Magazine

Comedy as therapy

My name is Courtney and I use comedy as therapy.

I admit some days I can relate to the song 'Tears of Clown' but in my case there are usually people around. I could sulk off and drown my woes in whole nut dairy milk but as I am dairy intolerant this would make matters worse for all concerned. Instead, I write jokes, use sarcasm, replay scenarios with people who have annoyed me in a comedy genre directed by, oh let’s say Woody Allen.

If I get really annoyed, I slip into Kubrik but that isn’t too often. I get frustrated easily, wound up and then feel all of Great Britain is against me because I’m a doey eyed Canadian. A Canadian who doesn’t understand why you have washing up bowls when the sinks seem to work just fine.

It feels cathartic to be able to experience, get really annoyed, rant, then go all comedy and then have the chance to grab a mic and share it with the world (well a small representation thereof). If they laugh then I feel relieved because this means they must encounter the same frustrations and relate to my angst. I am not alone on this island surrounded by unfamiliar social cues and queues.

For example, the other day a neighbour (we live in a block of lovely flats with a communal garden) was banging his shoes on the balcony rather loudly then proceeded to 'waterboard' the balcony causing a water feature effect on our balcony leaving my potted plants vulnerable to disinfectant exposure. Normally, we all get along eerily well so this aggressive sloshing and bashing had me concerned.

It came to light that said neighbour had stepped in cat poo and assumed it was our cat. No proof, no DNA to confirm breed, gender or even species. My husband and I scoured our garden for the offending sample but alas no luck. Just a black label on us, our cats’ reputation marred and us laughing so hard we couldn’t stop. It felt like A Woody Allan film, It could have turned into a Samuel L Jackson type of revenge thing but we aren’t very tough. We stuck to low key conversation and try not to mention the cat when we see the neighbour.

This sort of laughing at life is much more fun than therapy! Plus the sort of 'group therapy' comedy offers has the added bonus of not having to listen to others vent. Maybe heckle. Though I mustn’t get confused and heckle next time I’m actually at group.

Courtney Cornfield