Draft:Kelsey Darragh
American comedian, filmmaker, author, and mental health advocate
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kelsey Darragh (born August 6, 1990) is an American comedian, filmmaker, author, podcaster, and mental health advocate. She is best known for her viral mental health videos produced at BuzzFeed, which have accumulated over 250 million views in aggregate,[1] and for her 2020 interactive workbook Don't F*cking Panic: The Shit They Don't Tell You in Therapy About Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, & Depression, which became an Amazon bestseller in the mental health category.[2] She is also recognized for her television work on E!'s Dating: No Filter and for a 2019 Sundance Institute New Voices fellowship. A self-identified bisexual woman, Darragh has been a public advocate for mental health awareness and disability visibility throughout her career.
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- Comedian
- filmmaker
- author
- podcaster
- mental health advocate
Kelsey Darragh | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 6, 1990 Tampa, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Known for | BuzzFeed anxiety videos; Don't F*cking Panic (book) |
Early life and education
Kelsey Darragh was born on August 6, 1990, in Tampa, Florida.[3] She has described growing up in a scientifically oriented household and developed an early interest in performance and entertainment. She attended Auburn University from 2008 to 2010, studying film, radio, and television, before transferring to the New York Film Academy (NYFA), from which she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in filmmaking in 2012. Following graduation, she relocated to Los Angeles, California.
Career
Digital media and BuzzFeed
After moving to Los Angeles, Darragh began building a following on YouTube, where her video "Shit Girlfriends Say" attracted significant online attention and helped launch her digital media career.[4] She subsequently joined BuzzFeed as a video producer, eventually becoming a development partner at the company. During her tenure, she produced hundreds of videos with an average viewership exceeding 14 million per video.[5]
In 2015, during Mental Health Awareness Week, Darragh created "My Pill Journey," a stop-motion video in which she used her actual prescription medications to form images and narrate her experience with mental illness. The video attracted widespread attention and established her as a prominent voice on mental health in digital media.[6] Her mental health-focused content on the platform accumulated over 250 million total views.[7]
She also created Am I Doing This Right, an original show for Comcast's Watchable streaming platform, and developed a true-crime pilot for Oxygen's linear channel.[8]
Television
Darragh made an early acting appearance on the ABC sitcom Suburgatory, playing the character Meredith in the episode "I'm Just Not That Into Me" (March 12, 2014). In 2019, Darragh joined the cast of Dating: No Filter, E!'s flagship comedy dating series, as one of the show's comedic commentators in its second season.[9] She is also a co-host of Guilty Pleasures, a film and television commentary podcast.[10]
Filmmaking
In 2019, Darragh was selected for the Sundance Institute's New Voices fellowship for Where We Are, a dramatic comedy limited series she created about mental health and relationships.[11]
Her 2021 short film It's All in Your Head, which Darragh wrote and directed and which stars actress Carly Chaikin, won Best Indie Short Film and Best Dark Comedy at the Los Angeles Film Awards. The film also screened at the Beloit International Film Festival.[12]
Darragh subsequently directed and executive-produced the documentary short In Custody of the State: A Case for Saraya, developed in partnership with Springhill Productions, entered the film festival circuit.[13]
Podcasting
Darragh has hosted several podcasts throughout her career. Confidently Insecure charted in the top rankings of the iTunes Society & Culture category.[14] She has also appeared as a guest on podcasts including Uninvisible Pod, where she discussed trigeminal neuralgia and chronic pain, and Her First $100K, where she discussed her career and mental health advocacy.[15][16]
Don't F*cking Panic and wellness work
In 2020, Darragh published Don't F*cking Panic: The Shit They Don't Tell You in Therapy About Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, & Depression (The Thought & Expression Co., ISBN 978-1-949759-27-3), an illustrated, interactive workbook offering tools for managing anxiety, panic attacks, and depression.[17] The book reached Amazon's bestseller list in the mental health category and was described by reviewers as combining practical therapeutic techniques with Darragh's characteristic humor.[18]
In 2023, Darragh co-founded the "Don't Panic! Retreat," a four-night residential wellness retreat held at a private estate in Malibu, California. The retreat, which she organized with co-founder Tianna Dao, offered therapeutic workshops adapted from the workbook's curriculum, including elements of somatic therapy and inner-child work.[19]
Mental health and disability advocacy
Darragh has spoken publicly about living with anxiety disorder, panic disorder, major depressive disorder, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).[20][21] She has described experiencing her first dissociative panic attack at age 17, before receiving a formal psychiatric diagnosis.[22]
In addition to her psychiatric conditions, Darragh lives with Type 2 trigeminal neuralgia with Type 1 flares, as well as anesthesia dolorosa, a condition that causes constant spontaneous facial pain. She has attributed the onset of her trigeminal neuralgia to a jaw surgery performed in 2015 that resulted in nerve damage.[23] She has used her public platform to raise awareness of trigeminal neuralgia, a condition recognized as one of the most painful neurological disorders.[24]
Darragh serves as an ambassador for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and has raised funds for the organization through merchandise sales.[25] She has delivered keynote addresses and panel appearances on mental health topics through the Family Action Network and other organizations.[26]
Personal life
Bibliography
- Don't F*cking Panic: The Shit They Don't Tell You in Therapy About Anxiety Disorder, Panic Attacks, & Depression (The Thought & Expression Co., 2020) ISBN 978-1-949759-27-3
Filmography
As director
| Year | Title | Type | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2021 | It's All in Your Head | Short film | Won Best Indie Short Film and Best Dark Comedy, Los Angeles Film Awards; Beloit International Film Festival |
| TBA | In Custody of the State: A Case for Saraya | Documentary short | Developed with Springhill Productions; festival circuit |