Be Hastie About Mental Health

There are strange and wonderful things happening beneath the all-day horror that is coronavirus. One of these little wonders is South African comedian Nina Hastie’s nightly anxiety sessions on Instagram Live.

Opening her own appointments to the public as she converses with cognitive behavioural therapist Hanan Bushkin, the star known for ‘The Bantu Hour’, ‘Late Nite News’ and ‘Trending SA’ offers a breath of calming air in these uncertain times with a slight bent towards creatives.

“I know a lot of people are suffering from major anxiety at the moment and don’t have the emotional equipment or the resources to find any mental health support at this trying time,” says Hastie describing the sessions online.

“This is our offering to you, I’m doing my usual one-on-one sessions which I’m opening up to the public. I am sure a lot of you will be experiencing the same anxieties that I am.”

Frank about her own issues as well as her anxiety about the coronavirus, her family, financial security, career and productivity, Hastie neatly diversifies her comedic brand with a revitalising mental health angle as she creates a safe space for the thousands who tune in, ask questions and find comfort.

Bushkin, an anxiety specialist and the owner of A Really Good Therapist Centre in Johannesburg, is the other half of Hastie’s act, and delivers practical advice on how to navigate this sudden and severe shift in reality.

“Creative thinkers are naturally anxious because we can think in wonderful positive ways but we can also create monsters in our heads in negative ways,” says Bushkin, honing in on the particular anxiety creatives may feel during this pandemic in a recent session.

“The ‘What If’ game is so dangerous because it can get out of control because there’s no end in sight. Before you know it, you’re falling apart with the worst possible case scenario.”

What Bushkin suggests is to be selective about how one uses their emotional energy and to stop the ‘What If’ game with some healthy distraction.

“Healthy distract with things that take away those thoughts but do not dive down the rabbit hole with thinking about anything that you can’t control, that has no value or has no answer,” Bushkin says and he stresses that anxiety is not choice.

“Anxiety isn’t choice. Anxiety is not something you can will away. Emotions and logic work on two different frequencies. That’s why you can’t logic emotions away. It doesn’t change the way that you feel.”

Some of the tools required to help combat this anxiety are available every evening as Hastie and Bushkin stream live from lockdown, gently acknowledging what people may be going through and offering practical advice, pledges and points.

“Plug into the people that recharge you, people who give you energy and make you feel that what you’re going through is normal and what you’re feeling is OK,” says Bushkin considering being overwhelmed and people who may be dismissive of one’s feelings.

“And then you plug into the things that help you centre yourself. For you, it could be writing, reading or being creative. Plug into a world and activities that make you feel in control.”

Sprinkled into Hastie’s comedic bits which include a ‘Tiger King’ interlude, moments with Mrs Smythe and online games of 30 Seconds, the comedian’s anxiety sessions are the place to be at 19h30 for a little soothing and a dash of some much needed routine.

“These sessions every day are keeping me sane,” says Hastie. “I hope they’re helpful to you as well.”

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