Humor as a Coping Mechanism

IMHO, irrelevant humor (I do not mean anyone's personal humoristic comments) may be a way of evading serious problems...

"It better befits a man to laugh at life than to lament over it."
-- Seneca the Younger

I'm sure there are many people who can't find laughter in that which is sad, horrible or tragic. Thankfully, I don't know any such people. As long as we maintain an appropriate affection and respect for those who deserve affection and respect, then I say there are no sacred cows. Dead astronauts, Holocaust victims, pedophile priests -- all grist for the humor mill!

Phoenix, humor is possibly the most important factor in coping with life, at least for me.

Sometimes, humor can be considered inappropriate if everyone else is expressing sadness or grief. It all depends on the group and how well each person knows the others.

I believe humor helps people cope especially in troubled times. Of course, it should be used in an appropriate way, depending on the circumstances.

Several years ago, my dad had to be taken into emergency surgery for a blockage in the liver/pancreas area. We could tell by what the doctor was saying that it was very serious and Dad might not make it.

My mom, my three sisters and I sat together in the waiting area. A friend of my mom's who had heard about my dad's surgery showed up to sit with us. It was a fairly long operation and my mom's friend, who is a great storyteller, began telling us stories about her trips to Europe which included the problems she had with the toilets there. You had to be there, but I'm telling you, it was some of the funniest stuff I've ever heard. We all got to laughing until we were nearly rolling on the floor.

Eventually the surgeon came out and said the operation was over, my dad was stable, but he wasn't out of the forest yet. (He did recover eventually).

Later, I was thinking - was it wrong for us to be sitting there laughing so hard while my dad could have been on his death bed? The answer is - probably not. At least we weren't sitting there waiting for the worst and it sure helped pass the time! My mom's friend was a blessing to all of us right then.

P.S. Phoenix, I thought your link was hilarious and not inappropriate at all.

Phoenix. humour directed at ourselves is often the only thing that can save what sanity we have left. (not implying that i have any sanity)

I got a huge kick out of your rude noise website, Phoenix. The world in general, not just tis webforum, is full of folks inclined to take themselves perhaps a bit more seriously than is warranted. Much perceived by some as "Objectionable" humor is innocently entertaining to others. A danger of humor is that it may, for any of a variety of reasons, challenge or affront an individual's sensibilities, often due to recognition of close personal alliance with the issue being skewered. We tend to be quite protective of our own personal sacred cows, and we all have our own sacred cows. I think a good part of humor is the ability to join in laughter directed at one's self. Just because "I" did or said something does not meant that "I" might not have been guilty of folly and meritorious of a bit of fun-poking. If we can't laugh at ourselves, we have no right to laugh at much else, IMHO.



timber, who again failed to preview before posting, thus calling for this edit, damnit.

timberlandko: your not implying that "sacred cows" fart are you? if so would/could that be a renewable energy source lessening the need for oil well development at ANWAR?

Bovine and Porcine flatulence are greatly underrated and overlooked sources of bio-energy ... ya ever light a fart?



timber

i'm not allowed to play with matches.

For some reason, a butane lighter works best ... I've had mixed reults with matches and wick-and-fuel type lighters. Research continues, though. I think it has something to do with the flame temperature and focus.



timber

the manipulation of hi-tech devices eludes my comprehension.

Not to spoil your fun, but getting back to the subject -
I saved this paragraph from a book I read years ago but unfortunately I do not recall the author -
When I first graduated I took a position teaching a class of handicapped children. I wish
you could have stood with me in front of the room as the students came into class in the
morning. There were badly crippled boys and girls who were picked up and delivered
home by a special bus. If you could see my boys and girls as they pulled on their straps,
lugged their braces, twisted on their crutches, it would have wrenched your heart.
One day a heavy blizzard hit and the bus did not come for them. I put as many as I could
into my car and started to drive them home. As I opened the door for one girl, because of
her heavy brace, she fell headlong into the snow. At once all the rest of the children
started to laugh. "What are you laughing at?" I scolded, whereupon a fifteen year old girl
with a brace up to her neck, sitting next to me whispered "You see teacher, if we don't
laugh, she'll cry."
Now that is one lesson I shall never forget. There are some things in life that are so sad
that if we did not laugh we would surely cry.

So true, Eve. Thanks for posting the story.

i spend most of my day being very serious and businesslike, it grates against my normal disposition. as they say, "life is short, have some fun". one can find humor in the oddest places. timber, dys, and steissd can probably confirm or deny this, but even in wartime situations humor can be found.

humorless people annoy me.

We need a fart thread!!!!

Where is Moondoggy?!

I use humour to cope with everything.....except lerve....

Hmmmm - I just used matches....

did it work?

Oooooh yes - -they did indeed!

poor dys, can't play with matches........