Gary Gulman opens up about mental health

Gary Gulman has been a comedy staple for years. Since he first started stand-up back in 1993, he has been… MORE
Gary Gulman opens up about mental health appeared first on The Laugh Button.

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Simon Amstell: ‘It’s difficult to retain depression if you’re jumping around every morning’

The comedian on shamanic ceremonies, vegan diets and the catharsis of performanceYou can imagine how the prospect of turning 40 was particularly problematic for Simon Amstell. The film-maker and comedian, who started as a stand-up at 13 and was present…

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Episode #255: Hampton Yount

Hampton Yount has already seen the past, present and future of cinema, as spoken through the character Crow T. Robot he voices on Netflix’s new edition of Mystery Science Theater 3000. Before that, Yount had emerged from the DC comedy scene with a job …

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Watch Sarah Silverman and Jim Gaffigan send video messages of hope to their younger selves

May may have been mental health awareness month, but if the first half of June has reminded us, even celebrities need to be reminded they are loved. Anyone can suffer from depression. All of us need to take care of ourselves mentally as well as physically. The Child Mind Institute has featured several celebs, including comedians […]

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‘Blair’: TBS Is Lookin’ at Instagram!

In 2014, comedian Mo Welch posted her first comic on her @momowelch Instagram handle. It featured a simply drawn depressive named Blair and read “Spirit Airlines is my ‘Nam’” Two years later, The Daily Dot wrote a piece on Mo, the traction her Blair comics were getting in the space, and–perhaps more importantly–the inspiration behind sitting down and drawing in […]

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‘Improv saved my life’: the comedy classes helping people with anxiety

Once the domain of aspiring performers, improv courses are increasingly being attended by students experiencing mental health problems

“Your heart’s beating faster, you feel all these eyes on you, your body reacts with panic.” No, it’s not the discarded first line of Eminem’s Lose Yourself, but Alex MacLaren’s description of how his students feel in work meetings, job interviews or even the pub. MacLaren teaches improvisational comedy at the Spontaneity Shop in London. At first, its courses attracted performers. Now, he estimates half his students are seeking help with anxiety or confidence.

It’s a trend noted by other improv teachers. In Manchester, Brainne Edge runs workshops as head of ComedySportz UK. In the past five years she’s seen the proportion of non-performers attending her courses rise to around 75%.

It teaches you to have a better link between your brain and your mouth

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Why the World of Standup Is Both the Best and Worst Place to Battle Mental Illness

The initial scenes of the pilot episode of I’m Dying Up Here – Showtime’s new dramedy set in early 1970s Los Angeles about the toils of emerging stars in the local standup comedy scene – are a con job. The audience is hijacked by cameras in love with a beautiful, brooding-but-brilliant comic, Clay Appuzzo, on […]

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R.I.P. Stevie Ryan (1984-2017)

Stevie Ryan, one of the first YouTubers to score her own comedy series on TV, has died. She was 33. Ryan, born June 2, 1984, and raised in Victorville, Calif., moved to Los Angeles at age 19 to pursue a career in show business. After booking various commercial projects, her YouTube videos caught the eye of […]

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The importance of mental health: Comedians talk to Chris Gethard

Chris Gethard’s one-man show, Career Suicide, premieres this coming Saturday on HBO. But May 1 also marks the start of Mental Health Awareness Month, so Gethard sat down with fellow comedians Wyatt Cenac, Patti Harrison, Aparna Nancherla and Phoebe Robinson to explore different paths and experiences in dealing with depression and anxiety from a variety […]

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