Digestive Wellness
FINDING HUMOUR IN THE HORROR
Mediaplanet had the pleasure of speaking with actor/comedian and Crohn’s disease advocate Ben Morrison. Weasked the Punk’d star about his personal battle with the condition and how it has shaped his career. Mediaplanet
How old were you when you first noticed something may be off with your digestion?
Ben Morrison I was 17 when Crohn’s decided to crash on my couch for the rest of my life. The day I first felt symptoms I was going rock climbing on a school trip and when my teacher pulled the harness tight around my belly, it felt like the rocks were in my small intestine. Diagnosing Crohn’s is generally a drawn-out process, but for me, it was mercifully quick. After a couple tests they finally got a look at it and said, “Yep, that’s Crohn’s. Ben, your rock climbing days are over.” So I became a comedian instead. MP
What was the largest mental hurdle you had to overcome after you were diagnosed with Crohn’s?
BM That food would forever be a crapshoot, pun intended. I am a big fan of eating whatever I want and the toughest pill to digest when diagnosed with Crohn’s was that there would never be any certainty when it came to food. Even with eating organic and green, the old Crohn will rocket it out of my posterior. It’d be nice to just go out to eat and not have to imagine what the food is going to do to me on its way out. MP Who do you lean on the most when having a setback?
BM My cousin Jesse is definitely my Crohn’s confidant. He was diagnosed not long after I was. Having someone with a similar sense of humour and an identical disease made it easy to find the haha in the horror. In fact, those laughs eventually turned into the early versions of my comedy show: A Com
edian’s Guide To Crohn’s. Having someone who I could be completely honest, scared, and humorous with was invaluable, and I’d advise everyone reading this to make sure you have a confidant of your own. It’s a scary disease — find someone to talk poop with. MP
What advice would you give to young actors and comedians who have been diagnosed with Crohn’s?
BM Use it. Great art is made through pain and suffering and you, friend, just hit the artistic jackpot. A lifetime supply of something to fight against. Take your experience, your pain, and your triumphs, and make something from them. Be good to your body, as it’s your instrument, and dig into why you wanted to be an artist in the first place. Write. Make short films. Paint it out, doesn’t matter. You’re an artist, make art.