SMH Comic

Stand Up For Mental Health is a Canadian initiative by David Granirer, a commendable gentleman who suffers from depression.  The idea behind this program is simple - turn your mental health problems into a stand up routine.

“We use comedy to give consumers a powerful voice and help reduce the stigma and discrimination around mental illness. The idea is that laughing at our setbacks raises us above them. It makes people go from despair to hope, and hope is crucial to anyone struggling with adversity. Studies prove that hopeful people are more resilient and also tend to live longer, healthier lives... Though Stand-Up Comedy Clinic isn’t intended as therapy, I’ve had students overcome long standing depressions and phobias, not to mention increasing their confidence and self-esteem. There’s something incredibly healing about telling a roomful of people exactly who you are and having them laugh and cheer... It’s incredibly empowering and a great way of fighting public stigma. Most so-called normal people would never want to go anywhere near stand-up comedy. Seeing people with mental illness do it forces the audience to re-evaluate their perceptions of and prejudices against people who have a mental illness.”

One of the comics, Nelson Bardon, suffers from schizophrenia.  I hope you enjoy his routine as much as I do.