The Carcosa Interview: Jenny Jaffe of UROK

Our Carcosa Interview this time around is with Jenny Jaffe: comedian, writer, entertainer, and the creator of a neat project tackling the stigma of mental illness. Here’s a quick, totally safe-for-work video to introduce you to her work — the UROK project. [youtube link=”https://youtu.be/YoIYe_gOwrQ” width=”590″ height=”315″] Black Nerd Problems: You’ve talked about your battle with living with mental health and not being equipped at a young age to express what you were going through. You grew up not feeling comfortable and not having the vocabulary to truly explain that. What words would you want to impart to a much younger you who wasn’t at all sure that she’d make to become the woman you are today? Jenny Jaffe: I always wish I could go back in time and do this! I would probably show her the videos that Project UROK has collected to prove to her that so many people understand what she is going through. I’d tell her that when she grows up, being open with her struggles with mental illness will bring her closer to other people instead of isolating her from them. I’d tell her that I’m not ashamed of her anymore. And I would tell her how many of her dreams end up coming true, even if she feels like there’s no light at the end of the tunnel just yet. I really wish every teenager going through something similar to what I went through could get in a time machine and see that in the future, even if nothing’s ever perfect, there is so much out there worth seeing.

BNP: On that no…