A few weeks back, in my blog about Maria Bamford’s Special Special Special, I mentioned a podcast called the Mental Illness Happy Hour as being one of the new places where comedy is openly discussing mental health issues. I wanted to talk about the podcast in depth a little more because it’s doing something truly unique in the worlds of podcasting and self-help.
A few weeks back, in my blog about Maria Bamford’s Special Special Special, I mentioned a podcast called the Mental Illness Happy Hour as being one of the new places where comedy is openly discussing mental health issues. I wanted to talk about the podcast in depth a little more because it’s doing something truly unique in the worlds of podcasting and self-help.
Sometimes, I read a theory about something online (I do that a lot), and the absurdity of it sticks with me. I enjoy reading conspiracy theories because I enjoy following the logic of the people thinking of them, and I enjoy the attempts to support theories with fact. They often illuminate ideas and facts that we just take for granted.
Comedy and mental health have always gone hand in hand. There’s an old saying that comedians need to be miserable to be funny. In recent years, more comedians have been vocal about what’s making them miserable. Comedians have been more open about their mental health conditions and trauma they’ve suffered. Maria Bamford’s Special Special Special takes it to a new level, though.
This week, I went back in time to take a look at a story that comes up in discussions of mental health in literature, “The Yellow Wallpaper,” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman. I’ve read the story a bunch of times in various settings, particularly in a class on American Literature, and I always see something different in it. This time, the need for autonomy came to the front.
“The Yellow Wallpaper” was written in 1890 in response to Gilman’s experience with postpartum depression following the birth of her daughter. The story is about a woman who is locked in a room by her husband (who is also her doctor) following the birth of their child. She is driven to distraction by the ugly yellow wallpaper in the room, which eventually causes her to have a nervous breakdown.
Coping with plenty of leisure activities and sense of purpose in life
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