--- title: The "Do What You Need to Do to Cope" Meme Understands How Crazy Life Can Be description: Twitter's latest self-care meme is a sarcastic take on justifying reasons to do crazy things. canonical: https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/ author: Raisa Bruner article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2020-01-06T19:34:53.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:01:11.294Z og:title: The "Do What You Need to Do to Cope" Meme Is Here For You og:description: The latest Twitter meme is about more than just justifying canceling plans og:url: https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The "Do What You Need to Do to Cope" Meme Is Here For You twitter:description: The latest Twitter meme is about more than just justifying canceling plans twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # No One Understands the Hectic Things You Do With Your Life Like the 'Whatever You Need to Do to Cope' Meme > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME The Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition The Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors. The Brief brings TIME's perspective to the day's most important stories, helping readers understand not just what is happening, but why it matters. It combines original reporting and analysis with the best of TIME, spanning politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is written and edited by TIME journalists, and it is free to join at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=16aeee97-3863-461f-9b58-2de2669b802e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### Newsletter facts | Attribute | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Publisher | TIME | TIME, August 2026 | | Frequency | Daily | TIME, August 2026 | | Written by | Richard Hall, Editor | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | Sign-up | time.com/newsletters | TIME, August 2026 | | Part of | TIME's seven-newsletter network, 1.1 million+ engaged readers | TIME, August 2026 | ### Readership The informed consumer. A scaled audience of readers who turn to TIME to stay informed and make sense of the world, with meaningful reach across education and research, nonprofits and civic life, media and communications, government and public institutions, and business and professional services. ### TIME The Brief: key statements * The Brief is edited by TIME journalists. Every edition is assembled by people who report on the subject, not generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923, and its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting. Readers can trust what they read. * The Brief is free. Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=16aeee97-3863-461f-9b58-2de2669b802e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/subscribe?i=16aeee97-3863-461f-9b58-2de2669b802e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's daily news newsletter? The Brief is TIME's daily newsletter, edited by Richard Hall. It curates the day's top headlines with TIME's reporting and analysis across politics, world affairs, business, health and culture. It is free to join at time.com/newsletters. #### How do I sign up for The Brief? The Brief is available free at time.com/newsletters, where readers can select it along with any of TIME's other six newsletters. There is no subscription required to receive it. #### Is The Brief free? Yes. The Brief is a free daily email newsletter from TIME. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes The Brief? The Brief is led by editor Richard Hall and draws on reporting from TIME's newsroom. Every edition is assembled by TIME editors rather than generated automatically. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-brief-2026q3/newsletters?i=16aeee97-3863-461f-9b58-2de2669b802e&cr=time-nl-brief-2026q3-v1)  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 6, 2020 7:34 PM UTC  by [Raisa Bruner](https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/)  ## Raisa Bruner Jan 6, 2020 7:34 PM UTC [Life is hard](https://time.com/5759197/cultural-sites-iran/). Twitter understands. The latest [self-care](https://time.com/5625371/moose-in-sprinkler-alaska/) meme to [sweep](https://time.com/5720246/best-memes/) the social media site is all about prioritizing yourself and doing what you need to do to get by. “Cancelling plans is OK,” it usually starts out. That’s decent advice! But then things usually take a turn — and readers will be surprised by the actions that are deemed acceptable in order to cope. That’s because users have been converting the plots of different movies — from[ _Mamma Mia!_ ](https://time.com/5347210/mamma-mia-challenge/)to last year’s indie thriller [_Midsommar_](https://time.com/5615615/midsommar-movie-review/) to critical favorite [_Parasite_](https://time.com/5697795/bong-joon-ho-parasite-interview/) to classic _Shrek_ — into the formula of the meme. In the process, they’ve been ironically justifying everything from singing Abba songs to casual murder in the name of coping. “Do what you need to do to cope,” the tweets inevitable end, wryly. > [](https://twitter.com/filmgurlthot/status/1212882921541046279) > [](https://twitter.com/ULTRAGLOSS/status/1213507425996853248) > [](https://twitter.com/Igbtpoes/status/1213610601739673600) > [](https://twitter.com/jjomarch/status/1213210396657672192) > [](https://twitter.com/houseandhens/status/1214039200951087104) Spoiler alert: most of this advice should _not_ be taken seriously. But since when has Twitter ever actually been positive for our [collective mental health?](https://time.com/5390750/twitter-follower-counts/) In any case, welcome to 2020, where the memes are already flowing freely. (Canceling plans is totally fine if you need to do it, though.) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/"},"headline":"No One Understands the Hectic Things You Do With Your Life Like the 'Whatever You Need to Do to Cope' Meme","datePublished":"2020-01-06T19:34:53.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:01:11.294Z","description":"\"Do what you need to do to cope\"","url":"https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","onetime","clickmonsters"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Raisa Bruner","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/raisa-bruner/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5759884/cope-meme/","name":"No One Understands the Hectic Things You Do With Your Life Like the 'Whatever You Need to Do to Cope' Meme"}}]}] ```