Episode description

In this episode on 'Conversations With", mental illness advocates Shaley Hoogendoorn and Jes of @bipolarcomedy club talk about all things bipolar. Jes is an absolute delight. She shares her story with humour and depth. You will hear about some wild things that she has lived through. From a manic purchase of compost worms to how she believed that she was headed to Hogwarts when in actuality she was going to the mental hospital. Despite the really hard things both Shaley and Jess have experienced with having bipolar disorder, they were able to laugh at the absurdity of it all. Both believe it is healing to find others that understand. This brave conversation gives insight to what it feels like to live with bipolar 1 disorder with psychosis. 

This is bipolar...

IG & TikTok: @this.is.bipolar 

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Meet Jes:

Jes is a mental health advocate and aspiring standup comedian from Malaysia. She was initially given the diagnosis Bipolar 1 with psychosis in 2019 following a major psychotic episode while working in London, UK. The aftermath of the breakdown left her with a lot of shame and self-stigma; especially since there is such a high level of taboo ingrained growing up in Asia surrounding mental illness.

It was a rather turbulent recovery journey, but Jes began turning to comedy as a coping mechanism by starting rooms on the Clubhouse app to connect with others who have experienced similar struggles. Soon, Jes started leading the Bipolar Comedy Club (@bipolarcomedy club) community by hosting regular events for people living with bipolar worldwide such as Open Mics, Book Clubs and Sunday Fundays. She also hosts an interview series on Instagram LIVE called Friday Frasier where she has spoken to prominent people in the mental health community such as authors, comedians, influencers, content creators, podcast hosts, musicians etc. Through her sharing with others, she was encouraged to try standup comedy. One thing led to another and now she has been consistently performing in the Malaysian comedy scene. HAHA is it just another hypomanic dream to have her own Netflix special?! Only time will tell :P

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