The healing power of laughter for those who are depressed

A FIRST VISIT with a psychiatrist isn’t usually a laughing matter. But for Bruce Miller, it was a source of comedy material.

As he tells the story, he was nervous and the psychiatrist didn’t know all the history that led up to his visit.

The doctor asked Mr. Miller to start from the beginning.

"So I said, ‘Well, in the beginning, I created the heavens and the Earth . . . ’ "

Mr. Miller follows that up with another crack:

"What’s the difference between a psychiatric patient in a mental hospital and the psychiatrists?" he asks. "The patient really doesn’t believe that they’re God."

The Dartmouth man, who lives with anxiety and depression, has taken the bold step in recent months of trying out his standup comedy skills at variety shows. Some of his material deals directly with his mental illness.

He’s also co-ordinating a program that will provide standup comedy instruction to others living with mental illnesses, culminating in a pair of performances next year.

In October, the Healthy Minds Co-operative, a group meant to give users of mental health services and their families a voice in the development of those services in the Capital district health authority, obtained a $29,000 grant from the provincial Health Department to fund a local session of the program Stand Up for Mental Health.

The year-long program, which uses the saying "Not only do you have to be nuts to do standup comedy in our program, it’s a prerequisite," is led by Vancouver-based comic and counsellor David Granirer.

Mr. Granirer, who also has depression, will lead 10 to 12 local participants in 20 training sessions via teleconference and Skype, an online phone and video service, said Francine Vezina, executive director of the Healthy Minds Co-operative.