Out of the Mouth of Comics

DEPRESSION “IS NOT A MOOD, IT’S A PSYCHOLOGICAL disorder,” says John Moe, radio personality, podcaster and author of the book and podcast, The Hilarious World of Depression. “The simplistic solutions sometimes given by people who have never dealt with it might be well-intentioned, but they’re useless to the point of being insulting. It’s like saying, ‘Just go for a nice walk and you won’t have such leukemia. Think of all the people who love you, and you won’t have broken collarbone anymore.’” In this excerpt from his book, Moe discusses why so many people suffering from depression are drawn to comedy and the importance of medication for those with mental illness.

People with minds that have been disordered from depression often find solace in comedy. That’s both strange and logical at the same time. Comedy, much of the time, is built on disorder. The Coneheads on the old are aliens with tall pointy