Mike Sacks Talks About His OCD, About His OCD, About His OCD
Doin' It With Mike Sacks!
On this month’s episode, I talk about my experience with OCD, and the potential connection between OCD and humor. The link between depression and humor has been discussed over the years, but I’ve never heard much about OCD and humor, and I’ve always wondered why that is. In my own experience, I’ve found that at least 70% of the comedy writers I’ve interviewed, or have just known, also have OCD, and, in some cases, quite severely.
What I’ve found that helps, at least for myself, is to funnel the energy of OCD into something positive (writing) rather than circling the drain with anything repetitive (tics, washing hands, etc). I’ve also found that having OCD might allow me, and other writers, to possibly think differently, which may help with the creative process.
I’ve never really talked about this before at length (except for a short NY Times article). Here's the link to listen:
I always love receiving emails. If you’re comfortable, let me know if you too have OCD and how it might affect your life and career: mikebsacks@gmail.com!
My Upcoming Book:
This Is How We Love: The Foto Novel
A photo-drenched book that’s a “tie-in” to the worst movie to have ever won the Best Academy Award, This Is How We Love, in 1994. Featuring scenes and stills from the film, as well as a detailed essay, a “Whatever Happened To” section, a feature about its 1996 porn parody “This Is How We Rub,” and an oral history about the infamous character actor Terri Sparks, who, sadly, never made it into the final cut of the film (as played by Amy Sedaris). No, “This is How We Love” never existed. It’s all made up.
Starring:
Patton Oswalt
Chris Meloni
Michael Ian Black
Jo Firestone
Tim Barnes
Jon Hamm
Paul Reubens
Laraine Newman
Amy Sedaris
Scott Rogowsky
Kerri Kenney-Silver
AD Miles
Laura Krafft
Ted Travelstead
Shonali Bowhick
Dave Hill
Al Madrigal
Seth Herzog
Kimmy Gatewood
Jen Spyra
Jordan Carlos
Owen Kline
Paul Feig
Ambler Tamblyn
David Cross
Out in 6 months!
An article that I wrote you might want to check out:
In 2016, I wrote an article for The New York Times about having OCD in NYC. You might find it of interest:
A Suggestion from Me:
A very strange piece of “outsider” literature, a book that was previously extremely difficult to find (only ten copies printed!), written by one half of the infamous “silent twins,” a pair of sisters who created what was thought to be their own private language. Now reprinted from Strange Attractive Press:
Be well! And keep reachin’ for those stars!
One more thing: Doin’ It is produced by the best podcast producer in the world world Rob Schulte. You can find this episode and every Doin’ It episode on all major podcast platforms, including on the host’s site The Sonar Network.