Learning about Comedians and Addiction
Introduction
Listening to how comedians talk about their compulsion to do comedy, and also how other comedians describe it when they are no longer performing, I thought that it might be interesting to understand what is happening chemically in the brain for people when they are performing.
I am not meaning the thought processes involved in remembering and delivering the words and actions during a set - but describing the key chemical and neurological processes at play before, during and after the performance. These processes mainly involve neurotransmitters and hormones. It is these that lead comedians to talk about performance as a “rush”, and these that help create the reality for a comedian that makes them describe performing as something they “need” to do and something to which they are “addicted”.
These processes and endogenous brain chemicals are powerful shapers of the human experience. It is reasonable to consider that once a person has experienced this, and liked it, that it could be something they chase after and want to repeatedly experience.
The Chemicals Connected to Comedic Performance
Here’s a breakdown of what typically happens:
1. The Anticipation: before a performance, the brain often anticipates the excitement of what's about to happen, which can trigger the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline (epinephrine). These hormones prepare the body for a 'fight or flight' response, manifesting in ways commonly observed and described as “pre-show nerves” or excitement for what is about to occur.
2. The Adrenaline Rush: as the performance begins, adrenaline continues to circulate, heightening alertness and energy. This usually leads to a state of increased focus and physical readiness, this state is viewed by most comedians as the right headspace to be in while performing.
3. Dopamine Release: during a positive performance, the brain releases dopamine, a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and reward. Dopamine creates feelings of enjoyment and satisfaction, reinforcing in your brain that performing is positive by linking it to a pleasurable reward in your brain.
4. Endorphins: performance can also trigger the release of endorphins, natural painkillers of the body, which produce a euphoric state often referred to as a "runner's high." This can lead to feelings of happiness and an elevated mood.
5. Serotonin: this mood-regulating neurotransmitter might also increase during a performance, enhancing feelings of well-being and confidence.
These same chemicals involved in the brain's response to performing comedy: dopamine, endorphins, and adrenaline, are also key players in the how the brain develops other forms of addiction, including chemical (substance use), exercise and food addictions (Sinha, 2008).
The Brain’s Chemical Response to Performance
These chemical reactions can create powerful emotional experiences for comedians. The contrast between the initial anxiety and the subsequent euphoria can make the overall experience addictive. These reward mechanisms in the brain can motivate comedians to seek out the experience repeatedly, essentially chasing the high of dopamine and endorphins released during a successful performance.
Not only does the person wanting to perform well and repeat this experience make sense physiologically, but it makes sense within the accepted construct of a comedy industry, in which there are others who will benefit from encouraging and rewarding repeated performance. This repetition could result in a comedian eventually experiencing a misalignment or dysregulation of their brain’s motivational circuits that could be unhelpful to them in ways that are comparable to other forms of addiction.
The brain’s chemical response to performance, characterised by the release of neurotransmitters and hormones such as dopamine, endorphins, adrenaline, and cortisol, plays a critical role in shaping an individual’s experience on stage or during anything the brain perceives as a high-stakes activity. While these chemicals are essential for creating feelings of enjoyment, focus, and energy during a performance, they also share key mechanisms with various forms of human addiction.
Dopamine and the Reward Pathway
Dopamine is central to the brain’s reward pathway, reinforcing behaviours by creating feelings of pleasure and satisfaction. During a positive performance, dopamine is released in response to external stimuli such as applause or audience engagement, which enhances the comedian’s sense of accomplishment and encourages the individual to seek out opportunities to repeat the experience.
This process is similar to what occurs in addiction. In substance use disorders, addictive drugs such as cocaine and methamphetamine cause an intense surge of dopamine, resulting in euphoria. Over time, the brain reduces its natural dopamine production in response to these artificial spikes, leading to tolerance and dependence (Koob & Volkow, 2016). Behavioural addictions, such as gambling, also exploit this pathway by triggering dopamine release through unpredictable rewards (Potenza, 2008). Similarly, compulsive eating can stimulate dopamine release, particularly when consuming high-sugar or high-fat foods, reinforcing repeated behaviour despite negative consequences (Volkow, Wang, & Baler, 2011).
Endorphins and Natural Pain Relief
Endorphins, the body’s natural painkillers, are released during physically or emotionally taxing situations, including high stakes or high-energy performances. They contribute to the euphoric state that some comedians would describe as a "high." This mechanism is mirrored in addiction, particularly with opioid use. Opioid drugs bind to the same receptors as endorphins, creating powerful feelings of well-being and pain relief. Repeated use, however, diminishes the brain’s natural ability to produce endorphins over time, this leads to dependence and withdrawal symptoms when not available (Volkow & McLellan, 2016).
Exercise addiction also involves endorphin release. Individuals who compulsively exercise often report a sense of euphoria following intense physical activity, driven by elevated endorphin levels. Over time, the need to experience this “high” can lead to excessive, and sometimes harmful, exercise patterns (Hausenblas & Downs, 2002).
Adrenaline and Thrill-Seeking Behaviour
Adrenaline, also known as epinephrine, is released in response to stress or excitement, preparing the body for a “fight-or-flight” response. During performances, adrenaline increases alertness and energy, helping comedians to stay focused and engaged in the moment. However, repeated exposure to adrenaline-inducing situations can foster a dependence on the heightened state of arousal.
In behavioural addictions, such as gambling or extreme sports, individuals often seek out activities that trigger adrenaline release, becoming dependent on the thrill they experience. This form of addiction can lead to escalating risk-taking behaviours in search of a greater adrenaline rush (Blaszczynski & Nower, 2002).
Cortisol and Stress Regulation
Cortisol, a hormone released in response to stress, plays a dual role in performance and addiction. In moderation, cortisol helps comedians stay alert and manage the pressure of being on stage. However, chronic stress and elevated cortisol levels can lead to negative health outcomes, including anxiety and depression.
In addiction, cortisol dysregulation is often observed. Individuals with substance use disorders frequently experience heightened stress levels, which can drive drug-seeking behaviour as a form of self-medication (Sinha, 2008). Similarly, stress-related eating, driven by cortisol, can contribute to food addiction, where individuals consume comfort foods to alleviate stress despite negative health consequences (Adam & Epel, 2007).
Shared Mechanisms and Risk Factors
The shared chemical mechanisms between performance and addiction highlight some potential risk factors for comedians to consider. Individuals who frequently experience the intense highs of dopamine, endorphin, and adrenaline surges during performances may be more susceptible to developing behavioural addictions. The repetitive cycle of stress, reward, and relief can create a feedback loop, increasing the likelihood of compulsive behaviours both on and off the stage.
Moreover, the transition from a high-energy performance environment to everyday life can lead to a sense of emptiness or dissatisfaction, and feelings similar to withdrawal or a comedown. Without proper coping strategies, comedians may try to seek out other means to replicate the high they experience on stage, increasing their vulnerability to anxiety, depression or other forms of addiction.
The Pathology of Comedy
It might seem absurd, almost comedic, to equate performing comedy with addictions. For some the differences between “healthy” and “unhealthy” addiction is valid and enough of a distinction, even if acknowledging that for some comedians, whether comedy sits in the “healthy” or “unhealthy” list might be up for discussion and could change over time. It is clear that research is more focused on more socially significant addictions like eating, drug and exercise, and that not a lot of time and effort has been spent considering comedy in this context. By improving our understanding of the brain’s chemical response to performance and its overlap with addiction mechanisms could be useful for promoting mental health and well-being among comedians.
There might be trends among other types of performers too that are worth researching to help understanding how these behaviours are linked with other forms of addiction. By recognising the shared pathways between addiction and comedy performance, comedians and the people who support them can help them to develop strategies to better manage thinking about performance, stress, coping strategies and maintaining a balance that help to prevent the development of unhealthy thought loops, compulsions or other harmful addictive behaviours away from comedy (Adam & Epel, 2007).
Humans should not typically define themselves entirely by their addictions, but when a comedian first stops doing comedy, they do often grapple with a loss of their identity, including feelings that they were born to, or are compelled to perform. They often lament that performing made them feel a “high” that they cannot get from anything else in life, and there is a strong connection and equating of how performing made them feel with their life’s value and purpose.
Being a comedian can also be how you are identified by others, and how you define yourself. It becomes who you are, it is something that you have worked hard to do and get good at. Part of that pursuit is linked to how doing comedy makes you feel. It is important to understand that these feelings are real, powerful and compelling, and not dismiss them. It is important to acknowledge how powerful the human brain is as a creator of narratives and storytelling, and how hormones and neuromodulators influence this process.
The addictive nature of comedy performance can make comedians feel justified in sacrificing friendships, significant relationships, time with loved ones, other activities that make them happy, other forms of joy and shared experiences because of their brain craving the chemical hit and their “need” to be on stage performing as much as possible. Like addicts, comedians can end up spending enormous amounts of their own time and money to chase the addictive highs of performing onstage. By spending time with other people who share and reinforce their addiction, it can help justify and affirm these behaviours, even if the people reinforcing these behaviours are people you don’t actually like that much as people. All of these things are commonalities across addiction based communities, and are true for many comedians.
Conclusion
The common thread among addictions and the chemicals released by performing, is their role in the brain's reward system. They are a factor in how humans learn and act, in both positive experiences, like learning, and negative experiences, like problem gambling or drug addiction. Whether it's through natural rewards or artificially induced by substances, the increase in these chemicals reinforces behaviours, making people want to repeat them, choose to repeat them, or claim that they have no choice and “have to” repeat them.
Performing comedy can be an entirely positive experience for some comedians. Anyone who can turn the things they are compelled or “addicted” to into a career, or activities that support feelings of meaning and purpose may be on track for a very happy and rewarding life. What is worth paying attention to and reflecting on over time, is when does the pursuit of the addiction’s “pay-off” become unhealthy and detrimental to a person’s overall well-being or long term health. Observing and understanding if there are any adverse consequences, and what the impacts of these are is useful. Monitoring these might help comedians to ensure they are maintaining a healthy relationship with performance and potentially enjoying a more balanced perspective and life.
To say it another way, while you might be really good at comedy, it is important to be genuine and realistic when assessing - is comedy really good for you?
References
Adam, T. C., & Epel, E. S. (2007). Stress, eating and the reward system. Physiology & behaviour, 91(4), 449–458.
Blaszczynski, A., & Nower, L. (2002). A pathways model of problem and pathological gambling. Addiction, 97(5), 487–499.
Hausenblas, H. A., & Downs, D. S. (2002). Exercise dependence: A systematic review. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 3(2), 89–123.
Koob, G. F., & Volkow, N. D. (2016). Neurobiology of addiction: A neurocircuitry analysis. The Lancet Psychiatry, 3(8), 760–773.
Potenza, M. N. (2008). Review: The neurobiology of pathological gambling and drug addiction: An overview and new findings. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 363(1507), 3181–3189.
Sinha, R. (2008). Chronic stress, drug use, and vulnerability to addiction. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1141(1), 105–130.
Volkow, N. D., Wang, G. J., & Baler, R. D. (2011). Reward, dopamine and the control of food intake: Implications for obesity. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(1), 37–46.
Volkow, N. D., & McLellan, A. T. (2016). The neurobiology of opioid addiction and treatment. American Journal of Psychiatry, 173(1), 18–26.