Mental As Anyone

Interview with Lainie Chait who is new to the Melbourne comedy scene, but has always been hysterical to her loved ones! Lainie undertook a series of comedy workshops six years ago in Byron Bay with comedy mentor Mandy Nolan, and since then has been regularly writing comedy (and also a book!). In and around Melbourne, Lainie is doing open mics at the Imperial, Yes All Women in Richmond, and also has an upcoming gig in Daylesford.

We discuss: The comedy scene in Byron, Lainie’s diagnosis of epilepsy at age 19 and the difficult road to accepting it, the big role of mental health in relation to epilepsy, different types and onsets, Lainie’s view of the triggers for her own onset, hiding the symptoms for four years, knowing intuitively that it’s not “just chemical” but emotional too, the fear and anxiety related to revealing her vulnerability, the self-fulfilling prophecy of anxiety, the conscious decision to not have children, the importance of trusting her intuition, the semantic difference between “you are epileptic” and “having epilepsy”, bringing epilepsy to the comedy stage, strategies for managing anxiety, never knowing how people might react to seizures, how her holistic approach has led to being 18 months seizure free, the “safety net” of seizure warnings, duty of care to self AND loved ones, Lainie’s book Electro Girl and the catharsis of writing it, Lainie’s super power of empowering people to feel comfortable about their flaws and finding the funny side of your human self, working on acceptance and finding a way to make it funny.

As mentioned in this podcast, check out the Electro Girl page on Facebook, and Lainie’s book (also titled Electro Girl) when it comes out later this year.

Interview with Chris Asher, who has been on the Melbourne comedy scene for about 6 months. He has performed at Open Mic nights, the Comic’s Lounge, The Brunswick Hotel, and also at Roast Battles which are on Sunday evenings at the Town Hall Hotel in North Melbourne.

We discuss: Chris’ self-deprecating comedy style, enjoying the exploration of performing comedy, thoughts on RAW, self-analysis of Chris’ recent performance, the perils of reading your phone right before you perform, aiming to be comfortable on stage, a bit about The Podcast Formerly Known As, not being able to hold grudges, struggling with pressure from himself and others in a past job, reaching a point of burn out, a revelation while motorbike riding, the holiday escape after quitting, over-sleeping vs depression, the lesson of needing to be more aware of work-life balance, the emotional hangover from that period, the transition to self-employment and issues with motivation, the issue of not liking what you do, philosophy of eating the frog first, defining a “good job”, doing what you love so it doesn’t feel like work, counselling with puppies and kitties, the Cat Café in Melbourne, the new MAA segment called What Is Your Super Power?, Shae and Chris’ super powers, the power of self-belief, the law of attraction and goal-setting, the magic of the computer desktop background technique, Steffi’s magic Myki card, the importance of talking to people, the message that no one judges you as much as you think they are going to OR as much as you judge yourself (and most people just want to be supportive), and the power of venting.

As mentioned in this podcast, check out www.thepodcastformerlyknownas.com, and www.catcafemelbourne.com.

Interview with Justin Fleming, who has been in comedy for three years (his anniversary was last Tuesday!). However Justin does not do things by halves, and he has worked extremely hard to gain a lot of experience in his three years. Justin runs the workshops for young comedians on a Tuesday at the Comic’s Lounge, as well as Monday nights at the Lounge, and has introduced Roast Battles to Australia. Round #2 of the Roastbattle Downunder is TONIGHT (Sunday, 7 February) and Shae from MAA will be in attendance!

We discuss: Justin’s background of being in a heavy metal band for 20 years and how it gave him stage/acting experience which set him up for comedy, Justin’s comedy style, growing up in Springvale, the point of the Roast Battles (ie, to use wit and insults in a fun way, not to take the jokes personally), his experience of anti-depressants when he was 17 (which didn’t agree with him), Justin’s breakdown which resulted in a hospital visit, how he came across Kundalini Yoga and meditation, doing a Vapashna meditation retreat (which meant silence for 10 days), reflecting on how everything comes and goes (including emotions), being on a more spiritual path, having high expectations of himself, Landmark courses, “wrangling” the comedy audience, philosophy on performing, the mental health issues of J’s parents, Justin and his brother facing identity issues, the Brotherhood of the heavy metal community, his views on the cliques and bullying in Melbourne comedy, Roasting and how it will help comedians to rapidly improve their craft, Justin’s view that life isn’t always smooth sailing and that contrast makes life good, the message that it’s OK to ask for help, learning how to stop playing the victim via YouTube, negative thinking and J’s vivid dreams, difficulty practicing gratitude, therapeutic experiences with mushrooms and understanding himself more profoundly, floatation tanks, the double edge of being on his own, how he obtained a medicinal card in LA, creativity with and without weed, breaking down the clique barriers and constructive criticism.

Interview with Reuben Hunter, who has been doing comedy in WA since the RAW competition in 2009. Reuben is performing at Perth’s upcoming Fringe World Festival for the first time this January. His show is titled The Hoard, and is his musings on hoarding and the reasons for it.

We discuss: Reuben’s reflections on himself and his own mental health following the suicide of his father a few years ago, Reuben’s long-distance relationship with his Dad, the issue of men’s suicide, how Reuben has been coping, overcoming the stigma of receiving counselling, “clicking” with your counsellor, “The Voices”: reality TV idea about group therapy in reverse, mountain climbing analogy, self-care trip to NZ, and the importance of communicating and sharing how you are feeling.

Interview with Melbourne based Comedian Doug Chappel who has been on the comedy scene for nearly 19 years and, among other gigs, MCs at the Comic’s Lounge every Monday. Doug is also passionate about studying Psychology. He has several degrees, including Youth Work, Psychology and Psychology Honours, and a Masters of Counselling. He’s also looking at further post-grad studies (maybe another Masters or a PhD).

We discuss: Doug not planning to be in comedy but finding himself to be a natural one random day at the Espy, making mistakes and learning as he went, the psychology in comedy and reading the dynamics of a crowd, stage therapy, dealing with depression, the issues he faced growing up in Footscray, calling for more education and awareness about mental health issues, supporting a friend with anxiety, the violence of growing up in Footscray, the cycle of bullying, generational violence, how comedy and his partner changed him, Doug’s thesis on family violence, Sarah Ferguson’s Hitting Home documentary (on ABC), effects of violence on children, adults, families and the greater community, Doug’s second thesis on the role of gender in regard to violence, frustration with people who say “Why doesn’t the woman just leave?”, the impacts of gender inequality, the notions that perpetrators can be good people and that men can be victims of family violence – but the odds of the victim being female are so much higher, women being more likely to be attacked by someone they know and love (and yes men can be victims too), how victims can feel to blame, control/anger issues, the cycle of violence and how it escalates, attitudes and behaviours, benevolent sexism and the notion that gender inequality is reinforced by it, controlling behaviours leading to imbalance of power in relationships, sense of ownership and behaving in “unacceptable ways”, the Ramage case and provocation laws, Shae’s question about how best to advise/support women in counselling, assisting women to be aware of how certain controlling behaviours can escalate into violence, awareness of the warning signs, providing women with support networks, the call for society to provide more options and better fund services and laws to be changed, the call to do more to protect women, anger management for men, humans having executive function (and therefore the choice) to change attitudes, awareness of the bigger picture/other people’s perspectives, frustration re victim blaming, and providing support so people can help themselves.

Interview with Mitchell Tinley, Perth Comedian and one half of radio’s Mitchell and Michael Show (track them down on Facebook for more info). Mitchell started comedy two years ago and is putting on a Fringe Show with his friend Tor Snyder in 2016. The show is called Dating Naked, check it out if you’re in Perth at the end of January for Fringe. Mitchell will also be performing at Laughs For Locks (an event raising money for Camp Quality) on 4 December.

We discuss: Comedy as the “un-happy” profession, comedy being a great outlet for mental health issues, the courage and bravery of “I’m funny, let me prove it”, comedy being very nerve-provoking and switching to “bullet-proof” on stage, Childish Gambino’s notion of turning a negative into a funny story, making jokes at funerals, laughter = medicine, feeling fake on stage, the comfort of having solid material, being a natural at radio, the contagious-ness of laughter (and grumpiness), the subjectiveness of comedy, Mitchell’s style of humour, keeping it clean vs swearing, philosophy around bombing (on stage), looking on the bright side of negatives and not running away from problems, metaphorically having eggs in different baskets, the grief process of a bad gig, philosophy of “as good as it can be is as bad as it can be”, being aware of the reasons for your actions, semantics of the word “depressed”, keeping things in perspective, the unhelpfulness of personalising and “mind reading” (ie, thinking we know what others are thinking – which is usually negative!), preference to at least give things a go (and possibly fail), reflections on RU OK? Day and asking for help, growing up with Harry Potter, jokes that transcend time, the “please like me” element of comedy, humans creating rules, the awkwardness of small talk, the near completion of his Media Degree, and playing pranks on radio veterans.

Interview with Perth Comedian Jez Watts, who runs Infinite Jest, the weekly open mic & experimental comedy night, at the Flying Scotsman in Perth. He's also had some great opportunities in his 2.5 years of comedy, including opening for US comics Joe Mande, Esther Povitsky, and just this week, Duncan Trussell. Jez's stand-up is confessional and truthful, in a story-teller style.

We discuss: Reflections on finding your comedy voice and honing his craft over time, learning more from failure than success, insecurity about receiving help and support, Jez’s other career in Neuroscience, overcoming unhelpful thought patterns in order to do the things he loves, a bit about Jez’s previous marriage (he’s now happily divorced and the relationship helped him get into the mindset that he could study), Jez’s study repertoire including molecular biology, biomedical science and biotechnology, an Honours thesis in genetic disease and starting his Doctorate in Neuroscience, starting the PhD and comedy at the same time and balancing the two highly demanding vocations, more about the thoughts and drugs that led to his marriage, the positive grounded-ness of his current relationship, what Jez has learned from previous bad decisions (and getting away with them), the reality that worst case scenarios rarely eventuate, Don’t Propose While On Crystal Meth!, philosophy and revelations of self-medicating, seeking a sensory deprivation experience, prioritising of his relationship and comedy, back to the (family) beginning: candid and insightful discussion about Jez’s Mum, self-protection and preservation, the difficulty of revealing the truth to his partner, reflection that most people have some level of mental unwellness at some stage in their life, comedy reinforcing emotional highs and lows, the idea that how you “should” feel – and feeling short of that – is its own trap, what’s important is working towards your own goals and focusing on your own journey (with the exceptions of being on meth and getting married in Las Vegas by Elvis while on LSD), Jez’s advice to DO MUSHROOMS (based on research data* that they can reduce symptoms of depression), and the adage that “neurons that fire together wire together”, ie. Negative thought patterns can reinforce themselves to repeat, as can positive thought patterns, so Jez avoids the negatives and rewards/reinforces the positive thoughts/behaviours.

Jez will be doing his first solo show at the 2016 Perth Fringe, titled: Sex, Lies and Videogames. If you’d like to know more about Jez and where else to see his comedy, check out his website at www.jezwatts.com

*Research data not provided, but I did a brief search and found this info to start with: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ecam/nep201.

Interview with the lovely Bec Charlwood, Comedian (and self-professed IKEA Meatball Inspector) from Perth. I was very fortunate to catch Bec in person while she was doing a run of shows in Melbourne.

We discuss: Bec’s recent tours of Melbourne and Sydney (and the scoop that she might move to Melb next year!), the connectedness of the Perth comedy family, poking fun at East-Coast-ers, mental health issues in Bec’s family (including depression and suicide), Bec’s consciousness of monitoring her own mental health, staying active and healthy with exercise, good diet and sunshine, the huge natural high from Zumba, the catch-22 of depression/lack of motivation and needing exercise to counter it, giving up personal training for comedy (conflict of late nights and early mornings), doing around 20 thousand steps a day working at IKEA, seeing signs of mental health issues in the comedy family (anxiety, depression, PTSD), supporting her friends (encouraging them to exercise,, eat well and seek professional help), getting “check ups” with a psychologist every now and again, the problem of pre-conceived ideas about therapy (eg. “What if I’m crazy?”), Man Therapy, checking in with friends and helping them to make an appointment with a professional, the commonality of thinking distortions, Bec’s pre-date “snowballing” (“What if he hates toes??”), Shae’s mani/pedi catastophising and general “Manicure Anxiety” (coined by Bec!), Bec’s surprising "snowballing" story from outside a nightclub, her even more surprising story about her first boyfriend (and talking about it on stage to help her come to terms with it), and Bec’s final message of encouragement to reach out to talk if you need it.

Interview with Joe Patrick, who is a Brisbane comedian on the scene for the past 4 years. Joe got into comedy for the right reason: to make people laugh and feel happy. Joe's comedy style is "blue", reminiscent of Kevin Bloody Wilson and Rodney Rude, and to date he's performed as far north as Cairns and as far south as Ballina. Joe will be heading to Melbourne and Adelaide in mid-2016.

We discuss Joe's experiences of living with family members with mental health issues. Joe's Mum has depression and anxiety and recently resumed taking medication (after a period of stopping it cold turkey which had negative results). Joe's younger brother also has depression and anxiety, and has recently been experiencing some mood swings. Joe tries to be as supportive as possible, by listening, asking if they are ok and listening to their responses, and offering advice at times. Joe also has a friend who has three children on the Autism spectrum*. We also discuss how Joe interacts with the family, and how the parents manage their kids and their own mental health by taking respite at times. Joe's main message he would like to share is the importance of reaching out to, and connecting with, people with mental health issues. Ask your friends/family/loved ones if they are ok, and if the answer is no, help them to get some help from a GP, counsellor, hospital or phone support line (eg. Beyond Blue). And in particular, do not say "Just cheer up", as people with depression or other MH issues can't help it!

*I mis-spoke around about this point in the interview when I mentioned the term "normal kids". What is "normal" anyway?? What I meant was kids who are not on the Autism spectrum (which is a term I used a bit later in the interview). Sincere apologies if I have caused any offence or upset.

Interview with Brodi Snook who kicked off her comedy career 2 years ago in the Raw Comedy competition while visiting her home town of Perth (and had to keep delaying her flight back to the UK in order to attend the advancing rounds and state finals). She spent some time on the open mic circuit in London before returning home in January 2015 to continue comedy in Perth. Brodi is also a writer, and has an article in the upcoming YAWP Magazine (Mental Health in Comedy edition). We discuss: Brodi’s five years in the UK and the differences in performing comedy in the UK vs Oz, the "life and death" of not sharing suicidal thoughts, big-name comedians modelling that it’s ok to discuss mental health issues and painful emotions, Brodi’s anxiety from a young age, experiencing anxiety about normal/everyday things, Brodi feeling at home on stage (and Shae feeling the opposite!), nerves when loved ones are in the audience, Brodi’s cathartic experience with CBT, thoughts on meds, Valerian and mindfulness, awareness of mental/cognitive states, vicious cycle of physical and cognitive symptoms of anxiety, how health professionals can help by explaining things differently instead of having to figure things out by yourself, enjoyment of CBT homework, a bit about ACT, Russ Harris and The Happiness Trap, mindfulness helping with sleep, Eckhart Tolle’s soundtracks, relaxation apps, Brodi’s change of perspective on exercise, Endorphins!, soothing sounds and smells of the ocean, the unhelpfulness of “shoulds” (and associated feelings of guilt), writing as an outlet/journalling to empty the head, encorporating experiences of anxiety into comedy, performing at the Perth Fringe and MICF in 2016, and the importance of speaking up about mental health issues.