Humor in Chronic Illness with DoodleThru Creators Mike & Jill Brook

In this episode, cartoonists Mike and Jill Brook discuss how they use humor as a tool for coping with chronic illness through their creation of DoodleThru, a webcomic dedicated to the absurdities and challenges of living with conditions like POTS, MCAS, and EDS. They reflect on the therapeutic process of making cartoons, which allowed them to channel their frustrations and connect with a community experiencing similar struggles. They note the abundance of comically absurd scenarios presented by living with chronic illness and share examples of some favorite cartoons that highlight issues like diagnostic delays and the societal misunderstandings of these conditions. Jill emphasizes how this project helped improve her mental health by allowing her to focus on the humor in difficult situations, illustrating the therapeutic power of finding comedy amidst hardship.