Mental Patients Benefit From Larry David Therapy

However difficult Larry David might be, don’t call him unhelpful. The comic misfit's cringe-worthy gaffes turn out to be just the tonic for schizophrenics suffering from paralyzing social anxieties. A University of North Carolina grad student noticed his stubbornly  uncommunicative patients respond well to sitcoms, especially “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” After group discussion of the show, the New Yorker reports, they showed marked improvement.

David's teeth-grinding faux pas break the same social rules as schizophrenics do; both often jump to false conclusions. Exclaimed one woman in a session: “That bald man made a mountain out of a molehill!” Reached by phone, the "Seinfeld" creator said he was just expressing himself normally. "I knew that my own mental health was problematic, but should I be worried? Is this something undiagnosed?" (More television stories.)