COMEDY AS THERAPY – BECKSVOICE.COM

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I’ve always been a comedy fan, and I learned about a year ago how powerful a tool it can be for changing my mood when I did eight weeks of biofeedback at a naturopathic medicine teaching clinic. You can read about my whole journey in my post entitled I did 8 weeks of biofeedback. Here’s what happened, but to make a long story short, the machines showed that laughing brought me into the relaxation, or “rest and digest” state even when I was laughing about how “poorly” I was doing at staying in the relaxation state.

This was a critical learning moment for me. I stopped trying to control panic attacks merely by slowing down my breathing or taking a walk- not that those things aren’t important or effective, but in my case they serve better as preventative mental health medicine, rather than mental first aid.

So what comedy am I consuming these days? The variety of content has certainly changed in this age of streaming, podcasts, and social media, and one great thing is that I can pull up almost all of my favorites on demand. I don’t need to wait for my favorite sit-com to come on TV or watch an entire movie to find that one funny scene that gets me rolling on the floor. Here is some of my favorite comedic content in recent years. All of these have been guaranteed mood lifters for me. I even included links in case you too have a mental meltdown and need some comedy therapy. One caveat though- there’s a fair amount of improv in these and not much (if any) censoring. None of it is what I would consider “shock humor”, but if you are sensitive to swears and poop jokes, it may not all be for you.

Podcasts are great because I can turn one on when on a stressful commute. Here are my go-tos:

Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend

All of the episodes are laugh out loud funny (just ask anyone who commutes with me!). One notable episode is the most recent appearance with SNL alum, Kevin Nealon.

Comedy Bang Bang: The Podcast

Comedy Bang Bang is on the same network, and usually features one special guest and a couple of improvisers who play characters, interviewed by host Scott Aukerman. The best episodes tend to be ones with the more regular guests, like Paul F. Thompkins, Lily Sullivan, and Lisa Gilroy. I recommend starting with the regular formatted shows before listening to the hilarious “best-ofs” or my favorite, the Solo Bolos with Ben Schwartz.

When I have a meltdown at home and need a full mood revision, I turn on Youtube or one of the streaming services for some hilarious content.

Gamechanger on Dropout TV is a fantastic comedy game show from the production company formerly known as College Humor. Most of their shows are behind a modest paywall (under $7 per month) but there are a number of episodes on Youtube on the Dropout Channel. The format changes with every episode, and sometimes a format is so wonderful that it turns into its own spinoff show. My favorite is the short form improv show Make Some Noise.

Other shows I’ve enjoyed on Dropout include Gastronauts, probably the only cooking show I’ve ever found to be entertaining, and Smartypants, a Ted Talk style comedy show and Q&A with other Dropout TV comedians. My hands down favorite presentation from this show is from the wonderful Zach Reino, called “No Thank You to the Ocean” or “Why ‘The Ocean’ Sucks” and you can see it here:

At the end of a stressful day, I like to combine my comedy with a bit of culture. Thanks to Netflix and other streaming services, I’ve been exposed to some wonderful international comedy shows.

The Philomena Cunk mocumentaries: Cunk on Earth and Cunk on Life have made Diane Morgan one of my favorite comedians and the shows are available on Netflix in the U.S.

Do you remember the bit in “30 Rock” where there was a gameshow called Homonym! and the contestants had to guess which word the host was referring to (like meat vs meet) or (stair vs stare)? Well, Kiwi comedian Guy Montgomery seemed to have found his calling when he created a very silly spelling bee show, Guy Montgomery’s Guy Mont Spelling Show, possibly inspired by this concept. Its currently broadcasting on Australian TV, but you can see the older seasons on Youtube on the ABCiview channel.

Taskmaster, a brilliant show created by comedic genius, Alex Horne, stars a panel of mostly British comedians competing in silly physical challenges for fake prizes. The show is so popular that it’s been franchised and has had versions in 13 other countries. Many, including the UK version, have full seasons available on Youtube (or “you chewb”). In the current -and possibly best- series, for the first time, an American comedian (Jason Mantzoukas) has joined the cast of contestants.