Ruby Wax, born Ruby Wachs (Evanston, April 19, 1953), was born in the United States as the daughter of Jewish parents. She emigrated to the United Kingdom in 1977 and became known as a comedienne, interviewer and co-writer of the comedy series Absolutely Fabulous. In the Netherlands we know her from the program series Ruby goes Dutch, in which she visits famous Dutch people and from her performance in College Tour. Ruby made a remarkable career change by ditching her TV life and earning a master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy from Oxford University. Her book ‘Sane New World (Tame your mind)’ is about this.
Who is Ruby Wax?
Ruby Wax was born in 1953 as the daughter of Jewish parents. Her parents fled Austria in 1939 because of the Nazi threat. Her father became wealthy as a sausage manufacturer. Her mother was an accountant. Ruby grew up in Evanston, Illinois. She studied psychology at the University of Berkeley. She says her childhood was difficult. She attributes this mainly to the way in which she was raised by her parents, who were themselves disturbed by – probably – their flight from Europe to the US. Since her teenage years, Ruby has suffered from depression, which she believes is caused by her genetic predisposition in combination with her upbringing.
In 1977 Wax emigrated to the United Kingdom. Here she studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. She started her career as an actress and then became a comedienne. She became a famous TV personality. Her interviews in particular, including those with Madonna and Pamela Anderson, attracted many viewers.
After 25 years, Ruby thought it was enough and decided to exchange her TV career for a study at Oxford. There she obtained her master’s degree in Mindfulness-based Cognitive Therapy and wrote a book about it: ‘Sane New World’. In the Dutch translation this book is called ‘Tame your mind’. Ruby not only talks openly about her own depression, but also shows in an accessible way what mindfulness can mean for people with a mental illness and especially what mindfulness means to her.
What is mindfulness-based cognitive therapy?
People with depression often think a lot about their complaints, how they got them and what their consequences are. Cognitive therapy makes these people aware of their thoughts. It is made clear to them that they do not become sad or anxious about a certain situation or event, but because of their thoughts about it.
Mindfulness refers to the non-judgmental way of being in the here and now. The point is to be in the here and now without having all kinds of opinions about it. It’s not about how you feel or what thoughts go through your mind. You observe those feelings and thoughts and do not form judgments about them. Mindfulness is based on an ancient Buddhist meditation technique. Jon Kabat-Zinn is the modern founder of the teaching of mindfulness. He applied it in the 1980s to people with chronic physical complaints or anxiety complaints.
Mindfulness is now also often applied to depressed patients. Independent studies have shown that attention- oriented cognitive therapy can prevent relapse in people who have had depression several times in the past.
Tame your mind
Ruby Wax has been engaged in a study of the human brain. In her book she explains how the brain works. That’s a pretty technical story. The bottom line is that our brains are not designed to live in the 21st century with all its stimuli. We know what’s happening on the other side of the world. That is not necessary at all. Our brain was once created for the primitive life that people lived thousands of years ago. The ability to respond to danger played an important role in this. When a bear was nearby, things happened in the brain to flee from danger or to fight it. Adrenaline and cortisol (hormones, chemicals in the body) flow through the brain, which alerts people and allows them to respond appropriately to danger.
In the 21st century the brain receives so many stimuli that the alarm is constantly sounding. This ensures that we are in a constant state of readiness. To ensure that the alarm goes off again and we become calm again, we can apply mindfulness. With some training we manage to focus attention on our senses, for example. We can concentrate on sound or on a movement. Ruby Wax herself says that when she is on stage, she focuses her attention on her feet to regulate her stress. Another well-known method is to concentrate on your own breathing. It all comes down to calming the brain by shifting attention. The brain cannot multitask. People either pay attention to one or the other. It’s like the gearbox of a car. It is impossible to drive in second and third gear at the same time.
In this way, the adrenaline and cortisol rush is, simply put, neutralized and space is created for a calm response. This can ensure that people who are susceptible to depression respond more calmly to stressful events, which can prevent them from falling into a negative spiral that leads to a new depressive episode. This can lead to different behavior and a new way of thinking. The brain is not a solid substance, but rather a kind of clay. New pathways can form, new structures can form, which lead to healthier thoughts and behavior.
As an expert and professional, Ruby Wax is a great supporter of this technique. Those who cannot commit themselves to mindfulness can also use a technique such as yoga or tai chi, as long as their attention is focused on something other than stressful factors.
In the book ‘Tame your mind’, R uby Wax describes in a funny way what people with a mental disorder can do to prevent them from slipping. She promotes her book and philosophy through so-called TED talks on YouTube, through performances in theaters and through TV programs. She also posts messages on Facebook and Twitter. The book is interesting for anyone who wants to know more about the functioning of the human brain and especially for those who want to know how depression arises and can be averted.
Ruby-Wax Quotes
- ‘One in five people has dandruff. One in four people has a mental illness. I have both.’
- ‘The worst thing you can say is ‘keep up, don’t give up’.’
- ,We don’t have the bandwidth for the 21st century. Those who say they are doing well are the lunatics and the liars.,
read more
- Depression: what can be done about it? Six tips against depression
- Having to make you crazy: book about RET (rational emotive therapy
- Don’t dare to do it, self-help book for anxiety