121. Maddie Wiener: How to Find the Humor in a Panic Attack
Feb 5, 2024
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Experienced stand-up comedian Maddie Wiener joins Mike Birbiglia to discuss the relationship between anxiety and comedy. They explore Maddie's journey as a comedian and the wisdom she gained from Nikki Glaser. Topics include panic attacks, the challenges of touring, personal finance app Rocket Money, and humorous anecdotes about urgent care confusion.
The relationship between anxiety and comedy is explored, highlighting the potential for humor in panic attacks.
The challenges of managing panic attacks are humorously depicted, including unexpected outcomes such as triggers.
Self-hatred is framed as a form of lazy narcissism, where individuals seek external validation to counter negative self-perceptions.
Deep dives
The Urgent Care Dilemma
The speaker discusses the concept of urgent care and highlights its absurdity. Urgent care sits in between a hospital and nothing, with little guidance and questionable legitimacy. The speaker humorously ponders the thought process behind its creation, suggesting that it may have been born out of someone having a panic attack. The audience is taken on a journey through the quirky nature of urgent care and the speaker's personal experience with it.
Navigating Panic Attacks
The speaker shares their personal struggle with panic attacks, recounting a time when they would occur even during their performances on stage. They humorously delve into a failed attempt to use a specific perfume as a sensory grounding technique to combat panic attacks. However, the perfume eventually became a trigger for panic itself. This anecdote serves as a lighthearted exploration of the challenges of managing panic attacks and the unexpected outcomes that can arise.
From Neuroticism to Lazy Narcissism
The speaker reflects on their tendency towards neuroticism and self-doubt, highlighting the idea that self-hatred can be seen as a form of lazy narcissism. They humorously delve into the concept of self-hatred as an outsourced version of narcissism, where individuals depend on external validation to counter their negative self-perceptions. This observation provides a comical twist on the patterns of self-perception and the drive to seek reassurance from others.
The Maladaptation of Humans
The speaker reflects on the maladaptation of humans to their environment, comparing it to other animals who effortlessly navigate their natural habitats. They humorously highlight the contrast between humans, who must suppress their instincts in a world filled with tempting distractions. The speaker playfully imagines a world in which humans fully embrace their instincts, resulting in chaotic and instinct-driven lives. The contemplation of humanity's maladaptation offers a light-hearted commentary on the challenges of modern life.
Contributing to Liberation Library
The speaker shares information about a nonprofit organization called Liberation Library, which sends books to incarcerated youth in Chicago. They emphasize the importance of reading as a right, not a privilege, and highlight the organization's efforts to provide incarcerated youth with access to books of their choice. The speaker encourages listeners to support Liberation Library, noting that they accept donations from anywhere and work toward fostering a love of reading among incarcerated youth.
Maddie Wiener started performing stand-up at age 16. Now, at age 25, she headlines clubs, is a fixture at the Comedy Cellar, and she was recently a special guest on Mike’s shows at The Wilbur in Boston. Now Maddie and Mike sit down for a chat about the relationship between anxiety and comedy, and Mike helps Maddie develop a story about a panic attack. Plus, the wisdom Maddie learned from Nikki Glaser, and why “Hey, can we talk?” is the scariest text you can get.
