Fair warning: I’m taking a step down from usual sarcastic writing to talk about something that I care very deeply about. In other words, *feels* ahead.
I remember the first stand up special I watched with my dad. I was around six years old, it was some Robin Williams set he did at the Met. It was there and then that I fell in love with stand up comedy. I spent most of my childhood watching so many great comics with my dad -- Mitch Hedberg, Robin Williams and George Carlin to name a few. I loved watching these amazing men and women go up on stage and perform their hearts out just to make people laugh. I was lucky enough to be able to perform a couple of times in high school and am lucky now that I have a steady gig that let’s me perform when I get the chance between the hustle and bustle of college. Then, two years ago, something terrible happened. The world lost Robin Williams, and it broke all of our hearts. But his death did start a very important dialogue that I feel needs to stay open. After his death, many comics opened up and talked about how many of them suffered from depression. Even before Robin, we lost many talented comics to the same fate. Chris Farley, Mitch Hedberg, Lenny Bruce... this list could go on and on. It broke my heart watching so many talented people gone way too soon. There’s an old quote about comedy:“Humor is tragedy plus time.”
I honestly think that quote carries a lot of weight behind it. If it's true, take a moment to think about where a comic’s set comes from. Many comics have talked about how rough their lives have been or the struggles they had to overcome. But you can also see it in their work. So many pull from their lives and their obstacles and turn them into something that someone can laugh at. They take their pain and try to make it into something that can make someone happy.
I may just be an amateur comic, but I can personally say I can relate and that I most definitely pull from the bad experiences and try to find the humor in them. The point I’m trying to make here is that I know a lot friends who suffer from depression, as do I.
Don’t be afraid to go ask for help or ask if someone's okay. After we lost Robin there was an outpouring of comedians talking to each other, helping, so glad that for once someone asked the funny guy “Are you okay?”
You might be suffering, too. I know it’s difficult and some days it feels hopeless. But you’re not alone, this is a fight that so many people are fighting, and you’re not alone. It may not seem like it, but even the ones we look to for a laugh feel the same way you do.
