We recently connected with Liz Derr and have shared our conversation below.
Liz, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
I’ve struggled with mental health issues for most of my life and they are ongoing. Within the last year and a half I’ve had three surgeries, one of them being a partial hysterectomy. I’ve been in and out of the hospital due to complications and my inability to continue to heal. Paired with an auto-immune disorder I was recently diagnosed with, I’ve had a lot going on to say the least.
Because of all of my medical issues, my mental health took a huge hit. I no longer felt capable of social interaction, my battery would be drained within an hour, I’m exhausted from the time I wake up to the time I go to sleep. I do not feel like I am capable.
Between all of these health issues, my comedy has had to take a backseat. It is heartbreaking to say this. I never stopped writing but performing and grinding the way that is necessary is extremely difficult. It’s made me feel like a failure. My spiral never seemed to stop. Then I reached out to a fellow Atlanta comedian and friend, Shelley Gruenberg, and told her about how hard I was struggling and she gave me some amazing advice that I won’t forget. She told me that my body is my instrument for comedy and that taking a break to put my physical and mental health first is comedy related. It helped me change my perspective on not going to open mics and not performing at the level I once was.
In short, the biggest thing that has helped me overcome has been putting myself first and reminding myself that I need to take care of myself in order to be able to do what it is I dream of. Taking care of myself looks like weekly therapy sessions, attending 12 step meetings with my sponsor and sponsee, not staying isolated and letting the people in my life know what’s going on with me, taking my medicine, and making sure I do not lose my spark.
Instead of continuing with stand up comedy at the level I was performing (on stage at minimum 7 times per week) I’ve taken the fact that I need to stay home as a sign to redirect my focus. I’m taking the skills I do have and applying them elsewhere. As a comedian, and I think many other comedians feel this way, we are sensitive story tellers who throw a funny spin into it. Instead of performing my stories, I am shifting focus to writing a book so that I can utilize the skills I do have and learn some new ones. By shifting this focus for myself, I am not spiraling as much and I am finding meaning and purpose in my everyday life again.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I’m writing a book! The working title is ‘Flipside’ and I’m a little over a third of the way through. I’m working with a writers group/program that has helped me grow my skills and will help me push it out to publishers when the time is right. If you’re interested in it, it’s called The Book Incubator.
At the core of the story, I am exploring the idea of ‘will people change if given the opportunity?’ I do believe people can change but I am unsure if they will change and I think this question has rekindled my creative spark and I am having a hard time even stepping away from writing. I haven’t written this much since I was on stage every night of the week.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
As fas as stand-up comedy is concerned, the biggest bit of advice I have is just keep doing it. People expect to get on stage and kill the crowd their first time, this is a very rare occurrence. It takes months to years to make a crowd laugh the whole time you’re on stage. Even after years of performing, you will still bomb and not have good sets. It happens and you must not let that stop you from chasing the dream. It takes a lot of grit, self preservation, and persistence to get on stage, do horrible, and then do it again until you finally do just okay. Eventually you may get great but it takes longer than you can image it would.
The jokes about your private parts, dating, or driving are overdone. Believe me. No one has your story so talk about that. That’s the most unique thing about your life is how you live it.
What is the number one obstacle or challenge you are currently facing and what are you doing to try to resolve or overcome this challenge?
My body is out to get me!
In all seriousness, my health, physical and mental, is not great. I tend to beat myself up over not being able to do what I once could. That’s when my spiraling begins, However, instead of trying to feed the. anxiety beast, I try to remind myself every day that I am getting better little by little and eventually I will be back to my old capabilities.
Taking care of myself is part of chasing my dreams.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://lizderrcomedy.com
- Instagram: lizderbator & lloganlibrary
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@derrdrop
Image Credits
Lola Scott
adequate_Chad
Lisandra Vasquez
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