Leah Francisco: the taboo of mental health and the life changing decision I made to travel (BSL)

Looking at my profile photo, you may think, “hang on a minute, she looks familiar. Is that Leah Francisco, the deaf comedian with the rude jokes?” Yes, you guessed correctly. I am the comedian with the adult content jokes who appeared on John Bishop’s BSL comedy night documentary in September last year.

Before you get too excited thinking I am going to talk about more jokes,  I am sorry to disappoint you folks but I am going to talk about a taboo topic in the deaf community. This is depression and mental health.

I think it is very important to talk openly about this subject. You may think that comedians don’t have depression or mental health struggles just because their job is to make people laugh. Comedians can have depression too.

I have been dealing with mental health issues. That’s why I decided to do something about it and made a decision to give up everything to go travelling for one year and find myself again before things went even more downhill.

Before you read any further, I want you to know that I am not looking for sympathy here but to simply share my thoughts. I am really concerned about the fact that there have been a lot of suicides in the deaf community over the last few years and I am just wondering why this keeps happening.

Do you think it is to do with social media taking over our lives? Have the covid years made things worse? Have we forgotten how to connect with people again and maintain meaningful friendships? Do you think a lot of people feel lonely and don’t have friends to pop in for a visit to have a cup of tea or dinner? Do you think a lot of friendships are one way street and not two-way street?

Do you think meeting your pals in a pub for drinks and banter is a good thing? Maybe it isn’t, because maybe you can’t talk about your feelings if you are feeling down and you are out in a pub? Do you think the pressures of peer drinking makes things worse? Do you think friends who reply to your texts to arrange for a meet up tell you they are busy or they are free to meet next week or in a month’s time, is a good thing?

Do you think assuming that everyone is okay is a good thing? Well, maybe not everyone is okay. Maybe they want to talk to a friend about their worries, their problems or they need a friends’ advice, but no one is there for them and then it is too late to be saved. Do you think all these issues possibly could lead to suicides in the deaf community? Do you think maybe something needs to change?

The past few years have been hard for me, from experiencing covid, redundancy from a deaf organisation, and dreadful work experience in the civil service, my pride and self-esteem were destroyed. I felt like I was not accepted anywhere and that my skills were not recognised. Working for a university as a research assistant for a BSL project saved me. Even though it was a funded job and not permanent, I enjoyed the job immensely.

That’s why my husband and I ended up selling our flat, almost every piece of furniture, personal items and our car. We gave away unwanted clothes and unsellable items to the charity. We hired a small storage locker for one year and packed it with our personal and sentimental items.

We gave up our jobs and decided to leave Edinburgh to travel, learn about new cultures and experiences. We made this crazy decision because we wanted to save ourselves from drowning, both of us.

It was the best decision I have made. I cannot believe that we travelled to 14 countries in 6 months: We went from Cuba to Panama, all through Central America and finished off in Mexico. Our second leg was in Europe. We started off from Germany travelling south with the final destination being northern Greece.

Now we are back in Edinburgh visiting families and then we will head off for our next adventure to Africa in November, visiting Malawi and Zimbabwe.

If you always wanted to travel or if you feel like you are stuck with your life, feeling low, or if you have itchy feet, if you have money for it just go for it. Or sell your home. Don’t be afraid to make a change, what we experienced was an amazing once in a lifetime experience – living in different cultures, tasting strange foods is all worth it.

I am glad I did this despite my own initial reservations. I am glad I did it because I have learned so much about myself through travelling. I undertook a couple of challenges I never dreamed I would do, such as taking a Zip line in Costa Rica, walked over hanging bridges in Panama, eating bugs in Mexico and I even interviewed a deaf person in Cuba.

Travelling 24/7 with someone was also hard because we didn’t have personal space very often but we made it and I guess we passed the test! I had lots of time to reflect on life and it helped with clearing my mind and soul.

Since our travels we have created a YouTube, Facebook page and Instagram account called Intersectional Adventures where you can follow us and see our adventures. Please feel free to comment, like and subscribe so we know you are watching us!

Please remember always: ‘Life is an adventure if you know how to live it. ‘

Leah Francisco is from Greece and has lived in the UK for over 23 years. She moved to Edinburgh in 2012 for a masters. Leah did her first debut in stand up comedy in 2014 aiming to make people laugh and educate them on deaf issues with her most recent appearance in September 2022 on ITV on John Bishop’s Life After Deaf documentary/stand up gig.

Leah has been a subject of a documentary film ‘Silent Laughs’ in 2016 directed by Natalia Kouneli which won an award for Best Documentary in 2017 at Deaffest. Leah has made several TV appearances.

leahfranciscoBSLcomedy@gmail.com

Facebook

YouTube:

Instagram