Humor as a Defense Mechanism

 

Hard Year

“Maybe it’s because it’s been a hard year for me. A very hard year. It doesn’t matter why. It’s just one of those phases of life you go through. Lots of change. Lots of little problems…There are times when I wake up tired. When I feel like I’ll never have any internal energy again. As though I am 70 years older than I already am. I get sad sometimes.”

Sean Dietrich (aka Sean of the South, “Oak Mountain,” Aug. 2, 2022)

          Here’s something you should know about Sean Dietrich—he is a stand-up comic. He's also a writer of books and blogs, and he lives right here in Birmingham. His writing reminds me of Louis Grizzard and Rick Bragg; it is both hilarious and filled with raw emotion. I relate to it because he bares his heart and spills his guts, and then, in the next sentence, makes you laugh out loud.

          He’s also honest to a fault. It has been a hard year, for him, for me, and for everyone who has survived covid and the murderous political divide. My discovery of Sean came through my friends Sharon and Harry, who go to his shows, and buy his books. I guess I identify with him because he uses, both in his stand-up and in his writing, self-deprecating humor as a defense mechanism, as many introverts do. I think of Robin Williams, here. One who could play an insanely nutty role and make people split their sides laughing, but on the inside, he was sad and lonely.

          I think all artists carry an existential sadness—as Sean says, it doesn't matter why. It’s what allows them to tap into the human condition in both empathetic and humorous ways. Sometimes it feels like there’s a hollowed-out place inside that can only be filled by writing about it, or painting it, or, in my case, sewing it.

It has been a hard year. And a scary year on nearly every level of existence. Like Sean, I find my grounding in the mountains. I will travel to see my cousins in North Carolina next week. It’s where I feel most at home, most myself, because they remind me of where and from whom I came. They connect me back to my ancestors and it feels like rebuilding a wall when all the bricks have fallen down. Because of them, I remember who I am.

                                                  In the Spirit,

                                                  Jane