How Gary Gulman Turned Depression Into Comedy Gold | Better in Person

Gary Gulman suffered a severe, two-and-a-half-year depressive episode from 2015-2017 that led to hospitalization and forced him to live with his mother, but he eventually used that experience to create his breakthrough HBO special 'The Great Depression'.

Gulman's manager Brian Stern and director Mike Bonfiglio (with Judd Apatow's involvement) proposed a hybrid documentary/stand-up special format, which became a critical and commercial success and fundamentally changed Gulman's career trajectory.

Gulman's wife, Sade, played a crucial role in his recovery, growing psilocybin mushrooms in their apartment to try to get him into a study and refusing to leave him despite his pleas.

Gulman describes a specific cognitive symptom of depression he calls 'faux dementia,' where he struggled to form memories, keep them, and access words, making it hard to think.

Gulman credits rediscovering his love for basketball as a key part of his recovery, emphasizing that it serves as a natural antidepressant and a lesson in curbing ego.

Gulman brought his comedy notebook to the interview, filled with stickers, photographs, and joke concepts, demonstrating his process of making unexpected connections.

Gulman's mother stole greeting cards from her workplace, and he included that story in his memoir, which caused his mother to not speak to him for six months.

Gulman's early special 'It's About Time' (2014/2015) was a critical high point but commercially unsuccessful, which contributed to his depression.

Gulman's comedy notebook contains the joke about the 'toast consortium' man saying, 'We'll always have bathtub suicides,' which Gulman wrote down after it got a huge reaction on stage.

Gulman's 'abbreviating the states' joke, which went viral, originated from a book he found at age six.

Gulman auditioned for the role of Jim on 'The Office' and was not cast.