The best medicine

Stand-up comedian Nina Hastie talks mental health, a multidisciplinary approach to wellness and why it's crucial to get to know yourself 

- JADE TAYLOR COOKE

One of the unfortunate side effects of living via our screens these days is that it has become incredibly easy to perceive other humans as purely one-dimensional. Nina Hastie is a great example. Maybe you have seen her Netflix comedy special, or watched the social-media antics that got her nominated for a DSTV Content Creator of the Year Award recently. And you probably thought: here's a darling of SA entertainment, a walking LOL factory, skipping through life then going home to buff her signature manicure and fall asleep on a pillow of fulfilled ambition.

But you would be wrong. For a start, standing onstage with a mic and a tight 10 (that's comic parlance for 10 minutes of polished comedy material) is not Nina's only job. Her work in front of the camera is the tip of the proverbial iceberg. As well as being a stand-up comedian, presenter and actor, Nina is also an executive creative director for a digital agency; a comedy writer (if you've ever laughed at a joke on Celebrity Game Night, chances are she wrote it); and she's performance-directed everything from TV to live awards shows.

'I'm behind the scenes predominantly, but a lot of people don't know that,' says Nina with a shrug. I suggest that it's a lot of hats for one woman to wear. 'It is, but I have severe ADHD and if I'm not busy I don't do too well. I took some time off at the beginning of this year and I had a psychotic episode. A bad one. I'm just not used to doing nothing.'

Which brings us neatly to the next point: far from laughing all the way to the bank, the past decade of Nina's life-yes, even while building a career centred on good humour - has been a hard-fought battle through poor mental health to a place of relative wellness and stability.

Today, as well as serving up laughs, she wants to be helpful by being candid about one of the much less funny sides of life.

COMING AT HEALING FROM ALL SIDES