Comedy / mental health
Dave Chawner on the power of comedy to unlock conversations around mental health
Alongside his award-winning standup, Dave Chawner is a number one bestselling author, presenter and mental health campaigner.
Chawner first came to prominence for his comedy shows detailing his personal experience of anorexia. 2015’s Normally Abnormal toured the UK after a successful Edinburgh Fringe run, leading to a TED Talk on the same topic, as well as the publication of his “part-memoir, part self-help guide”, Weight Expectations.
In the years since, Chawner has been a regular contributor to lifestyle and fitness magazines as well as the national broadcast and print media, while continuing to write and perform standup around the country.
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He is a patron of three charities: First Steps, Oakleaf and Recovery Assistance Dogs, and is also currently serving as a media ambassador for Mind, The Mental Health Foundation and Beat.
Ahead of a date in Bristol on October 26 with his show Mental, Chawner spoke about processing his own experiences through humour.
Photo: Dave Chawner
How would you summarise your own journey with mental health?
“I came from a happy home in The Midlands. My ‘journey’ wasn’t like the Channel 4 documentaries you get, it was actually quite gradual, and I didn’t even realise that I had a mental illness. The anorexia developed rather than ‘began’ and because of that it became my normality and I didn’t even realise what I was doing was abnormal. And, I think, for a lot of people, that is the truth about mental illness – it’s very rarely as dramatic as Hollywood would make you believe.”
When did you realise the healing power of comedy?
“I remember being at university and there was a comedy night. I’d never been to see standup before but I went along and was blown away. The thing that I loved about comedy was that it was all about taking your pain and playing with it. Comedy wasn’t about fitting in, it was about standing out and celebrating difference and I loved that. You could take the sting out of anything that was uncomfortable if you could get a laugh, and I thought that was amazing.”
Was there a particular moment that inspired you to turn your own experiences into a stage show?
“I sort of fell into it by accident. A mate of mine ran an open mic night and asked if I’d like to give it a go. I did – I never really had any dignity to lose. And I loved it. I get asked a lot by people who want to start doing standup and I always say that the only thing you need to do comedy is the will to do it! Anyone can learn. And I think everyone that wants to should – you honestly learn so much by doing comedy and it can help you with your professional, as well as personal, life. In fact, I’ve created a comedy course called Comedy For Coping aimed at doing exactly that.”
Where did the book arise from, and how was the process of writing it?
“I actually didn’t set out to write a book. I was approached by a publisher and they gave me the help. And I certainly don’t want to sound ungrateful at all – I know there’s loads of people who want to write a book, but the actual process was one of the most unrewarding things since I tried CrossFit!”
Dave Chawner – photo: Steve Ullathorne
How do you see your role in talking to people who may be processing their own trauma?
“I like the idea of being to help people. And, more than that, I like the idea of helping people find a way of talking about tricky topics in a way that doesn’t scare people off. A lot of the time mental health can be a lot of sob stories and pity porn. I think humour has the power to change that, flip the script and get people excited to talk about their own mental health.”
If you could wave a magic wand, what gaps in mental health awareness or support would you fill?
“Big question. And I want to be clear I’m not a mental health professional, I’m just a professional idiot, but I think the direction we need to start moving in is to stop focusing on the one in four people who have mental illness. Instead, we should start looking at all the people who have mental health: in other words, everyone. I’m a big believer that prevention is better than cure, and if you can get people enthused and excited to talk about mental health then half the battle is already won. If you look after your mental health when it’s good, it’s much easier to look after it when it’s not.”
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Dave Chawner: Mental is at The Wardrobe Theatre on October 26 at 7pm. Tickets are available at www.thewardrobetheatre.com. Visit www.davechawner.co.uk or follow @dave_chawner for updates.
Main photo: Steve Ullathorn
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