Laughter

[shimmerz]

I have heard many times that laughter is a sure fire way of getting healthier with PTSD. It is so hard to laugh I find, but have been hanging out with a man who makes me laugh all the time (despite myself). My symptoms have eased and more people are happy to hang out with me due to my lighter attitude. It almost seems a sin to me to laugh however, given all that has gone on.

Does anyone else have a difficult time with laughter and why do you think that is so?

 

[Deleted member 20280]

@shimmerz I use imagination and laughter to ease my symptoms and bring smiles to those around me.

At first I felt guilty but now as I recover using laughter in the outside makes the inside me happy.

Laurie

 

[Wyakin]

I get told off for trivialising what is happening because my way of dealing with it is to make jokes and laugh. I laugh a lot but I can't remember the last time I truly meant it. I think it does release pent up stress though.

 

[Tinyflame]

I too laugh at myself to minimize my own situation, so that's not such a good connotation. I can usually make others laugh. But I love to laugh, especially with trustworthy people/ in trustworthy & relaxing environments. I think it's hugely critical, to do it & to be able to.

 

[Notsowild]

I agree laughter is the best medicine . My daughter and I have the same quirky sense of humour. It feels good to have a good laugh. I do find most times I'm too serious or just" in my head" too much. I don't laugh as much as a used too:roflmao:

 

[Headtrama99]

I have used humor my whole life to deal with mental and physical issues. It does help my stress and anxiety go away temporarily, but it then comes right back.

 

[Deleted member 12723]

I think laughter is very good for us. There was a time when I could not laugh at all and I was very depressed.

Laughter is so great. It really makes me feel happy inside. Keeping a sense of humor that I once had, is slowly coming back to me.......good thread. I wish you the best. Smiling helps too.

 

[Deleted member 20280]

I think laughter is very good for us. There was a time when I could not laugh at all and I was very depressed.

Oh so yes. When I was first diagnosed being able to laugh was nigh on impossible. It's only after lots of therapy and finding my inner child that I have been able to really open myself up. Now I find something everyday to laugh at even if it is only a quirk of me.....

:hilarious: ps the new avatar is me AFTER the operation......... :roflmao:

 

[Suzetig]

I have a very dry sense of humour which at one point I thought I'd lost completely, I'm slowly seeing it coming back and laughter is making things much easier for me.

 

[silkleaves]

I'm like those who hide behind laughter and joking... it separates me from what is actually happening, so that I'm looking at it from the outside in from a distance. It does vary... sometimes Ill flip my lid and completely overreact, other times Ill crack a joke and completely underreact, but one isnt really any better than the other because either way, Im removing myself from reality.

I can relate to those who say the connotation of laughing is there... for most of my life, when Im laughing and joking around, its because its either that or scream and cry. People find me more pleasant to be around if Im happy and jokey than angry or sobbing. Nowadays, I dont have that control anymore...I dont know what Im going to do, so I just avoid being around or contacting anyone.

Laughter isnt always the best medicine...sometimes its blocking and used in place of genuine and valid emotion. That doesnt stop me from being a goofball though, and I still have my sense of humour. :)

 

[shimmerz]

Thank you all for your responses. I love that you are able to find it in yourselves to reach in and find humour. I so wish I had been like that and really feel like the joker saying 'why so serious' for years until I met a man that makes me laugh all the time. It is such a great heal-all. I couldn't find laughter in myself for the longest time. I guess my question has morphed and I am asking now how do you find laughter when it isn't in yourself or you feel like you are betraying the 'experience' by being light and happy. Where do you find the laughter inside of you when it is hiding?

@Suzetig any idea how yours started coming back out again?

 

[Suzetig]

That's a good question @shimmerz, and I'm not entirely sure. I've had about 9 months of feeling very anxious and tearful to the point where I'd forgotten I had a fairly good sense of humour.

There are a couple of things that have helped - being around people who don't know the detail of what I'm dealing with and whose usual experience of me is as someone who is lighthearted has helped. Not because I feel I need to put on a face, but because they remind me of how I was before, if that makes sense. It's almost like I have permission to feel lighter.

I actively choose to find the funny side of more minor irritations so instead screaming I find a way to laugh it off. I find that dealing with stuff in therapy makes it feel more manageable so I just feel less stressed and its easier to laugh. I do find myself laughing in session with my therapist now, which just didn't happen initially. I also purposely watch tv programmes I find funny and listen to music that makes me smile - anything to balance to anxiety that seems to underpin how I feel all the time!

It's hard though and I still have times of feeling very low, laughing does help.