Revision as of 23:26, 1 January 2026

How to Be Vulnerable

Hey. I'm Sheila Bishop, and I'm about to tell you something most comedians won't admit.

I've been doing stand-up for twenty years. Twenty years of making strangers laugh. Twenty years of being the funniest person in the room. And for most of that time, I was miserable. Depressed. Anxious. Barely holding it together.

The jokes were real. The laughs were real. But underneath? I was dying.

Here's the thing about humor: it's armor. Great armor, actually—better than most. People don't dig deeper when you make them laugh. They assume you're fine. They assume you've got it figured out. Meanwhile, you're alone in a hotel room at 2 AM wondering if anyone would notice if you didn't wake up.

I started being vulnerable—really vulnerable—about five years ago. Not on stage at first. In therapy. Then in small conversations. Then, eventually, in my work. And it changed everything.

This wiki is about that. About taking off the armor. About letting people see the mess. About discovering that the thing you're most afraid to show is often the thing that connects you.

Where to Start

If vulnerability terrifies you:

Why We Hide — The armor makes sense. It really does.
The Cost of Invincibility — What you pay to look like you're fine.
Starting Small — You don't have to strip naked on day one.

If you want to open up:

Choosing Who To Trust — Not everyone deserves your vulnerability.
The Art of Honest Conversation — How to actually say the thing.
When Vulnerability Goes Wrong — It happens. Here's how to recover.

If you're struggling:

Vulnerability And Depression — The connection runs deep.
When Being Seen Feels Dangerous — Because sometimes it does.
The Loneliness of Masks — The price of hiding in plain sight.

If you want to understand:

The Strength In Vulnerability — Brené Brown was right.
Vulnerability In Relationships — The only path to real intimacy.
Being Vulnerable With Yourself — The hardest audience of all.

A Note on This Wiki

I still make jokes. I'll probably never stop—it's who I am. But now the jokes come from a different place. They're not walls anymore. They're windows.

What I've learned is that everyone is hiding something. Everyone has a version of themselves they don't show. And the relief when you finally let someone see—it's like breathing for the first time.

This wiki is for the hiders. The pretenders. The ones who are so good at looking okay that no one asks if they actually are. I see you. Because I was you. Sometimes I still am.

You don't have to be funny to be here. You just have to be tired of pretending.

— Sheila Bishop, laughing so I don't cry (and sometimes both)

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-<span class="wikivoice-config" data-narrator="Roger Jackson"></span>
+<span class="wikivoice-config" data-narrator="Sheila Bishop"></span>
-= How to Accept Myself =
+= How to Be Vulnerable =
-My name is Roger Jackson. I'm sixty-three years old, and I wasted forty of those years wishing I was someone else.
+Hey. I'm Sheila Bishop, and I'm about to tell you something most comedians won't admit.
-I was an alcoholic from twenty-two to forty-eight. Twenty-six years of blackouts, broken promises, and bridges burned. I lost two marriages, three jobs, and more friendships than I can count. I spent those years hating myself—which, ironically, gave me a great excuse to keep drinking.
+I've been doing stand-up for twenty years. Twenty years of making strangers laugh. Twenty years of being the funniest person in the room. And for most of that time, I was miserable. Depressed. Anxious. Barely holding it together.
-Sobriety didn't fix everything. I expected to get sober and suddenly like myself. That's not how it works. The drinking stopped, but the person in the mirror was still the same guy who'd done all those things. Accepting him—accepting myself—that was a different journey entirely.
+The jokes were real. The laughs were real. But underneath? I was dying.
-It's been fifteen years since my last drink. In that time, I've worked with hundreds of people in recovery, and here's what I've noticed: the ones who make it aren't the ones who become someone new. They're the ones who finally accept who they've always been.
+Here's the thing about humor: it's armor. Great armor, actually—better than most. People don't dig deeper when you make them laugh. They assume you're fine. They assume you've got it figured out. Meanwhile, you're alone in a hotel room at 2 AM wondering if anyone would notice if you didn't wake up.
-This wiki is about that. Not changing yourself into someone acceptable. Accepting the self you already are—including the parts you wish were different.
+I started being vulnerable—really vulnerable—about five years ago. Not on stage at first. In therapy. Then in small conversations. Then, eventually, in my work. And it changed everything.
+This wiki is about that. About taking off the armor. About letting people see the mess. About discovering that the thing you're most afraid to show is often the thing that connects you.
 == Where to Start ==
-'''If you're struggling to accept yourself:'''
+'''If vulnerability terrifies you:'''
-* [[The Things We Can't Accept]] — Start by naming them.
+* [[Why We Hide]] — The armor makes sense. It really does.
-* [[Why Self-Acceptance Feels Like Giving Up]] — It isn't. Here's why.
+* [[The Cost of Invincibility]] — What you pay to look like you're fine.
-* [[The Paradox of Acceptance]] — You change most by accepting what is.
+* [[Starting Small]] — You don't have to strip naked on day one.
-'''If you've made mistakes:'''
+'''If you want to open up:'''
-* [[Accepting Your Past]] — You can't change it. Now what?
+* [[Choosing Who To Trust]] — Not everyone deserves your vulnerability.
-* [[When You're The Problem]] — Sometimes we are. That's still okay.
+* [[The Art of Honest Conversation]] — How to actually say the thing.
-* [[Living With What You Did]] — Not denial. Not punishment. Something in between.
+* [[When Vulnerability Goes Wrong]] — It happens. Here's how to recover.
-'''If you're fighting yourself:'''
+'''If you're struggling:'''
-* [[The War Inside]] — Why we turn against ourselves.
+* [[Vulnerability And Depression]] — The connection runs deep.
-* [[The Inner Critic]] — That voice isn't helping. Here's how to quiet it.
+* [[When Being Seen Feels Dangerous]] — Because sometimes it does.
-* [[Befriending Your Flaws]] — They're part of the package.
+* [[The Loneliness of Masks]] — The price of hiding in plain sight.
-'''If you want peace:'''
+'''If you want to understand:'''
-* [[What Self-Acceptance Actually Looks Like]] — It's not what you think.
+* [[The Strength In Vulnerability]] — Brené Brown was right.
-* [[The Serenity of Acceptance]] — The thing they talk about in meetings.
+* [[Vulnerability In Relationships]] — The only path to real intimacy.
-* [[Growing While Accepting]] — You can do both.
+* [[Being Vulnerable With Yourself]] — The hardest audience of all.
 == A Note on This Wiki ==
-I didn't come to self-acceptance through therapy or meditation or some spiritual breakthrough. I came to it through exhaustion. I got tired of hating myself. Tired of running. Tired of pretending to be someone I wasn't.
+I still make jokes. I'll probably never stop—it's who I am. But now the jokes come from a different place. They're not walls anymore. They're windows.
-The relief when I finally stopped fighting—I can't describe it. It wasn't happiness exactly. It was more like setting down a weight I'd been carrying for decades.
+What I've learned is that everyone is hiding something. Everyone has a version of themselves they don't show. And the relief when you finally let someone see—it's like breathing for the first time.
-This wiki is for people who are carrying that weight. Who are tired of the war. Who want to know if there's another way.
+This wiki is for the hiders. The pretenders. The ones who are so good at looking okay that no one asks if they actually are. I see you. Because I was you. Sometimes I still am.
-There is. It's not easy. But it's simpler than you'd think.
+You don't have to be funny to be here. You just have to be tired of pretending.
-''— [[User:Roger_Jackson|Roger Jackson]], finally at peace with the man in the mirror''
+''— [[User:Sheila_Bishop|Sheila Bishop]], laughing so I don't cry (and sometimes both)''
 [[Category:Main]]