Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris of @MyTherapistSays Speak Up On Social Media, Dating, Therapy
Instagram meme accounts have grown in popularity significantly since 2014. In fact, they’ve become such a big part of social media that major brands rely on them for online advertising, and many of the accounts have grown into businesses. The trick to running a successful one (besides having a wicked sense of humor) is to stay original, something the women of @MyTherapistSays have developed an expertise in.
Lola Tash and Nicole Argiris, founders of the MyTherapistSays.ca and Instagram meme account of the same name, are always looking for the newest content that their audience of 20-somethings will relate to.
“For our job, it’s integral for us to be in the know and up to speed with what’s going on in the world, not just pop culture, of course,” Lola said. “So, for that, social media is a great instrument, but there is something to be said for the nostalgia of the days when we actually enjoyed something without it having to be recorded or snapped or storied.”
While the duo originally started this account to keep in touch and to help each other cope with the struggles of millennial life, both Lola and Nicole have developed significant insight into our current generation’s problems.
“We think the new generation faces a lot of the similar struggles [i.e. mental health, financial stress, dating culture], but on a larger scale, and then the new struggles of having it all be visible and accessible,” Nicole said.
“For example, if you won’t date someone because you want to take it slow, someone else is already in the wings looking to take your place, already liking the photos, commenting, flirting on DMs. The art of courting is almost nonexistent, which is unfortunate because some of the most fun of a relationship is the parts where you were still uncertain and finding your footing.”
True to their shared pseudonym, both Lola and Nicole have been in therapy for years, and while they use some of what they learn as inspiration for their content, they also said it has improved their personal lives greatly.
“We think we’ve both learned how to better access our emotions, having both been very closed off,” Nicole said. “To this day, we’re not incredibly comfortable being open and vulnerable but a big part of mental health awareness is knowing you aren’t alone in the struggles.”
That’s why we started MyTherapistSays. To find our own community, be there for them, and grow with them.
Both Lola and Nicole maintain that meme accounts, and therapy for that matter, aren’t just about making ourselves feel better, but about understanding how we all experience life and cope with adversity.
“[Life without memes and therapy] would be bleak,” Lola said. “It would be incredibly dull and sad. We would feel the loneliness acutely. We would continue trying to cure each other which is the worst as we both have a very different idea of what ‘ok’ means.”
After a short perusing of any MyTherapistSays media, anyone can see that Nicole and Lola have tapped into the millennial generation and could very well be deemed experts. But, there are a few things they haven't quite gotten a handle on.
“We don’t think anyone ever truly has a grasp on everything,” Lola said. “There might be one area in your life in which you feel you’ve got a good grip on things but other than that, everything else you’re kind of trying and hoping it works out. For us, it’s knowing how to manage both our ambitions and our personal relationships, as we tend to prioritize one over the other We always want to accomplish more, but moderation has never been our strong suit.”