{"id":38026,"date":"2021-12-17T01:55:04","date_gmt":"2021-12-17T09:55:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=38026"},"modified":"2021-12-16T18:38:47","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T02:38:47","slug":"comedy-and-mental-health","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2021\/12\/17\/comedy-and-mental-health\/","title":{"rendered":"Comedy and mental health"},"content":{"rendered":"

David Granirer (photo from David Granirer)<\/em><\/p>\n

Vancouver counselor and comic David Granirer has been standing up for mental health, literally, for nearly two decades. His brainchild, Stand Up for Mental Health, is a program that has helped hundreds of people on the road towards addressing and recovering from all sorts of psychological disorders by taking to the stage and performing comedy before live audiences.<\/p>\n

The concept came to Granirer after observing his students during a stand-up comedy clinic he taught at Langara College in the early 2000s. While the course had nothing to do with mental health, Granirer noticed that some students experienced psychological benefits by the end of the semester.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, in 2004, I thought, why not put this in a package for people who wanted to do comedy but also wanted that life-changing experience? And, since I work in mental health and have a mental illness, this was the natural place to start,\u201d said Granirer, who, in addition to advocating for destigmatizing mental illness, speaks openly about his own experience with\u00a0depression.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had students overcome long-standing depressions and phobias, not to\u00a0mention increasing their confidence and self-esteem. There\u2019s something incredibly empowering about\u00a0telling a roomful of people exactly who you are and having them laugh and cheer,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The idea, which was seeded in Vancouver\u2019s Oakridge neighbourhood, has blossomed to a program that Granirer has run in 50 cities throughout Canada, the United States and Australia \u2013 in partnership with mental health organizations in each area.<\/p>\n

Granirer has trained nearly 700 comics since Stand Up for Mental Health\u2019s inception. In that time, there have been more than 500 shows for a range of audiences, including mental health organizations, government departments, corporations, universities, correctional facilities and the military. He even created a show for the United States Secret Service in Washington, D.C., in May 2021.<\/p>\n

In Vancouver, the Stand Up for Mental Health course is six months long. Classes start by teaching participants how to write stand-up routines; then they spend the next part of the classes working on their acts. Each week, participants write some jokes and bring them in to try in front of the class. Most of the acts are about their mental health experiences.<\/p>\n

Classmates do a lot brainstorming together to hone the routines. At the halfway point, each student does a five-minute set. Afterwards, the prospective comics develop a completely new set for their graduation show at the end of the program.<\/p>\n

In terms of therapeutic benefits, Granirer said doing comedy builds a comic\u2019s confidence and self-esteem, enabling many to tackle other challenges in their lives successfully. It also helps get rid of the shame many feel about having a mental illness.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople transform their past trauma into great comedy material,\u201d he said. \u201cIn therapy we call that a cognitive shift. All the bad things they\u2019ve been through now make a great act. Instead of feeling ashamed, they now feel proud of what they\u2019ve been able to survive.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granirer emphasized that, while much can be explored in the process, the humour has to be clean, and there are taboo elements, such as homophobia, racism and antisemitism, which are off limits.<\/p>\n

When the pandemic started last year, Granirer shifted to online classes and shows on Zoom. In 2021, Stand Up for Mental Health has done about 25 virtual shows for organizations across North America. Recently, live classes have resumed.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pandemic has also got in the way of my traveling to other cities where I\u2019ve trained groups,\u201d Granirer said. \u201cI just finished training a group in Culpeper, Va., and had to emcee the show virtually instead of in person.\u201d<\/p>\n

Granirer has been the recipient of numerous accolades over the years. Among the honours decorating his mantel are an Award of Excellence\u00a0from the National Council for Behavioural Health, a Life Unlimited Award\u00a0presented by the Depression Bipolar Support Alliance, a Rotary\u00a0Shine On Award\u00a0in Australia for special achievement in mental health, and\u00a0a\u00a0Meritorious Service Medal\u00a0from the Governor General of Canada.<\/p>\n

His work for Stand Up for Mental Health has been featured in media throughout the world, including, of course, the Jewish Independent<\/em>, and also in The Passionate Eye<\/em> documentary\u00a0Cracking Up<\/em>. Granirer is the author of the book The Happy Neurotic: How Fear and Angst Can Lead to Happiness and Success<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The new year promises a busy start for Stand Up for Mental Health. On Jan. 12, Granirer and his team of comics are organizing \u201can evening of stigma busting comedy\u201d called Speaking of Normal. The Zoom event will be hosted by TSN personality Michael Landsberg. To attend, visit wellnessinstitute.org\/speakingofnormal<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The next Stand Up for Mental Health Vancouver class starts on Jan. 25 and is currently recruiting students. Classes are Tuesdays from 10:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. More information can be found at standupformentalhealth.com<\/a> or by emailing Granirer at david@smhcomedysociety.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n

As far as being able to participate, Granirer stressed, \u201cthere are no prerequisites, no auditions, and no one needs to have any comedy experience. All they need is a desire to do stand-up comedy.\u201d<\/p>\n

He strongly encouraged his fellow Jewish community members to take part.<\/p>\n

Sam Margolis<\/strong> has written for the <\/em>Globe and Mail, the <\/em>National Post, UPI and MSNBC.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Granirer (photo from David Granirer) Vancouver counselor and comic David Granirer has been standing up for mental health, literally, for nearly two decades. His brainchild, Stand Up for Mental Health, is a program that has helped hundreds of people on the road towards addressing and recovering from all sorts of psychological disorders by taking […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[785],"tags":[5278,7024,3076,1997,21110,19895],"class_list":["post-38026","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-performing-arts","tag-comedy","tag-david-granirer","tag-education","tag-mental-health","tag-stand-up-for-mental-health","tag-standup"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38026","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38026"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38026\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38027"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38026"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38026"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38026"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}