When I was a teenager, I knew nothing about mental health. If you talked about "safe spaces ", I'd think that you meant a bank. What's more, I didn't care about mental health. Why would I? As Dad used to say, "If it isn't broken, don't fix it! "
But unfortunately my mental health did "break ". I was diagnosed (诊断) as seriously clinically anorexic (厌食的) at age 23. I had immediate treatment in hospital, which lasted two and a half years. People always wonder what helped me recover and the key was simple: comedy (喜剧).
I'm a professional stand-up comic. Comedy began as my hobby and has progressed into a job. The word "comedy " is believed to come from the Ancient Greek kōmos meaning "to reveal ", whose job is to reveal, explain and understand things. This was something I turned to when I was in recovery from anorexia. I'd never been able to explain what going on inside my head; trying to explain what's going on in your mind is like trying to explain a color to someone who's blind. So humour became a way of understanding things and then a way of explaining them.
Dr Dieter Declercq, Lecturer in Film at the University of Kent, believes "Humor can change our opinions on a difficult situation ". However, he adds carefully that "We should avoid judgments like All humour is good for you. " In his new book Satire, Comedy and Mental Health, he looks at how comedy can be used as a mental health method. Enjoyed with others, it is important for good mental health and recovery.
Stand-up comedy was important to my recovery. I know I'm not alone in that. So I want to pay that forward and show other people your mental health doesn't have to be "broken " before you can "fix it ".
