1 Degree of Separation: Where do we go from here?
By: Gabrielle Bernabe
“To be sensitive is to know somebody”
On January 20th, 2026, I watched the 1 degree of separation comedy show that came to our campus. Truly I did not know what I was in for, and was pleasantly surprised when I walked in to already start laughing at the stories that were being presented.
I think that everyone should watch this show, and in hopes that you do, I won’t spoil the jokes, but rather pay attention to the message that these comedians and their team came to share with everyone on campus.
We all need a laugh, especially in our hardest moments, and in a humanly passionate source of irony, 80% of the comedians who give us such a laugh are depressed. Most of the people who dedicate their lives to making us laugh, deal with their own dark moments and find it hard to continue. This article is how to help make sure we keep the ones we love around us by helping to wade through those muddy waters.
There are 5 questions to ask someone who is spiraling or in a depressive spiral, and each of them serve a purpose to ground the friend you’re talking to, or yourself. My answers to these questions come from someone who is anxious, but when spiraling could very well lead to a depressive episode.
The first question is “Tell me what it feels like physically?’ This question serves multiple purposes, but the main objective is that it shows your friend that you hear them and you believe what they are going through. Additionally, it helps to ground the person you are talking to by bringing them out of their head, and forcing them to recognize the tells in their own body. For me, I get panicky, with a migraine that comes in at full force, probably from the thoughts in my head that are going a million miles a minute.
The second is “What do others do that make it worse?” This question helps to learn what happens around your friend that makes this experience worse, or be aware of any of the habits that you may do. For me, it’s when the people I love try to dismiss in front of me as if I won’t think about it for the next few weeks.
The third “What do others do that make you feel better?” Starting to see the positives, this question helps reaffirm the people around you what they have/do well when you are going through something. For me, this is when people let me go through my thought process on what has happened so that I don’t constantly think through it over and over again.
The fourth brings the questions back to the friend in question – “What do you do that makes you feel better?” Thinking about what you/the friend may do that may make the problems worse is a good way to catch yourself or them when they may be self sabotaging. For me, this is complete isolation, staying silent, or trying to minimize the issue(s) at hand myself.
Finally, the fifth question is “What do you do that makes it better?” Making sure that we end on a positive note, this last question serves as a way to make sure you (the person who is being asked the question) are giving yourself the grace and compliments to what you do that helps get you out, or slow the symptoms of what you may be going through. For me, this is a preemptive effort, I make sure that the closest people in my life don’t go a few days without hearing from me, and when I start to feel the urge to isolate myself, give one big push to see the people I love, and continue my hobbies. The best example of this comes from Thanksgiving last year, every year I host a Friendsgiving because I love hosting, my friends, and cooking. It almost didn’t happen last year simply due to how bad my mental health was during the summer and fall semester, I just wanted to be left alone and wallow in what I felt like was the worst mistake I’ve ever made, yet this little part of me knew that having my favorite hosting event every year would brighten my spirits – and it did. Through all the many different shenanigans that happened throughout the night, the constant food, music, and laughter bring a smile to my face every time I think about it.
Heading back to that first quote, it, to me, sums up the whole point of the show. Friendship and being able to express vulnerability are two of the most powerful weapons we have against the many different chemicals that go around in our brain. Especially when these chemicals can skew from day to day, it is important that we have the right tools to help those around us. After all, we are only one person (or one degree) away from someone who is depressed.