In the 1960s, Norman Cousins, the then editor of the Saturday Review discharged himself from hospital, locked himself in a hotel room, and proceeded to watch Marx Brothers movies and Candid Camera episodes. Cured, he wrote a book on the incident, became a household name in doing so, and his experience has been studied and debated by medical researchers ever since.
Scientists have speculated for decades on the link between laughter and health, citing endorphins and other biological pathways to explain the effect. The bottom line is that we all know we feel better after a good laugh. So while the medicos get busy researching the hows and whys, we’ll just get laughing.
Here are some gems on the topic of mental illness, shrinks, and therapy to get you started. Enjoy!
Insanity is just a state of mind. Alan Alda
I said to my psychiatrist: ‘I keep thinking I’m a dog.’ He told me to get off his couch. Rodney Dangerfield
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change. Anon
Normal is just a cycle on the washing machine. Whoopi Goldberg
He has turned his life around. He used to be depressed and miserable. Now he’s miserable and depressed. John McClenahan
One out of four people is mentally unbalanced. Think of your three best friends. If they seem all right then you’re the one. Slappy White
Of all the things I’ve ever lost, I miss my mind the most. Mark Twain
I went to the doctor the other day and he said I was a paranoid schizophrenic—well, he didn’t actually say it, but we know what he was thinking. Lily Savage
I’ve been married seven times—all to women named Brenda. It’s just a coincidence. The psychiatrists can make anything they like of that, but as my mom, Brenda, used to say… Otis Lee Crenshaw
This final one is a real gem…
Being in therapy is great. I spend an hour just talking about myself. It’s kinda like being the guy on a date. Caroline Rhea