My Doctor Asked If I Was Stressed - Big Mistake
Healthy Laughter (Comedy Mindhacks #87)
I went to the doctor this week and it’s had me thinking about the healthcare system ever since. Here’s what I’ve been thinking about in particular: Healthcare is supposed to solve problems, but it creates them, too. So, I’ve been reflecting on that and writing about it. For instance, my doctor said, “Michael, your blood pressure is super high. We’re gonna need to get you on some meds. Are you stressed out?” I said, “Well, I wasn’t... til you said all that.”
Obviously, that’s a pretty benign example. But this sort of thing is everywhere in mental health culture, too. I recently read a stat that claimed 95% of Americans hear therapy-related words daily. That’s insane! But there’s a problem with it: Nearly 25% of people say therapy language is weaponized in fights or used as an excuse for bad behavior. But this is the world we live in evidently, one where therapeutic language is pervasive.
Take this saying as an example, which I’ve also been writing about: “I need me time.” It’s a weird phrase adults use. It sounds like something a toddler would say. “I need ME time!” Well, okay, go sit in the corner then! It’s so entitled, too: “Me, me, me... I need ME time!” Pure entitlement! Which is why... my wife told me I need to stop saying it.
Many comedians either go hack with mental health topics or go really dark with them. But I think the sweet spot is found in just being authentic, addressing real issues, and staying playfully inappropriate. Don’t go over the line and don’t go so sanitized that it’s hack. And what’s the trick for this? Make yourself the butt of the joke.
Look back at both jokes I shared above. Both have me as the butt of the joke. My idiocy is the punchline. When you make yourself the butt of the joke you can, for example, point out how self-care culture has created a culture of giving people permission to be selfish. But this stands a chance of working better if you’re the one being selfish in the punchline.
Healthcare culture in general and mental health culture in particular takes itself so seriously that it creates unintentionally funny situations constantly. Anything serious can become funny. The question is whether you’re willing to find the humor in your own experiences and laugh about them. In other words, the material is everywhere, you just have to be willing to laugh at yourself first.
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