Comedy as therapy, by Dr Phil Hammond comedian and retired GP
Photo: Simon Says, Let’s Talk podcast with Dr Simon Opher MP and Dr Phil Hammond. comedian and retired GP .
They say laughter is the best medicine … unless you have syphilis, in which case it’s penicillin. That joke is as old as penicillin itself, and as with all medicines it has been superseded by alternatives that may suit you better. My favourite comes courtesy of comedian and former psychiatric nurse Jo Brand:
“Laughter may be the best medicine. But it doesn’t work terribly well for erectile dysfunction.”
I doubt that gag has the same therapeutic benefit as those little blue diamonds, but used judiciously, there is evidence that comedy can improve health, particularly if it promotes "mirthful laughter" and doesn’t offend.
Making a living from comedy can be a side hustle—or even replace the day job entirely.
So what are the benefits of a comedy career, beyond fame and wealth? As with doctoring, the satisfaction comes from a mix of control and collaboration. My favourite description of the joy of comedy is from one of my favourite comedians, the American George Carlin:
“No one is ever more herself or himself than when they really laugh. Their defences are down. It’s very zen-like, that moment. They are completely open, completely themselves when that message hits the brain and the laugh begins. That’s when new ideas can be implanted. If a new idea slips in at that moment, it has a chance to grow. So for that moment, that tiny moment, I own them. That’s one of the things—maybe the most important—I seek by following this path: to have that power. To be able to say: stop in your tracks and consider this! At the same time, I’ve had to surrender myself to that moment, and it’s a communion. A genuine, momentary communion. Which they wouldn’t have experienced without me. And I wouldn’t have experienced without them.”¹⁰
Some like to believe comedy can go further and be an agent for social change.¹¹ ¹² More often, it highlights problems rather than offers solutions. As Carlin observed:
“It’s called the American dream because to believe it, you have to be asleep!”
America laughed, woke up, and then voted for Trump.
However, comedy on prescription might yet buck the trend for managed decline in healthcare and improve the wellbeing of staff and patients.
Alas, anything with benefits comes with side effects. There are few more painful experiences than "dying on your arse" in public. Carlin used drugs and alcohol to fuel his creativity, as the pressure to forever come up with new material got to him. He died aged 71. And comedy itself can be cruel, discriminatory, punching down at easy targets and inciting hatred and misogyny.
The best comedy route, in my view, is to bravely let your guard down, laugh at yourself, and shine a light on your own failings. Error is how we learn and laugh, but only if we dare admit to it.
I hope some of the performers on 15 May 2026 are humorously and bravely self-critical, even if the General Medical Council is watching. Remember, if you do get struck off, you can always turn it into material. And if nobody laughs, at least it’s all for charity.
Good luck, and see you there.
The BMJ Medics Revue 2026
Date: 15 May 2026
Time: 7:00–10:00 pm
Venue: Shaw Theatre, London
More information and tickets can be purchased directly from the Shaw Theatre.
All proceeds go to the charity Doctors in Distress.
References
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Ferner RE, Aronson JK. Laughter and MIRTH (Methodical Investigation of Risibility, Therapeutic and Harmful): narrative synthesis. BMJ. 2013;347:f7274. doi:10.1136/bmj.f7274. PMID: 24336308.
Laughter therapy. The Guardian. 6 July 2008. https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/06/healthandwellbeing4
Robson D. Laughter's secrets: The best medicine? New Scientist. 2010. https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20727691-700-laughters-secrets-the-best-medicine/
Manninen S, Tuominen L, Dunbar RI, et al. Social laughter triggers endogenous opioid release in humans. J Neurosci. 2017;37:6125–6131. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0688-16.2017. PMID: 28536272.
Berk LS. Body's response to repetitive laughter is similar to the effect of repetitive exercise. ScienceDaily. 2010. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/04/100426113058.htm
Comedy on prescription: the patients using stand-up to combat depression. The Times. 26 March 2026. https://www.thetimes.com/uk/healthcare/article/comedy-on-prescription-the-patients-usingstand-up-to-combat-depression-069g2vvv5
Declercq D, Kafle E, Peters J, Raby S, Chawner D, Blease J, et al. "Finding light in the darkness": exploring comedy as an intervention for eating disorder recovery. Mental Health Review Journal. 2024;29:15–26. doi:10.1108/MHRJ-08-2023-0045.
Kafle E, Papastavrou Brooks C, Chawner D, Foye U, Declercq D, Brooks H. "Beyond laughter": a systematic review to understand how interventions utilise comedy for individuals experiencing mental health problems. Front Psychol. 2023;14:1161703. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1161703. PMID: 37609494.
Carlin G. Last Words: A Memoir. Free Press; 2009.
Beale S. Beyond a Joke: Comedy and Social Change in the UK. 2025. https://counterpoints.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Beyond-A-Joke-report-2026-1.pdf
Burns M. Seriously Funny: Using Stand-Up as a Health Education and Social Change Tool. 2020. https://andhealth.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/standup11b.pdf
