MAA #012: With Brodi Snook

Interview with Brodi Snook who kicked off her comedy career 2 years ago in the Raw Comedy competition while visiting her home town of Perth (and had to keep delaying her flight back to the UK in order to attend the advancing rounds and state finals).  She spent some time on the open mic circuit in London before returning home in January 2015 to continue comedy in Perth.  Brodi is also a writer, and has an article in the upcoming YAWP Magazine (Mental Health in Comedy edition).  We discuss: Brodi’s five years in the UK and the differences in performing comedy in the UK vs Oz, the "life and death" of not sharing suicidal thoughts, big-name comedians modelling that it’s ok to discuss mental health issues and painful emotions, Brodi’s anxiety from a young age, experiencing anxiety about normal/everyday things, Brodi feeling at home on stage (and Shae feeling the opposite!), nerves when loved ones are in the audience, Brodi’s cathartic experience with CBT, thoughts on meds, Valerian and mindfulness, awareness of mental/cognitive states, vicious cycle of physical and cognitive symptoms of anxiety, how health professionals can help by explaining things differently instead of having to figure things out by yourself, enjoyment of CBT homework, a bit about ACT, Russ Harris and The Happiness Trap, mindfulness helping with sleep, Eckhart Tolle’s soundtracks, relaxation apps, Brodi’s change of perspective on exercise, Endorphins!, soothing sounds and smells of the ocean, the unhelpfulness of “shoulds” (and associated feelings of guilt), writing as an outlet/journalling to empty the head, encorporating experiences of anxiety into comedy, performing at the Perth Fringe and MICF in 2016, and the importance of speaking up about mental health issues.