Maria Bamford

My dad has some depressive issues, and he's really tough on himself. So sometimes he can say things that are not super supportive. Like once I did a set, and he says, 'Sheesh, no wonder you're still single.' I was like, 'Eight ball, corner pocket, dad.'

The bigger the crowds get, the more nervous I get. I actually am very comfortable with a half-filled room of people who are slightly disinterested and are irritated at a Barnes & Noble.

I love that vision-board thing where you cut out pictures that resonate with you so they'll manifest. I've done that since I was three; I cut out pictures of ladies from the JCPenney catalog.

I love support groups, people talking about their feelings.

It's always the compliments from people you love that mean so much.

Some of my friends and family have tried to challenge me to do jokes that aren't as self-deprecating, where I genuinely express my own opinion in my own voice.

I have received more fulfillment and adulation than I would ever know what to do with in terms of show business.

I express things through characters because I have a fear that my own voice is irritating because that's been said to me.

I find it creatively satisfying to write material and say it out loud in a public place, whether or not anyone's listening.

Get out of your house and go see some live performance, for God's sake. There are people creating things just outside your window.

When I'm up on stage and do a joke, half the people interpret it one way and half of them interpret it the way I want them to.

People get really irritated by mental illness.

I do some compassionate mindfulness every day. It's like a Buddhist thing. I tell myself that I'm doing a good job, that kind of thing. It makes me feel better.

I get sort of short with people and start grumbling and clearing my throat - in honor of my father - when I'm impatient. It's very charming.

I think the Internet has made it easier for people to connect with things that they really like, as well as provide a more personal experience, of 'I found this!' and then you can pass it to friends.

The Internet makes everything much less mysterious.

Schizophrenia is hearing voices, not doing voices.

I think I, like a lot of people, have that type of brain where I find it interesting or fulfilling to worry about something.

In my stand up, I think I try to be less energetic because I feel embarrassed about how much enthusiasm I have. There's something about acting like I don't care, or if I act like I haven't spent enough time on it, it seems to go better. If I act like I'm really trying to sell it, it doesn't go as well.

I was raised in Duluth, Minnesota, where you never say that you're cold, or that you're suffering, and you listen politely to people, even if you disagree with them completely. Then you say passive-aggressive things later.