauma I've endured — but when you go through so much, you also spend a long time healing from it. I've embraced the crown. I am proudly a Trauma Queen. Heavy is the head that wears it, and this crown was earned. 👑
All this to say — just as healing isn't linear, it doesn't always have to be serious. Humor is a completely valid coping mechanism, and science actually backs this up. These funny mental health shirts all exist because at some point — and even now — I have needed them myself.
If any of these made you laugh, or cry a little, that's probably the one for you.
👉 Shop all funny mental health shirts at Self-Care Shirts →
10% of proceeds donated to 988 and The Trevor Project.
