It’s been dubbed the “Sad Clown Paradox” - comedians on average show high rates of depression. Comedians commit suicide (Robin Williams, one of my all-time favourite actors), attempt suicide (David Walliams, one of my children’s favourite authors, Stephen Fry), die from drug abuse (John Belushi) or dieExtraversion: high (a bit inconclusive) young (Andy Kaufman). It whatever way you see it, the lives of comedians are often more troubled, twisted and shorter than those of the average population.
Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP) are common, not only for the fictional stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck (aka The Joker, 2019), but also for real-life comedians like David Walliams (BD) and Pete Davidson (BPD).
Bipolar Disorder (BD) and Borderline Personality Disorder (BDP) are common, not only for the fictional stand-up comedian Arthur Fleck (aka The Joker, 2019), but also for real-life comedians like David Walliams (BD) and Pete Davidson (BPD).
What about comedians is it that makes them depressed? First of all, comedians are often outsiders, rarely belong to a group and detest herd mentality. In terms, of the Big 5 inventory comedians are (source see):
- Openness: high (+ high IQ)
- Conscientiousness: low
- Extraversion: high
- Agreeableness: high (a bit inconclusive)
- Neuroticism: low (Woody Allen is rather an outlier here)
I have argued before that the traits high openness and low conscientiousness are associate with hunter-gatherer minds as compared to farmer minds who are high on trait conscientiousness and low on openness (early farmers needed to be able to do tough routine work from dawn to dusk, whereas hunter-gatherers worked in brief bouts and rested a lot). Here are some differences between these two personality types:
Hunter-gatherer types
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farmer types
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High on personality trait “openness”
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high on conscientiousness, routine-loving
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ADHD-like, hyperfocus on special interests
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Constant focus on routine work
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Often night owls
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Larks
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Strongly (actively) egalitarian, idealistic
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Status-seeking, materialistic
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Tendency towards out-group sociality, more accepting of diversity (e.g. different sexuality, refugees, etc.)
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Tendency towards in-group sociality (identifies more strongly with a core group, like family, religious group or sports team)
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More liberal ideology
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More conservative ideology
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Less sexual dimorphism
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More (display of) sexual dimorphism
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Later onset of puberty
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Earlier onset of puberty
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Tendency to wanting fewer children
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Tendency to wanting more children
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More playful
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Work-loving
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Less interest in small-talk and gossip
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Higher interest in small-talk and gossip
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Play and laughter are important social-cohesive devices among hunter-gatherers. Comedians (not unlike gifted children) often were already class clowns in elementary school. In particular, those, who received little attention from their own parents (cold mothers, absent fathers ). It is therefore not unlikely that comedians receive positive reinforcement early on when they feel that humour makes the more accepted. Hunter-gatherers minds are highly sensitive to social criticism and ostracism.
It is, therefore, this combination of hunter-gatherer personality types and early childhood adversity that produces the most talented comedians. And the Sad Clown Paradox. Like David Walliams wrote in his autobiography Camp David, the one thing he craved for most as a child was his father’s appreciation. Billy Joel tells a story in his song “Leningrad” that has always deeply touched me. It’s the story of Victor, a boy who lost his father in the battle of Leningrad. He later became a clown to make sad children happy:
It is, therefore, this combination of hunter-gatherer personality types and early childhood adversity that produces the most talented comedians. And the Sad Clown Paradox. Like David Walliams wrote in his autobiography Camp David, the one thing he craved for most as a child was his father’s appreciation. Billy Joel tells a story in his song “Leningrad” that has always deeply touched me. It’s the story of Victor, a boy who lost his father in the battle of Leningrad. He later became a clown to make sad children happy:
Victor was sent
To some red army town
Served out his time
Become a circus clown
The greatest happiness
He'd ever found
Was making Russian children glad
When children lived in Leningrad.
Of course, it’s not only early childhood adversity that causes depression. It’s having a hunter-gatherer mind in a farmer society and a life-long feeling of not belonging. Hunter-gatherer minds have higher stress-reactivity, are more likely to use substances as a coping strategy and are more likely to suffer from depression and anxiety in our world.
Dedicated to David Walliams, who has brought countless hours of pleasure to my children and to Stephen Fry, one of my personal favourites.
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