How Important Has Humour Been To Your Recovery?

[Grainne]

I love to laugh at myself. Sometimes it's all that gets me through. Although, sometimes my sense of humor does make things difficult for me. It took me quite a while to convince my family doctor that I was actually suffering because I wasn't totally miserable about it. My therapist also scolds me when I make light of something we're discussing to deflect the pain in it.

Still...I've spent entire days crying. I prefer to laugh, if I have the choice. Even through my tears.

 

[Deleted member 1860]

Humor has been extremely helpful to me.

My best friend tries to do the craziest things to cheer me up sometimes. Sometimes he makes me laugh, other times I just sarcastically say to him "not help-iiing"....which makes us both crack up laughing.

 

[Keenbean]

I think humour can get us through a lot of things.

I have had some trouble recently with my diagnosis of bipolar appearing on my CRB check and people in postitions of authority with access to my CRB check using this information to discriminate against me and make my life more difficult- insisting that I should receive extra supervision and threatening to withdraw my contract if I become ill etc. This is really upsetting as people who don't know me have been implying that my mental illness affects my ability to do my job (I do research with people with dementia) because I might be dangerous in some way or could potentially harm my participants, which is rubbish. I wouldn't hurt a fly and my illness is no more likely to result in me being violent than my thyroid condition or asthma is. I have been really angry at how I have been treated by these people, but humour has managed to calm me down. My supervisor recently bought me a voodoo doll to represent the main offender and we had a laugh about her doing a full body search on me every day in this 'extra supervision' to make sure I wasn't carrying a weapon with which to behead my participants and the like. The whole thing is ridiculous but you have to see the funny side of things sometimes... otherwise you would just cry. KB

 

[ISupportHer]

I have always been one to took at the funny side of things. Anyone remember the magazine Boy's Life? a Boy Scout publication as I remember. I would always read the jokes to anyone who'd listen.

And I doesn't matter if someone else does not see the humor sometimes but it counts that I do.

Certainly a coping mechanism. But does anyone else feel that, sometimes, there are times when I am joking about everything, only to realize it is because of as much as a result of my feeling down.

Overcompensating at times? (there is a topic for Dr. DVD!)

But in general? Humor saves me sometimes.

 

[Pam]

My C started telling jokes the day after coming off the ship and getting spat on. He hasn't stopped. Not even for one day (though I don't know about the days when he is locked in his house). He also watches inane comedy sitcoms like Married With Children and The Golden Girls. That's the one that is the craziest. My C is a man's man. Tall. Fit for his age and ailments. Still "capable". Owns hundreds of guns and gun parts. Welds heavy pieces of equipment together. Lives in his button fly 501's. And can still tell his 40ish year old son what to do. To snuggle in bed with him while we laugh ourselves silly watching The Golden Girls is all by itself enough to make a sad moon smile. I am betting he is self-medicating with humor. And letting us in on the fun. But I totally get that this is bitter-sweet. Or bitter-funny.

 

[JohnnyM53]

Life would have been not only boring without my sense of humor, I would have suffocated inside from the pressure of intense feelings.

I agree with many comments on here. Its's not only a defense mechanism, a denial tool and a coping skill, but it's also a way to ward off people from detecting the truth about what is going so that they didn't suspect something was wrong.

I remember one person at work saying: "How can you come in on a Monday morning telling jokes?" (Oh if they only knew it was my way of hiding the fact that I didn't talk to anyone all weekend, because I was feeling suicidal and being in as state of utter despair.

Humor also allowed me to see how silly and dramatic I/we humans :doh:can be, and gave me some really good material to make my comedy routines and one liners.

Here's one example of the funny side of the not-so-funny side of a suicide attempt I tried:

It was a Friday and I was fed up about work and deeply depressed about everything. I couldnt take it any more.

I drank three beers hoping it would knock me out and put a plastic bag over my head.

As I lay there, the bag would get completely sucked in towards my face when I inhaled and would go away from my face like a blown up balloon when I exhaled. After about 6 to 10 tries I thought "Well, this isn't going to work!" :crazy:and started laughing.:rofl:

Another thing too, when I laughed when heavily depressed, it took a lot of the pressure off and lifted some of the depressed feelings I felt.

Good thread and welcome to the Forum Brave Girl!!:hello:

Johnny

 

[helena]

I tend to use humour and irony a lot when I describe life with my significant other (combat ptsd) even though a lot of the time it isn't funny for either of us. It is just a way of coping.

Some of the things he has done when he has disassociated have been terrifying but, afterwards, when I have relayed them to him we have gone hysterical laughing - I cant repeat them on here out of respect for his privacy - but it was the only way to deal with them. I often view 'him' and 'ptsd' as a jekyll and hyde character but the real him is the one who shakes his head laughing when I tell him what his alter ego has got up to.

It's been a long battle with this condition and has seen a lot of anger and tears so without the humour I don't think either of us would have survived.

 

[reallydown]

This is an excellent thread! I just wanted to chime in. Essentially, I often hide behind it/use it as a defense mechanism...I remember once, when in hospital and waiting for surgery, I kept cracking jokes the whole time. It helped me relax...though that was befor ethe ptsd hit. Irton, I find that gallows humour really helps me hang in there!

 

[onebravegirl]

I love to laugh at myself. Sometimes it's all that gets me through. Although, sometimes my sense of humor does make things difficult for me. It took me quite a while to convince my family doctor that I was actually suffering because I wasn't totally miserable about it. My therapist also scolds me when I make light of something we're discussing to deflect the pain in it.

Still...I've spent entire days crying. I prefer to laugh, if I have the choice. Even through my tears.

I think you have touched on something important. Sometimes the reason we laugh can be to deflect. I also noticed that cynical humour or sarcastic humour is a way of deflecting. What I know from my own experience is that although these might temporarily relieve our own tension, they can create more in the ones around us. Healthy, belly laugh humour is different to me, to me It feels more relieving than crying sometimes.

 

[onebravegirl]

Just wanted to shake the dust off this old thread. Its a goodie!
O

 

[anni]

It's a goody, O. I think for me it's comes out as a way of looking at things sideways, hence funny, and certainly it deflects the seriousness of the subject. The more off the wall the perspective the funnier it can be. It's still hysterical and the laugh is still healing though, even if it's possibly just a safer way to present something we can't look at head-on.

The diversion and good laugh you get from just plain silliness would be healing to anyone regardless of PTSD, also. There was a time it didn't occur to me to laugh about anything at all, so it's still amazing to be able to snicker at the absurdities around us.

Take care, :)

Anni

 

[growingpains]

I sometimes laugh when "non-survivors"/people have pity parties for themselves over trivial things trying to get support, especially if it seems like something easily fixable or preventable. I honestly don't think it is insensitivity so much as "walk a mile in my shoes" (my perspective in life). Maybe it is from years of having to be "tough". I have to catch myself sometimes and just laugh in my head so I don't seem totally heartless.