Our sense of humor abandons us right when we need it the most- on a really bad day. We seem to associate growing up with “getting serious”. Sometimes we suppress our laughter simply because we are afraid of what others will think of us. Our funny bone gets broken.
Here are some suggestions for repairing your sense of humor and regaining healthy laughter:
Listen to the amusing slips of the tongue, or the amusing error or the clear pun. Watch the newspapers for humorous headlines.
If you hear a good joke, take time off to write it in your journal and narrate it to a few people as soon as possible, so it stays on your mind.
Don’t worry about how well you are telling it. Sometimes screwing up the delivery can create something that is even funnier than the original joke.
So allow yourself the inevitable mistakes and stupidities that we all make, and feel free to laugh at yourself. Laughing at yourself helps to accept that your shortcomings do not really matter that much.
Try to avoid people who are incessantly negative. Spend more time with people whose presence gives your mood a boost. If you do not know such people then seek them out.
So even when you do not feel particularly cheerful and you smile blood flow to your brain increases and the production of positive neurotransmitters is stimulated.
In other words, if you look happier, you might actually start to feel happier. So, if you can’t laugh, smile. And if you can’t smile, fake it.
See also: Laughter, the best medicine / Inner Beauty / Cultivate inner beauty with better mental health
Here are some suggestions for repairing your sense of humor and regaining healthy laughter:
KEEP A HUMOR JOURNAL
Start listening to an unintentionally amusing remark and note it down in a diary. Watch for the wonderfully funny things children spontaneously write or say.Listen to the amusing slips of the tongue, or the amusing error or the clear pun. Watch the newspapers for humorous headlines.
TELL A JOKE
Make it a habit to nurture your jokes.If you hear a good joke, take time off to write it in your journal and narrate it to a few people as soon as possible, so it stays on your mind.
Don’t worry about how well you are telling it. Sometimes screwing up the delivery can create something that is even funnier than the original joke.
LAUGH AT YOURSELF
It is possible to laugh at your own self. So start focusing on the humor on yourself rather than the others. You can’t be expected to do everything right all the time and maintain a good sense of humor!So allow yourself the inevitable mistakes and stupidities that we all make, and feel free to laugh at yourself. Laughing at yourself helps to accept that your shortcomings do not really matter that much.
HANG OUT WITH HAPPY PEOPLE
Certain people have the knack of making you feel relaxed and happy. Others are too full of gloom and doom, or are just boring and serious.Try to avoid people who are incessantly negative. Spend more time with people whose presence gives your mood a boost. If you do not know such people then seek them out.
PUT ON A HAPPY FACE
Research shows that just changing your facial muscles can set off different psychological changes. A smile-like pose produces pleasant feelings, whereas a pout produces feelings of unhappiness.So even when you do not feel particularly cheerful and you smile blood flow to your brain increases and the production of positive neurotransmitters is stimulated.
In other words, if you look happier, you might actually start to feel happier. So, if you can’t laugh, smile. And if you can’t smile, fake it.
See also: Laughter, the best medicine / Inner Beauty / Cultivate inner beauty with better mental health
Its only a matter of time where the situation is best for pasting a joke. even if the joke is not so funny but it is perfectly delivered in a perfect situation then that joke indeed is the best joke ever told.
ReplyDeleteMake a mental copy of the jokes you read in YA and when you are with your friends in (real life) paste them into any situation you see fit. By the time you hit Senior year I'm sure you will have improved.
ReplyDeleteI think it works like alcoholism, the first step is admitting that you have a problem, I'm proud of you little Ran for stepping out of denial.
Time. The only cure is time. But remember that any day you can open your eyes is a good day. Take baby steps. Go to a park or a beach when no one is around. Enjoy the sensations of nature. If you can manage it, go get a massage. Ask the masseuse not to talk and just relax and feel the massage as something meant to feel good. Always remember that the possibility of getting back to normal is there, so just have patience and persistence.
ReplyDeleteCreate your own humor library – Start by collecting humorous and light-hearted books, comics, and even DVDs of TV shows or movies that give you a healthy laugh. You can use these either as tools to help you lighten up and get de-stressed, or as references when trying to woo your date with funny (and not cheesy) jokes and one-liners.
ReplyDeleteEnjoy at least 10 laughs a day – We don't count our laughs by the number of “ha's” we can create in a laugh, but on how many times we have a good, hearty laugh. It is recommended that we should have at least 10 laughs a day not only to develop your sense of humor, but to have good health as well.
Poke fun at yourself – Self-effacing humor, where you tend to poke fun at yourself, can also signify to your date that you are a relaxed person, that you do not get angry easily in times of stress
Hi Aparna, thank you. I guess a sense of humor makes things easier all around.
ReplyDeleteBecome a master of self-deprecating humor. Self-deprecating humor is the safest, easiest and most effective way to make others laugh, especially at work or while giving a presentation. Most stand-up comedians and professional speakers use this technique with great success.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely agree. When you look good, you will feel great! Sure it takes time and all of that but set time aside at least on the weekend to pamper yourself. You will feel relaxed and much much happier for sure!
ReplyDeleteSince your personality and your thinking also affect your health, laughter has one hidden benefit. Laughing at your own deficiencies, your weaknesses and at yourself, teaches you ways of improving yourself and providing a new outlook to life. Laughing at yourself makes you a better, more confident and definitely a healthier person.
ReplyDeleteLaughing improves your mood,and relieves stress like you said and I heard somewhere can help you not get sick as often
ReplyDeleteThis gift is a "sense" of which was given to man by God Himself. Animals are incapable of these senses because they do not have the same capabilities as that given to man. When God created the animal kingdom they were given instincts which helps them sense when they are in danger, when to migrate etc. Ever heard of the swallows returning to Capistrano? There are some animals that are comical to watch, but it doesn't mean that they "have a sense of humor."
ReplyDeleteEven in the worst travesties that man has gone through in life, there are those who have been able to overcome it due to their tremendous gift of having 'a sense of humor."
It is in fact a consequence of using the gift of self-awareness properly.
ReplyDeleteYet, it is indeed a gift, to be able to see the humorous side of life.
Sense of humour does not always imply that we smile or laugh at anything (even ourselves). It is just that we see things with fairness, without a prejudice, and then if the situation warrants we smile at oddity, joke, stupidity etc.
Animals do not have that self awareness, and so might lack that sense of humour too.
Pessimists have poorer health than optimists and tend to die younger.
ReplyDelete