Are all comedians psychotic

 Study finds comedians are more inclined to
have 'high levels of psychotic personality
traits' Stephen Fry, Spike Milligan, Paul Merton
and David Walliams have all talked openly
about their experiences with mental health
problems Comedian Ruby Wax has talked openly about her
depression By NICK CLARK Wednesday 15 January 2014 Comedians are no strangers to mental health
issues, with stars from Stephen Fry to Ruby Wax
talking openly about their suffering. Now a study
has found that those working in comedy may be
more disposed to “high levels of psychotic
personality traits”. An “unusual personality structure” with traits
such as those similar to bipolar could be the
secret to making people laugh, according to
research published in the British Journal of Psychiatry. The report used statistical data gathered from
more than 500 comedians who completed a
specially devised questionnaire. The researchers said the belief that creativity is
associated with madness has increasingly been
researched by psychologists and psychiatrists,
yet added: “comedy and humour have been
largely neglected”. As well as Fry, the report references Spike
Milligan, Paul Merton and David Walliams
among those who have talked openly about their
experiences with mental health problems. Gordon Claridge, retired professor of the
University of Oxford’s department of
experimental psychology who authored the
report with undergraduate Victoria Ando, said:
“Obviously not all comedians are like this, but the
trend does seem these personality traits are more common. It is that idea of the sad clown.” Juliette Burton, a stand-up comedian who has
tackled her mental health issues on stage, said:
“These findings make sense to me. There is
something about the solo comedy performers…
quite a few I know have experience with mental
health issues.” Ms Burton was once sectioned under the mental
health act and she said knows other performers
who have suffered depression. “If you do have
issues, then comedy is often the way of getting
you through,” she said. Those with bipolar disorder can be prone to
comedy as it mimics the comic’s ability to
combine “ideas or categories of thought to form
new and original connections”. The questionnaire measured four personality
aspects: unusual experiences – such as belief in
telepathy and paranormal events – difficulty in
focusing thoughts or distractibility, an avoidance
of intimacy, and a tendency towards impulsive
and antisocial behaviour. The comedians scored particularly high on
personality traits such as being unsociable and
depressive as well as more extrovert manic-like
traits. The research found stand-up comedians were
different from other stage performers such as
actors, because they were more introverted.
“These personality profiles could explain how
each relates to their respective audiences and
what motivates them to do so,” it said. The comedians who participated in the report,
404 men and 119 women, were recruited from
comedy clubs, agencies, associations and
societies largely in the UK, US and Australia. The
submissions were anonymous, but the report
revealed some self-descriptions that fit their their theory of bipolar disorder