5 Amazing Youtubes making you laugh and aware of mental health

Yes, mental health is not a joke. But we can joke about it.
Turn our suffering into laughter! That’s what my therapist said.

I don’t know how many times people strongly insisted that mental health can not be a topic of humor.

Especially by Japanese men who’d never seen standup comedy.
They said, ”So, you want me to feel bad for those people?”

To release your stress, and maintain your mental health (and MINE),
I believe standup should talk about mental health.

It’s also about time for men to take a long hard look in the mirror.

Today I want to share five amazing Youtube videos on mental health with laughter.

1. 14 Minutes of Comedians Reaffirming Mental Health Struggles (2021)

This is a compilation of clips from Netflix standup specials about mental health.
Skilled, seasoned, and, real comedians each share a story: Jim Norton, Tom Papa, Neal Brennan, and Maria Bramford.
They are all gold.

Jim Norton shares his story of being suicidal, which is really powerful and relatable.

As I mentioned, I have been told that mental health can not be a comedy topic and talking about suicide is absolutely taboo.
Everybody has been avoiding talking about it although Japan is the only developed country in the world where suicide is the leading cause of death among young people.
So…then who will speak up?

Jim said, “a subject doesn’t have to be funny on its own in order to be talked about on the stage.”

His story of emotional struggle when suicide is on the mind should resonate with everybody living in this hectic era.

Also Tom Papa’s positive voice blew away our spartan self-punishment of our body image. Yes, we are all fat!

2.Mental Health: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) (2015)

This video was released in 2015. I couldn’t stop thinking that I should’ve watched it much earlier!
In this video, it’s talking about the relationship between mental illness and crimes.

Though it’s slightly different from the current trend talking about the generality of mental health, I believe it was a milestone of comedy challenging stigma against mental illness on a major TV network.

3. I’ll never be as good as Bo Burnham — Anna Akana (2021)

This is what we must watch when we can’t stop comparing ourselves to others.

Actually, my mom accepted me only by comparing my school grades to others.

Art is a very challenging circumstance where artists need to focus on self-improvement while people always compare and criticize.

Being inspired or motivated is essential for growing, but acceptance is the ground where one’s own artisity sprouts.

4.Byron Bowers: The Hardest Part Of Schizophrenia (2019)

In addition to his solid skill set as a standup comic, his art of transforming reality and sadness into comedy touches everyone’s heart.

Also, his heroes are “everybody” in the country, under the flag.

5. Stand-Up for Your Mental Health — Comedy Central (2021)

It’s a themed compilation by Comedy Central, hosted by Hanna Dickinson.

It features performers, (in order of appearance), Gianmarco Soresi, Brian Bahe, Luke Mones, Gastor Almonte, Julia Shiplett, Lucas O’Neil, Alex Kumin, Aminah Imani, Robin Tran, Matty Ryan, Rebecca O’Neal, Clark Jones, and Kenny DeForest.

They are all gold. It’s very hard to choose, but let me pick some who especially resonated with me. But, I still recommend that you watch all of them!
*Please note that the times next to the names below refer to their start positions in the video.

Gastor Almonte (20:21) honestly shocked me by using “imposter syndrome” and the audience understanding it because the term is still very uncommon in my country.
It’s also eye opening that the syndrome was spoken from a dad’s point of view. Very unique.

Robin Tran (33:58), one of the upcoming rising comedians, pulls us into his deep and insightful inner world.

His subconscious inner-talk naturally resonated with me, having been raised in a high-pressured Asian society. I also had a very long period of depression after I burned out. My mind was always conflicted between punishment and cherishment.
In an era of social media , everybody may receive the message that we have to be somebody. This set is very RAW.

Rebecca O’Neal（39:44) talks about how we dress and depression.
“I am a depressed extrovert though that’s unacceptable.”
Haha that’s me!

I know my Tokyo style outfits are as fashionable as gays.

But it doesn’t always mean I want to party all night long.
Rather, I stand up against stigmas and express my commitment as,
“Being different is my color.” Like gays.

I love her line, “sadness on the inside, party on the outside.”
Everybody probably has experienced days where they felt that way.

Kenny DeForest(45:34) His analogy of anxiety is gold!!

Honestly, until watching this video I wasn’t able to imagine what anxiety actually feels like.

Now I get it, and feel it intimately.

There are no taboos in comedy!

So those are my top 5 five Youtubes about mental health with laughter.

Laughter is the best medicine… as long as you are in the audience.

For comedians, it’s like fasting.

Making laughter is very challenging for the first few weeks but once you get used to it, it makes you feel light.

Anyway, It’s good for our mental health to talk about it and to laugh.

Have a great day, great night, and great life!