The scientist, the monk, and Ruby WaxThe scientist, the monk, and Ruby Wax
All In The Mind
Comedian Ruby Wax has teamed up with a Buddhist monk and a neuroscientist to explore how the mind works—and have a laugh at the same time. Ruby talks about her experience of depression, and whether her traumatic upbringing relates to her hilarious take on the human condition.
28:52•4 Feb 2018
Ruby Wax, a Monk and a Neuroscientist on Mindfulness, Madness and Humour
Episode Overview
- Comedy does not protect against clinical depression; episodes can feel like a mental "block of cement".
- Research points to cognitive therapy and mindfulness as effective tools for many people living with depression and anxiety.
- Mindfulness is framed as daily mental training that helps people notice and loosen unhelpful thought habits.
- Understanding family trauma and ancestry can support compassion and forgiveness without excusing harmful behaviour.
- Spotting early signs of depression and pausing work and digital overload can shorten the length and severity of episodes.
“When I'm depressed, there ain't nothing funny going on. It's like a block of cement.”
Experience the emotional and inspiring tales of recovery as comedian and writer Ruby Wax shares her very human, very funny take on mental illness and the mind. You'll hear her joke, "When I'm depressed, there ain't nothing funny going on. It's like a block of cement," making it crystal clear that comedy doesn’t magically cancel out clinical depression.
Speaking with host Lynne Malcolm, Ruby talks about being replaced in television by a "firmer copy" of herself, retraining in psychotherapy (and admitting she was terrible at it), and then channelling her sharp humour into raising awareness about mental health. Her book *How to Be Human: The Manual* brings together a Buddhist monk, Gelong Thukton, and neuroscientist Ash Rampura. As Ruby puts it, "The monk is really an expert on how we think...
and then the neuroscientist points out where it is in the brain," grounding big ideas with both philosophy and hard science. The conversation digs into mindfulness as mental training rather than a fluffy trend. Ruby explains how cognitive therapy and mindfulness have strong research backing, helping people notice unhelpful thought loops like "I'm always victimised" and giving them a way to loosen those patterns.
She stresses that during the worst depressive episodes, mindfulness isn’t appropriate, saying bluntly that if someone suggests jogging at that point, "tell them to f off." Ruby also talks openly about her traumatic upbringing with violent, traumatised parents who fled Nazi Austria, her family’s history of institutionalisation, and how learning this history helped her move towards compassion and forgiveness.
She describes depression as episodic, and how she now spots early signs and "pulls on the brakes" rather than pushing herself into burnout. This episode suits anyone curious about how humour, neuroscience, mindfulness and messy family history can intersect with depression and anxiety. It’s candid, darkly funny, and might leave you wondering: what would change if you treated your thoughts as background music rather than absolute truth?
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