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Not funny peculiar | Not funny peculiar |
(about 8 hours later) | |
Patrick Jackson BBC News | |
David Granirer takes the mic in Vancouver | David Granirer takes the mic in Vancouver |
These Canadian comedians mean to make you laugh but they are also throwing punchlines at a wall of prejudice. | These Canadian comedians mean to make you laugh but they are also throwing punchlines at a wall of prejudice. |
They all have mental health problems, and all want to rise above them through laughter. | They all have mental health problems, and all want to rise above them through laughter. |
David Granirer, who takes medication for depression himself, has been teaching them a course called Stand Up For Mental Health since 2004. | David Granirer, who takes medication for depression himself, has been teaching them a course called Stand Up For Mental Health since 2004. |
He now runs classes in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, as well as performing himself. | He now runs classes in Vancouver, Toronto and Ottawa, as well as performing himself. |
Graduates include Alex Winstanley, 23, who mines for jokes the schizophrenia with which he was diagnosed three years ago. | Graduates include Alex Winstanley, 23, who mines for jokes the schizophrenia with which he was diagnosed three years ago. |
The two men talked to the BBC World Service about passing the microphone to the mentally ill. | |
A life of material | A life of material |
"The more screwed-up and dysfunctional you are, the better your act is going to be" is what David tells his students. | "The more screwed-up and dysfunctional you are, the better your act is going to be" is what David tells his students. |
"Your life is your act." | "Your life is your act." |
Alex, who believes he will probably never stop "hearing voices" but says he has learnt how to deal with it, feels "more alive on stage than in real life". | Alex, who believes he will probably never stop "hearing voices" but says he has learnt how to deal with it, feels "more alive on stage than in real life". |
"I'd find that after a show, I'd feel so exhilarated I actually wouldn't hear voices for a few days or, if I did, they would be positive," he adds. | "I'd find that after a show, I'd feel so exhilarated I actually wouldn't hear voices for a few days or, if I did, they would be positive," he adds. |
David tells of one woman with schizophrenia who came into class one day wearing a striped blouse. | David tells of one woman with schizophrenia who came into class one day wearing a striped blouse. |
"She said 'The voices haven't let me wear stripes for eight years but now that I'm doing comedy, I'm not so afraid of the voices, so I'm wearing stripes'." | "She said 'The voices haven't let me wear stripes for eight years but now that I'm doing comedy, I'm not so afraid of the voices, so I'm wearing stripes'." |
Succeed in stand-up "and you feel like you can do anything", says the teacher. | Succeed in stand-up "and you feel like you can do anything", says the teacher. |
Shedding shame | Shedding shame |
ALEX'S FAVOURITE JOKE Having schizophrenia, I spend a lot of time being jealous of so-called normal people my age. | ALEX'S FAVOURITE JOKE Having schizophrenia, I spend a lot of time being jealous of so-called normal people my age. |
I've always wanted to have a dead-end job and a divorce. | I've always wanted to have a dead-end job and a divorce. |
Sometimes I imagine a so-called normal person being jealous of me: "Alex, you have, like, a natural gift for, like, hallucinating. I have to drop two hits of acid to get anywhere close. And I'm so, like, lonely, I wish I had voices to keep me company." | Sometimes I imagine a so-called normal person being jealous of me: "Alex, you have, like, a natural gift for, like, hallucinating. I have to drop two hits of acid to get anywhere close. And I'm so, like, lonely, I wish I had voices to keep me company." |
Send us your comments | Send us your comments |
David likes to joke that healthy people are more dangerous because, undiagnosed, they arouse less suspicion and, free of medication, are better placed to do damage. | David likes to joke that healthy people are more dangerous because, undiagnosed, they arouse less suspicion and, free of medication, are better placed to do damage. |
"Being diagnosed with mental illness is like receiving a black mark on your forehead," he says. | "Being diagnosed with mental illness is like receiving a black mark on your forehead," he says. |
"It changes the way the whole world sees you and reacts to you. | "It changes the way the whole world sees you and reacts to you. |
"You feel that all of a sudden everyone is watching you, is afraid of you and is wanting to do you harm." | "You feel that all of a sudden everyone is watching you, is afraid of you and is wanting to do you harm." |
He speaks from personal experience having first suffered depression in his late teens, before being diagnosed in his mid-30s. | He speaks from personal experience having first suffered depression in his late teens, before being diagnosed in his mid-30s. |
"I've been in psych wards, had therapy, the whole nine yards," he says. | "I've been in psych wards, had therapy, the whole nine yards," he says. |
Alex likens the stigma to "another illness to deal with at the same time". | Alex likens the stigma to "another illness to deal with at the same time". |
"As people with mental illness, we carry a lot of shame and that shame thrives in the darkness, in secrecy," says his teacher. | "As people with mental illness, we carry a lot of shame and that shame thrives in the darkness, in secrecy," says his teacher. |
"Then all of a sudden we take these incidents, these things we are really ashamed of and turn them into comedy. | "Then all of a sudden we take these incidents, these things we are really ashamed of and turn them into comedy. |
Alex Winstanley takes the mic | Alex Winstanley takes the mic |
"We tell a roomful of people, they laugh and applaud, and all of a sudden the shame starts to dissipate, and you think 'I'm not such a bad person after all'." | "We tell a roomful of people, they laugh and applaud, and all of a sudden the shame starts to dissipate, and you think 'I'm not such a bad person after all'." |
Despite the subject matter, the jokes are not all gallows humour, David adds. | Despite the subject matter, the jokes are not all gallows humour, David adds. |
"There is a certain amount, yes, but a lot of it is just really about everyday life because we people with mental illness have lives, go to school, have jobs, have families." | "There is a certain amount, yes, but a lot of it is just really about everyday life because we people with mental illness have lives, go to school, have jobs, have families." |
His students present an "amazing mix". | His students present an "amazing mix". |
"We have every possible diagnosis, age group, socio-economic status," he says. | "We have every possible diagnosis, age group, socio-economic status," he says. |
Comedy plus medication | Comedy plus medication |
Having taught comedy at a Vancouver college for 10 years, David was inspired to launch the mental health course after occasionally witnessing students make "amazing therapeutic breakthroughs". | Having taught comedy at a Vancouver college for 10 years, David was inspired to launch the mental health course after occasionally witnessing students make "amazing therapeutic breakthroughs". |
DAVID'S FAVOURITE JOKE I went to a primal scream therapist. It was really intense, but halfway through the session I had to stop and ask, shouldn't the screaming be coming from me? | DAVID'S FAVOURITE JOKE I went to a primal scream therapist. It was really intense, but halfway through the session I had to stop and ask, shouldn't the screaming be coming from me? |
While comedy is not for everyone, with or without mental problems, those who really want to do it, will get something out of it, he believes. | While comedy is not for everyone, with or without mental problems, those who really want to do it, will get something out of it, he believes. |
David says his programme is supported by mental health organisations and he stresses that it does not conflict with psychiatrists' work. | David says his programme is supported by mental health organisations and he stresses that it does not conflict with psychiatrists' work. |
"We would never say 'This is a replacement for your medication, don't take your medication'," he says. | "We would never say 'This is a replacement for your medication, don't take your medication'," he says. |
He cannot yet offer any empirical evidence of the benefits of stand-up. | He cannot yet offer any empirical evidence of the benefits of stand-up. |
However a study due to take place in a few months' time may lend his form of therapy more weight. | However a study due to take place in a few months' time may lend his form of therapy more weight. |
Alex, meanwhile, is happily hooked on humour. | Alex, meanwhile, is happily hooked on humour. |
"It's my permanent medicine!" he laughs. | "It's my permanent medicine!" he laughs. |
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