The Hilarious World Of Depression

Actor and writer Charlene deGuzman grew up thinking that women should be like the centerfolds her father had plastered all over the garage: alluring to men and ready for sex. As an adult, this led to a sex and love addiction where the line between sex and love got blurry. Eventually, she hit bottom amid a failed relationship, a disastrous reaction to that failed relationship, substance use, and suicidal thoughts. She got help and, this is a bit unusual, made a critically-acclaimed movie about her recovery experiences. Learn more about Charlene, including where to watch "Unloveable," at charstarlene.com. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Follow us on Twitter: @THWofD. Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/thwod. Support our show today: hilariousworld.org/donate Check out our sponsors this week: DoorDash - Download the app and use promo code WORLD Native - nativedeodorant.com with code WORLD Calm - calm.com/WORLD Stitch Fix - stitchfix.com/hilarious Quip Oral Care - getquip.

Can platforms like Facebook or Twitter or Instagram help with depression? They do offer a quick way to connect with other humans, after all. But then again, do they? Are you talking to a human or are you just alone and typing? Tech thinker and Glitch CEO Anil Dash has been addressing the benefits and problems of social media for twenty years, since before even MySpace and Friendster. He also has a history of depression, which made it hard to run his own business at times, a business he had started when he was seventeen years old. Check out Anil’s podcast, Function with Anil Dash. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Follow us on Twitter: @THWofD Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/thwod Support our show today: hilariousworld.org/donate

It took a long time for singer/songwriter Ryan Bingham to get to some stability in his life. Growing up, his parents had problems with drugs and alcohol, creating a lifestyle that kept the family constantly on the move or on the run all over the Southwest. Speaking of instability, his main outlet during childhood was riding bulls on the rodeo circuit. As he grew up, he tried to leave his past behind to be a traveling musician. When Ryan's parents died, he finally had to confront all that had happened. All the while, he was writing songs about all of it. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Follow us on Twitter: @THWofD Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/thwod Support our show today: hilariousworld.org/donate

Author and blogger Heather B. Armstrong (dooce.com) was in, by far, the deepest depression she had ever experienced and nothing was working to lift it. That’s when her psychiatrist told her about a study using powerful doses of the anesthetic Propofol. Heather had ten appointments where she was placed in a brief medically-induced coma. The idea is similar to electro-convulsive therapy (ECT) but without the electricity and, hopefully, without side effects like memory loss. She shares the story of what led her to try the treatment and how it went. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook.

While it was easy for audiences to enjoy Mara Wilson as a perky child performer in movies like Matilda and Mrs. Doubtfire, the young actress had mental health issues that weren’t enjoyable at all. Mara had been dealing with severe anxiety for as long as she could remember. Her mom was diagnosed with breast cancer just before Matilda started shooting and Mara developed symptoms of OCD. Then came depression, and eventually body dysmorphia, too. Mara Wilson is 32 years old now and has relegated acting to the sidelines. She has a good grip on how her mind works and feels great about her new focus as a writer, but she knows that managing her conditions will be a lifelong job. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Support our show today at hilariousworld.org/donate.

Whitney Cummings has had a lot of success in Hollywood as a comedian, actress, writer and director, and now she's finally having success in figuring herself out. She's been making connections between the addiction and mental illnesses in her house growing up, the eating disorders she developed, the depression that has persisted, and the codependency that emerged. Turns out when you are able to take a good hard look at things, you can get a pretty good view. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Support our show today at hilariousworld.org/donate.

You might know Pete Holmes from his many standup specials, his talk show, or Crashing, the HBO series he created and starred in. You might not know the long and varied spiritual path he's traveled in his life. Pete was an incredibly devout Christian, living by the Bible and obsessed with avoiding eternal damnation. Following traumatic life events, he arrived first at atheism and finally at a consciousness-based worldview influenced by thinkers like Ram Dass and Joseph Campbell. Sticking around for all parts of that journey: a love of comedy and some rather aggressive anxiety and depression. You can pre-order John's book at bit.ly/HilariousWorldBook. Support our show today at hilariousworld.org/donate.

We asked our listeners for books they've read that give an accurate depiction of the reality of depression. Happily, we got enough great suggestions to weigh down a shopping cart at the bookstore or leave a library card smoldering. A name that came up a lot was author Jenny Lawson, who happens to be a friend of the show. On this episode, we talk with Jenny and get audio suggestions from a lot of THWoD-balls. Be sure to visit hilariousworld.org for a complete list of titles.

Taking a trip somewhere new can be wonderful: the new experiences, the exciting culture, the unusual foods. For people who deal with depression or anxiety, travel can also introduce a variety of problems. It necessarily involves getting out of the familiar and that can leave one feeling isolated, worried about negative possibilities, and unprotected in a world that sometimes doesn't work out all that great as it is. In this summer mini-sode, we hear from Jeremy Pelletier, a non-profit director and geographer who recently wrote about the pitfalls and triumphs he's experienced traveling. We also check in with Dr. Karriem Salaam from Drexel University's College of Medicine for valuable tips on what to do and not to do. Follow us on Twitter: @THWofD Like us on Facebook: facebook.com/thwod Support our show today: hilariousworld.org/donate

Look, we know that THWoD can get a little, I guess, intense at times. Depression is a heavy topic and stories about it are often packed with bummers. So in this special episode, we rounded up some of the funniest moments from our three seasons and packed them all together for a hilarity highlight reel. The laughs tend to come from unexpected places and within the context of the chat so you can be sure that none of it is corny and there are no jokes you've heard before outside the show. In the end, it's all about coming together over the topic of depression, telling truths, sharing stories, and yes, having a good laugh. Support our show today at hilariousworld.org/donate.

It's not easy to pinpoint where L.A.-based comedian Solomon Georgio is "from." His family is Ethiopian but he was born in a refugee camp in Sudan. The family traveled to St Louis, then on to Fresno, where he was bullied so much in 2nd grade that he threatened suicide in the middle of class. Then there were many years in Seattle where he says his parents were abusive and had no tolerance for Solomon's homosexuality. A disastrous runaway trip to Los Angeles ended up in a return to Seattle where he embraced comedy and relocated himself, again and much more successfully to Southern California. His depression isn't a thing of the past but he's definitely in a good place. Support the show at HilariousWorld.org/donate. Calm -- Get 25% off a Calm Premium subscription when you visit calm.com/world

The idea was to become an engineer or maybe an architect. Jonny Sun has degrees in both, and he's a dissertation away from a doctorate in urban studies and planning from MIT. But a phenomenally humane, funny, and popular Twitter account has placed him in an unexpected comedy career. Meanwhile, he realized that this dark sad feeling he's had forever has a name.

"There's a lot to unpack, John," says comedian, actor, and writer Naomi Ekperigin during the course of this interview and indeed there is. The New York native, now uneasily dwelling in Los Angeles, has dealt with anxiety, depression, a very complicated relationship with her father, as well as problems with alcohol and cutting. Comedy has been in there too both as a respite from mental turmoil and sometimes a source of neurosis. With the help of her fiance' (who is also a rich source of her comedy material), sobriety, and a lot of self-awareness, she's on the rise in the comedy world.

Mental health is a journey. Rarely does someone have a problem, fix it completely, and never worry about it again. On this episode, we touch base with three popular guests we've had on the show to see how they're doing today. Gary Gulman has a new lease on life and a new lease on an apartment, Linda Holmes has a new friend, Janelle James is keeping her ears sealed, and "Steve", the embodiment of listener Bri Traquair's anxiety, has been restrained. Also on this episode, your chance to receive cool THWoD merch and support the show! HilariousWorld.org/donate Check out our sponsor this week: Calm -- Get 25% off a Calm Premium subscription when you visit calm.com/world

It's pretty easy to be a fan of Aparna Nancherla. Not only does she create incredibly funny, smart, relatable comedy, she does so in a variety of formats. You can catch her standup on Netflix or Spotify and you can see her acting work on shows like "Bojack Horseman" and "Corporate" as well as movies. But as she has become more famous in recent years, Aparna's anxiety and depression have made some of that work harder for her carry out. That's especially the case with standup, the foundational format for comedians. Hear how she found her calling in comedy and how she's now trying to manage her mental health in a world where she gets paid to get up in front of strangers and talk about her vulnerabilities. Check out our sponsor this week: BarkBox - Get a free extra month of BarkBox when you subscribe to a 6 or 12 month plan at barkbox.com/world

In a whole lot of ways, improv comedy is the opposite of depression. It requires you to be present in the moment, unconcerned about past regrets and future anxieties. It means connecting with other people and taking fun risks. And it's full of laughs. Actors and real-life married couple Jamie Denbo ("Orange is the New Black", "Ghostbusters") and John Ross Bowie ("The Big Bang Theory", "Speechless") have plenty of experience in improv, having met twenty years ago in a class taught by Amy Poehler. At the time, John was coming off a breakdown and Jamie was headed for one. They talk about how improv helped and sometimes hindered their path to self-discovery and how they've learned to harness improv's power. Check out our sponsor this week: Care/Of - TakeCareOf.com and use promo code HILARIOUS at checkout for 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins.

True stories of beautiful epiphanies and majestic, horrible disasters. Talk therapy is one of the most popular ways to address depression and it's one of the most effective. Still, at its root, talk therapy is a relationship between two humans -- strangers, mostly -- trying to figure out something complicated together, and that is inherently complicated. Our listeners have stepped up to provide true life tales of therapy gone comically bad and therapy that worked out great. You'll hear about dogs, Flag Day, awkward online dating, painful wedding photos, and even a wedgie. Check out our sponsor this week: Calm – Get 25% off a Calm Premium subscription when you visit calm.com/world

Comedian and writer Guy Branum was expected to be a construction worker his whole life. Maybe a football player. He was large, strong, and grew up in a town more known for agriculture than metropolitan sophistication. After scoring good grades and pining for places usually seen in the movies or magazines, he moved on to college and then law school in Minnesota, where he was able to come out as gay and realize that his interests were way more tilted toward comedy than the practice of law. What's it like to find yourself after suspecting you don't belong anywhere? Check out our sponsor this week: Care/Of - TakeCareOf.com and use promo code HILARIOUS at checkout for 25% off your first month of personalized Care/of vitamins

Our show took to the stage recently for a live event packed with laughter, insight, and music. We were joined by Paul F. Tompkins, Aimee Mann, Ted Leo, and Ana Marie Cox, who all shared their experience with mental illnesses as well as what it's like to be out and about in the world with people knowing what they've gone through. We spin through the hilariously depressing world of Google Reviews in Google Review Theater, take a visit to an O. Henry marriage therapist, and even hear a little about how this very program got started. Check out our sponsors this week: Stitch Fix -- stitchfix.com/HILARIOUS

Finding and using the right words for something as complex as mental illnesses can be exasperating. And it can take a lot of effort to avoid the wrong words. In this episode, using words, we explore terms like "crazy" or "addiction" or "depression" and how they are so often abused, co-opted, and twisted. Guests include Paul F. Tompkins, Aimee Mann, Ted Leo, Ana Marie Cox, as well as licensed therapist Emily Bulthuis, who discusses the benefits of accurate terminology and how to gently approach those who misuse mental health words.