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For the last couple of months, I seemed to have lost the funny, meaning my ability to come up with jokes. I can still come up with funny stuff if I really labor at it, but lately it seems to be more of a chore, and I don't feel like my brain zig zags the way it used to. I used to be able to just come out of jokes out of stream of consciousness, but that doesn't really happen anymore, and as an aspiring comedy writer, it's pretty worrisome. My sketches aren't bad, but I feel like they're missing an absurdist element that used to come to me easily. I see a therapist, I exercise 3-4 times a week (lots of cardio), my job isn't engaging but pretty easy. I'm in a sketch group, but I haven't done stand up in a while. Just recently went through a breakup but it was pretty amicable. I feel like sometimes I can get there after a few drinks, but I'm not looking to rely on that obviously. I'm also concerned it's becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy since it's always on my mind. Any thoughts how I can just relax/reset this? Therapist does seem to think I have dysthymia, but nothing in life is getting me particularly down, just this nagging feeling that I'm not in full potential mode. I also get annual bloodwork and everything seems fine, so it's almost certainly mental. Well, any thoughts would be helpful.
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Oct 15, 2015 03:07
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| # ? May 5, 2024 06:21 |
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Assuming you're not bipolar or schizophrenic, I'd personally recommend dosing a sub-trip dose of a psychedelic while you're writing, such as 4-aco-dmt at 3 mg (recreational being 10-30 mg). 4-aco-dmt is yet to be made illegal and shouldn't make you fail a drug test, you can find out where to get it on various sub-reddits discussing that sort of thing on reddit. Weighing out 3 mg is difficult, so you'll need a $20 mg accurate scale, measure 20mg, dilute it well in a drink and dose according to the appropriate number of milliliters. That's likely to be the thing most likely to work, but if you're not up for that (or have some mental poo poo going on that would contraindicate it) you could try phenylpiracetam (also legal and not bad for you) which can increase communication across various areas of the brain allowing for improved thought in general, as well as more creative comedy. You'll want a choline supplement to take with it, if you use it days in a row at least. Or if you want to be relaxed without being stupid, you could try a properly prepared drink of kava root and drink a cup of that before/while writing. None of the drugs I recommended are addictive and kava can be consumed in reasonable quantities nearly everyday without ill health effect, unlike alcohol. I find a low mood generally makes jokes not come, so make sure you're doing/taking the poo poo you should be anyway. Keep exercising, take 5000iu of vitamin D daily (higher levels than previous research suggested are optimal), multivitamin, omegas, 3 tbs daily of nutritional yeast if you can stomach it, and also 500-1000 mg of l-tryptophan and 1000-3000 mg of l-tyrosine an hour or two before you want to write. Oh and make sure you're reading/watching/listening to enough general fiction/comedy for creative fuel. Not to plagiarize, but to have fresh fuel to take ideas from, chop up, and recombine them into something that is your own. Or you can always pray to the comedy gods- to do this though, you will have to cut off, cauterize, and leave on their altar atop the highest peak of Iceland, Hvannadalshnúkur, your penis (or nipples, if female). Tajunn fucked around with this message at 04:05 on Oct 15, 2015 |
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Oct 15, 2015 03:57
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Tajunn posted:I find a low mood generally makes jokes not come, so make sure you're doing/taking the poo poo you should be anyway. Keep exercising, take 5000iu of vitamin D daily (higher levels than previous research suggested are optimal), multivitamin, omegas, 3 tbs daily of nutritional yeast if you can stomach it, and also 500-1000 mg of l-tryptophan and 1000-3000 mg of l-tyrosine an hour or two before you want to write. Yeah i think I I've tried dozens of supplements and nothing really stuck (other than vit B,D, omega 3s, etc.) I used to have an adderall scrip for a bit but that definitely put the comedy blinders on, will only do it occasionally recreationally now. Weed gives me insane anxiety these days and isn't really my bag but I do feel more creative on it. I went through cycles of depression, different levels of exercise, in a relationship/out of a relationship, very social or somewhat isolated, but I never stopped thinking of jokes. So i'm just curious why this is happening now, but then again maybe all this navel-gazing is contributing.
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Oct 15, 2015 04:43
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Have you tried crack OP? Crackheads are pretty funny.
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Oct 15, 2015 11:30
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rock rock posted:Have you tried crack OP? Crackheads are pretty funny. You wanna be careful though, that stuff's pretty moreish
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Oct 15, 2015 17:03
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have you considered the possibility that you weren't funny to begin with and you just think very highly of yourself
Jamwad Hilder fucked around with this message at 20:56 on Oct 15, 2015 |
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Oct 15, 2015 20:54
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Jamwad Hilder posted:have you considered that you weren't funny to begin with and you just think very highly of yourself already heavily considered it but thanks for helping me check that box
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Oct 15, 2015 20:57
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I used to be really funny, but then I realized I was just saying mean stuff about my friends. I stopped doing that and I'm a nice person now but I'm not funny anymore.
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Oct 16, 2015 05:29
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Do you really have to be the "funny man", OP?
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Oct 16, 2015 05:45
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Have you considered moving to the Federated States of Micronesia? (AKA the best country in the world)
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Oct 16, 2015 06:15
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Much like the poster at the top seems to think, you should do some of the drugs TCC has been doing. Bang - instant funny stories for the rest of your life. Admittedly, they're going to be more of the self-deprecating kind, like "the time I hid drugs in my rear end", "the time I robbed someone for drugs", and "the time I went on an unconscious three-day road trip and killed a hitch hiker", but if you're in a creative slump, you've got to break free somehow, and based on what I've read in there, it's loving guaranteed you'll get some material.
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Oct 16, 2015 07:58
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I guess I'll be a huge square and give a serious answer. You're fine. In my experience, that lack of being able to belt out joke after joke stems mostly from being too physically tired and if you pay attention you'll usually notice the telltale "fog" when you try to think. Dysthymia is certainly going to contribute to that, as chemically it's going to affect how easily your brain can make new connections and fire neurons (seriously). You also can't really expect to turn it on for every topic; the more familiar you are with something in particular (a favorite hobby, a well known event, etc.) the easier it's going to be to come up with something on the fly because the links are already there in your brain, otherwise you shouldn't expect to be able to pull material out of thin air. Really the best remedy I've found is to focus. Concentrate on finding the connections in the material you're presented with even if nothing strikes you at first glance, and don't be afraid to get some material on paper (or out in the open if you're in a group setting) to see what sticks. Comedy writing, just like any other, is generally an iterative process and you shouldn't be discouraged if your joke isn't a gem the first time it hits the page. If you really want a supplement to enhance your process a bit of caffeine or an energy drink usually works well for me, both for staving off fatigue and also because it's gives my neurons something to chew on so they can fire more easily. Or just do a shitload of drugs.
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Oct 29, 2015 17:48
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What exactly where you funny at in the past? I feel like we need some example of your past work to real understand what's going on here. Because, depending on your type of humor, you might benefit from either more or less chronic depression and self-loathing in your life.
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Oct 29, 2015 18:24
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i got way too serious and lost the funny for a good long while. I was heavily medicating with alcohol a ton. seek funny in the absurd a bit. stupid things.
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Oct 31, 2015 15:57
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op, link some of your posts when you used to be funny
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Nov 1, 2015 12:33
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Jacobus Spades posted:I guess I'll be a huge square and give a serious answer. Sorry, just saw this post. Believe me i think the caffeine receptors in my brain have been toast for quite some time. Part of me feels just uninvested in life in general so it's hard to dive into a subject and pick it apart when your mood is usually 'why bother'? Some days I don't feel quite like that but overall that seems to be the rut I'm in. I really enjoy writing comedy and making those connections and I think I was quite good at it and could be again if I'd just lighten up instead of dwelling on it. Maybe thats the question. Also, whether I'm funny or not to your subjective tastes is irrelevant to the question. I could post Sinbad's entire repertoire but it'd be met with "NOT FUNNY KILL URSELF". Assume I've done some decent stand-up and been complimented and retweeted by well-known comedians. I don't know how else to validate it. Not recently though. I'm really just curious if it's just a low-level depression or if the engine is gone or what.
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Nov 17, 2015 04:50
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You could just be going through a fallow period where you're not coming up with the ideas that you used to. For example, I make music and there are times when I can crank stuff out, and there are times where I'm lucky if I can put two notes together and not hate it. There's not always a lot you can do. Sometimes, I try to find some sort of exercise I can use, like doing something for a specific project where there's an end goal. Sometimes, I just let myself do something totally lovely and just dick around just to play. You might just be aware that the stuff you're coming up with just isn't that good, and none of it is taking. Maybe take a look at it and try to understand why it's not working. Sometimes, you just walk away until it hits you in the middle of the night. The worst you can do is worry about it. After a while, it will come back to you. Or maybe you truly have lost the funny and will spend the rest of your life living seriously. You will never say anything with a trace of irony again. You'll sit down to watch a funny video of someone failing to do something, and you will only feel sorrow for the tragedy that they are facing. You will find joy in doing things like the dishes and taxes, but when you try to engage in any frivolity, you will find nothing. I only pray that you can play golf.
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Nov 17, 2015 06:18
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I don't know if it relates at all but I have similar experiences with drawing. I don't have much advice on how to actually get out of a dry state like that, however I've found that if you are worried about it then it can be reassuring to go back over previous things you have done. It can help to remind you that you were able to do it before and it's not very likely that the ability has completely deserted you.
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Nov 17, 2015 21:36
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| # ? May 5, 2024 06:21 |
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Lemon posted:I don't know if it relates at all but I have similar experiences with drawing. I don't have much advice on how to actually get out of a dry state like that, however I've found that if you are worried about it then it can be reassuring to go back over previous things you have done. It can help to remind you that you were able to do it before and it's not very likely that the ability has completely deserted you. Yeah I have been. What's weird is like I can remember "Oh I was just zoning out at lunch when I came up with that joke" and that doesn't happen anymore. Hence the dilemma.
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Nov 17, 2015 22:48
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