{"id":271,"date":"2016-08-23T17:44:33","date_gmt":"2016-08-23T16:44:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/?p=271"},"modified":"2016-08-25T01:49:33","modified_gmt":"2016-08-25T00:49:33","slug":"susan-calman-cheers-up-at-edinburgh-international-bookfestival-festival","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/?p=271","title":{"rendered":"Susan Calman Cheers Up at Edinburgh International Book Festival"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scottish comic Susan Calman has a wit that could cut glass, but her appearance at Edinburgh International Book Festival covers much more than her comedy. <\/p>\n

Calman has written honestly about her experience of depression. Her book \u2018Cheer Up Love\u2019 is by her own admission not a medical or self help book, \u201cI\u2019m not a medical doctor, although I\u2019ve watched a lot of casualty…\u201d<\/p>\n

It is instead an honest account of her own experiences of the \u201ccrab of hate\u201d; the phrase she uses to describe the depression which has long plagued her but currently manages to keep at bay. Of course, her event is fiercely funny, but also painfully honest. <\/p>\n

She describes her battles with depression, which started as a child in a family where \u2018you just got on with it\u2019 and enquiries about emotional states were low on the agenda. Her attempted suicide and subsequent sectioning as a teenager are clearly still upsetting to discuss publicly, but her humour is her remedy when the crab threatens. <\/p>\n

\u201cI worked on the contract for the trams; I bet you knew there was a glaswegian involved in that\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cIn my family you went to university and got a bloody job, so I became a lawyer.\u201d Her admission \u201cI worked on the contract for the trams; I bet you knew there was a glaswegian involved in that\u201d is greeted by huge belly laughs from the Edinburgh- centric audience.
\n\"Cheer-Up-Love-1\"<\/a>
\nCalman explains \u201cI love the application of law, but I didn\u2019t enjoy the small world of law. Resigning to go off to \u2018be a star\u2019 was the only risky decision I ever made.\u201d She goes on \u201cIn my gut I knew I wanted to express myself. Billy Connolly inspired me to express myself through comedy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Lee Randall asks Calman about how writing the book and discussing her depression via stand up has helped. \u201cIt gets easier when you say things out loud again and again.\u201d Randall asks Calman how she feels about jokes about depression. \u201cEveryone should joke about what they want, but I have the right not to like it. But as someone who is depressed I can push it a bit further, it\u2019s all about context.\u201d<\/p>\n

Calman talks about the challenges of the life of a stand-up with a mental health problem, particularly the effect of lone touring. \u201cI stay in premier inns because my career\u2019s on fire.\u201d she explains drily. \u201c 17 months away from home, that\u2019s tough without your support network.\u201d However, despite a fire in her flat, she is feeling good at this year\u2019s Edinburgh festival season, and is \u201cbeing kinder to myself.\u201d<\/p>\n

For Calman, drinking less is helpful. \u201cI\u2019ve had a couple of bottles of prosecco, but no alcohol.\u201d The audience applauds this delightful self delusion. \u201cI\u2019ve been going to the gym. When you recognise what the triggers are, you can try to avoid them. Sometimes I go bowling or eat prawn cocktail for breakfast, or watch Tootsie to cheer myself up.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n“I\u2019ve been punching my personal trainer, and it\u2019s amazing. It helps me get rid of my frustration and helps my self image.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI gave up smoking, got a personal trainer, started boxing and weightlifting: it\u2019s the best thing. I\u2019ve been punching my personal trainer, and it\u2019s amazing. It helps me get rid of my frustration and helps my self image.\u201d Calman admits that self image is a longstanding problem for her. \u201cI don\u2019t have any mirrors in my house\u201d.<\/p>\n

\n\u201cIf you stand in superhero pose you feel great, and someone doing that with you is great.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Calman has one further therapeutic activity to recommend. \u201cIf you stand in superhero pose you feel great, and someone doing that with you is great.\u201d To underline the point, Calman jumps to her feet to demonstrate her favourite superhero pose, which, I have to agree, makes me laugh and, yes, feel better. \u2018Cheer Up Love\u2019 may not be a medical book, but she might be onto something here.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Scottish comic Susan Calman has a wit that could cut glass, but her appearance at Edinburgh International Book Festival covers much more than her comedy. […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":284,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[13],"tags":[57,19,86,87,89,88,58],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=271"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":294,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/271\/revisions\/294"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/284"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=271"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=271"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.synergynews.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=271"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}