My People

Yesterday, the last day of my weekend, was spent mostly sleeping or lounging around with my eyes covered due to a sinus headache. I took some Sudafed (feeling like a total junkie because it appears it would be less hassle to get a permit for medical marijuana these days than it is to buy any decongestant worth taking) and searched for a new audiobook to listen to. I wanted something funny but not overly taxing. I had the need for humor but the fear of a 10 hour commitment.





I chose “Gasping for Airtime” by Jay Mohr about his two years as a writer and feature performer on Saturday Night Live. It’s hilarious and very enlightening. I have heard before about what a totally negative work environment SNL is, but Mohr names names while being funny and self deprecating. I definitely recommend it.

So there I am, a third of the way through the book, reclining on the couch with a blanket over my eyes, the headphones from my Creative Nano in my ears, and Sugar Baby laying next to me watching Ellen (Sugar, like most dogs and humans, enjoys watching Ellen) when Jay starts talking about having his first major panic attack.

Jay Mohr is a fellow member of the Church of Anxietology!! Woohoo! And the only way he got officially diagnosed is that Sarah Silverman, when told of his symptoms, told him “go see my doctor, she saved my life!” I love Sarah Silverman and she’s a sister! Double woohoo!

And screw you Tom Cruise!

I know that it sounds like “misery loves company” and it is a little bit of that but it’s also validation. Other folks have had anxiety disorders. Famous people, even. And they describe how crippling it is and how much help they have had through the same types of meds/therapies that I have used.

Saying I am mentally ill seems a little bit of a stretch. I have “mental illness lite” compared to friends and clients who are Bipolar (manic-depressive), Obsessive-Compulsive, Borderline Personality Disorder, Schizophrenic, and/or Schizo-effective.

Yet validation is important. It’s nice to know you are not alone.

Bipolar folks can have Beethoven, Van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, and Patty Duke- my people are Mohr and Silverman. That’s good company indeed.