OMG, That’s Me! - Why Dave Mowry’s Jokes About the Darkest Stuff Help a Million People Feel Less Alone

In 1994, Dave Mowry was driving down the freeway when he heard something like a twig snapping in his mind. His face went slack, his voice went monotone, and a deep sense of dread moved in that wouldn’t leave for 14 years. He lost his businesses, his home, spent 18 months homeless with his family. At the bottom, he sat on a  park bench with a gun in his hand. What pulled him back wasn’t a single breakthrough. It was a small notice in a newspaper about a stand-up comedy class put on by a local NAMI affiliate. His wife urged him to go. Four weeks in, he had his first real belly laugh in years.

Dave is a comedian, author, and mental health advocate whose books — including Healing with Humor and OMG, That’s Me — have reached over a million readers. He’s taught stand-up comedy at the Oregon State Hospital for the Criminally Insane. This  conversation covers what bipolar disorder, severe anxiety, and
depression actually feel like from the inside — and why finding the punchline in your darkest material might be the most powerful thing you can do with it. 

Shownotes with Chapters:

04:13 — The Day His Mind Snapped: 1994, driving down the freeway — a sound like a twig breaking. Face slack, voice monotone, a wave of dread that became 14 years of his life.

06:38 — What Depression Actually Feels Like: Not sadness. Nothingness. Going to the mailbox at midnight. Panic attacks from a ringing phone. Just holding on to breathe.

08:05 — Bipolar, Anxiety, and the Anxiety Bucket: His bucket was already three-quarters full before the day started. Any additional stress tipped it into a panic attack.

09:30 — Drinking to Reach Calm: Not drinking to get drunk — drinking until the anxiety subsided, then sipping to maintain it. When medication helped with anxiety, he just stopped.

11:18 — A Small Notice in the Newspaper: A NAMI affiliate brought a comedian in to teach stand-up to people with mental illness. Heather saw the notice and urged him to go.

12:10 — How Comedy Reframed Everything: As few words as possible. Set up, move forward, find the punchline. When a song triggered a panic attack, he’d ask: where’s the funny here?

14:15 — The Suicide Joke: Where it came from, how it works, and what happened when Dave told it to a suicidal man whose parents had brought him in. Belly laugh. He kept coming back.

19:26 — The Treadmill Joke: Medication weight gain, 24-hour fitness, and the guy next to him on the treadmill. ‘That’s okay, my mind’s racing.’

21:16 — Four Weeks In — Heather Notices: The first real laugh in years. The shift from just holding on to actively hunting for the next punchline. 

22:32 — Why He Wasn’t Nervous Onstage: Sweating through clothes talking to one person. No sweat at all in front of a full room. The difference: complete honesty. No pretending.

25:29 — Teaching at the Oregon State Hospital for the Criminally Insane: A man with relentless suicidal ideation. They built him a joke about the Golden Gate Bridge and a floatie. He started getting better.

27:58 — OMG, That’s Me: Blog posts read by over a million people. The most common reaction: OMG, that’s me. You’re telling my story. I don’t feel so alone.

32:16 — I Never Resigned Myself to This Being Forever: Homeless for 18 months, hundreds of thousands in debt. He still sat in a different chair on the bad days. Little victories. He kept trying.

38:07 — The $10,000 Christmas Tree: Manic and freshly liquid, he decorated the Christmas tree with hundred-dollar bills and called the family in. They looked at him like he was crazy. He was.

41:52 — Who Has the Hardest Time Laughing: Not the people with mental illness — they get it right away. It’s the helpers, who see their clients as fragile, who take the longest.

45:37 — The Word Crazy: Censoring ordinary language is more stigmatizing than the word itself. Protecting people from it says they can’t handle it.

49:32 — Don’t Get Stuck: Sit in a different spot. Pick up a different book. Do something nice for somebody. Just don’t get stuck.

Resources Mentioned:

Website:  https://davemowry.wpcomstaging.com/

Healing with Humor by Dave Mowry — https://www.amazon.com/Healing-Humor-Mental-Illness-Inspiring-ebook/dp/B0GXY4NT9J?ref_=kfw_samples_getbook_card