“Humor is tragedy plus time.” If anybody knows the ins and outs of humor, it’s legendary writer Mark Twain. Humor can be one of the best coping strategies for difficult times in our lives. How does humor help with stress?
How Does Humor Help with Stress?
Have you ever known someone who can find humor in any situation? Believe it or not, being able to laugh while experiencing negative emotions is a healthy reaction. Using humor to reframe challenging problems is an effective coping strategy for when life gets rough. It’ll make you feel better, it helps you bond with the people around you, and it enables you to shift your perspective in crucial ways.
Why Is Humor an Effective Stress Management Tool?
When it comes to stress, humor is the best medicine. Being able to use humor in difficult situations has many benefits, including a few you might not be aware of:
- Laughter can reduce the harmful physical effects of stress. Many doctors agree that laughter therapy is an effective medicine to pair with traditional treatments like talk therapy and medication.
- Seeking humor in a situation helps you shift your understanding and look at it in a new light. Comedy can take the doom and gloom out of a challenging moment and give you a feeling of control.
- Humor is a great social tool. It helps you build and affirm bonds with others, and it enables you to find common ground in difficult situations. Since social isolation makes stress worse, humor is a helpful tool to avoid it.
- Being able to express yourself confidently is a crucial aspect of mental health. Humor is an excellent tool for expressing complicated emotions and can make sharing them much more manageable.
How Can I Use Humor as a Stress Management Tool?
We know that humor is an excellent tool for stressful situations, but how can you make it work for you? Focus on cultivating a sense of humor and shifting your perspective to find the funny parts of stress, and the rest will follow:
- Make humor a purposeful part of your life when you’re having a tough day. If you feel overwhelmed, watch a funny TV show or movie to unwind. Have a funny friend or two you can rely on to talk out difficult situations. The more you use your sense of humor when times get tough, the easier it will be to rely on it in the future.
- Reframing is a vital part of using humor to take control of a frustrating event. Take a step back from your situation and try to seek humor in it objectively. What might be funny about it if it was happening to someone else? There’s a natural absurdity in every annoying situation. If something is frustrating you, a joke can be an easy and honest way to express it.
- When in doubt, rely on the natural power of endorphins to perk your mood up. Something as simple as putting a smile on your face, even when you don’t want to, can cause your body to release the feel-good chemicals that lead to laughter. Odds are that smile won’t be fake for long!
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How does humor help with stress? It can help you find joy in the little things. So pick up a joke book, turn on your favorite sitcom, and get ready to flip that frown upside down!
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