How Humor Helps us Cope

10/27/22 • 15 min

2 Listeners

Hardships in life are a given, but what if we found a way to laugh about it? Our guest shares how he's used humor to cope with the deepest pains in his life.

Episode summary:

When we go through hardships and struggles, finding the humor in them can help us relieve stress and change our perspective. This week on The Science of Happiness, our guest shares how he’s used humor to triumph over hardship in his life. Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a re-entry home where formerly incarcerated people can find community and connections. He started performing comedy based on his personal experiences during the 12 years he spent in and out of the prison. Kerry shares with us how processing his experiences by writing jokes about them changes his perspective on his traumatic past and helps him cope. Later, we hear from psychologist Andrea Samson about how humor can help us face down some difficult situations.

How to Do This Practice:

Every day for one week, spend 10 minutes thinking about the things you found really funny that day.
Write them down in as much detail as possible and describe how each of those things made you feel. It’s important to write it out, as opposed to only doing it in your head.
Write down the reason why these things were funny. You can also answer the question, “Why did this funny event happen?”

Find the full Three Fun Things practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/three_funny_things

Today’s Science of Happiness Guests:

Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a home by and for formerly incarcerated people, which provides resources and support for their re-entry.

To learn more about Bay Area Freedom House: https://www.collectivefreedom.org/

or: https://www.facebook.com/bayareafreedom/

To financially support the Bay Area Freedom Collective: https://givedirect.org/freedomcollective/

Andrea Samson is director of the chEERSLab at UniDistance Suisse and the University of Fribourg. She studies how humor helps us deal with one difficult situation and emotions

Learn more about Andrea’s research: https://tinyurl.com/3t42rp93

More resources on humor from The Greater Good Science Center:

Listen to The Science of Happiness episode on how humor can strengthen a relationship: https://tinyurl.com/4jem5r25
How a Little Humor Can Improve Your Work Life: https://tinyurl.com/4u2949mk
How Laughter Brings Us Together: https://tinyurl.com/2s3zfp7h
Why Do We Laugh?: https://tinyurl.com/4rr4d7ch

More resources on humor:

New York Times - Is It OK to Laugh During Dark Times?: https://tinyurl.com/4c22uekj
Guardian - You’ve got to laugh: why a sense of humor helps in dark times: https://tinyurl.com/3xpvkcm2
ABC - Why Pain Makes Us Laugh: https://tinyurl.com/4fa6snj5
The Atlantic - The Link Between Happiness and a Sense of Humor: https://tinyurl.com/3mke3wpc
Mayo Clinic - Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke: https://tinyurl.com/4w8f4rwx
Scientific American - Laugh so you don't cry: how laughing kills the pain: https://tinyurl.com/3sysuwyf

Tell us what you think about using humor as a coping strategy by emailing us at [email protected] or using ...

Hardships in life are a given, but what if we found a way to laugh about it? Our guest shares how he's used humor to cope with the deepest pains in his life.

Episode summary:

How to Do This Practice:

Every day for one week, spend 10 minutes thinking about the things you found really funny that day.
Write them down in as much detail as possible and describe how each of those things made you feel. It’s important to write it out, as opposed to only doing it in your head.
Write down the reason why these things were funny. You can also answer the question, “Why did this funny event happen?”

Find the full Three Fun Things practice at our Greater Good in Action website: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/three_funny_things

Today’s Science of Happiness Guests:

Kerry is a former member of the Bay Area Freedom Collective, a home by and for formerly incarcerated people, which provides resources and support for their re-entry.

To learn more about Bay Area Freedom House: https://www.collectivefreedom.org/

or: https://www.facebook.com/bayareafreedom/

To financially support the Bay Area Freedom Collective: https://givedirect.org/freedomcollective/

Andrea Samson is director of the chEERSLab at UniDistance Suisse and the University of Fribourg. She studies how humor helps us deal with one difficult situation and emotions

Learn more about Andrea’s research: https://tinyurl.com/3t42rp93

More resources on humor from The Greater Good Science Center:

Listen to The Science of Happiness episode on how humor can strengthen a relationship: https://tinyurl.com/4jem5r25
How a Little Humor Can Improve Your Work Life: https://tinyurl.com/4u2949mk
How Laughter Brings Us Together: https://tinyurl.com/2s3zfp7h
Why Do We Laugh?: https://tinyurl.com/4rr4d7ch

More resources on humor:

New York Times - Is It OK to Laugh During Dark Times?: https://tinyurl.com/4c22uekj
Guardian - You’ve got to laugh: why a sense of humor helps in dark times: https://tinyurl.com/3xpvkcm2
ABC - Why Pain Makes Us Laugh: https://tinyurl.com/4fa6snj5
The Atlantic - The Link Between Happiness and a Sense of Humor: https://tinyurl.com/3mke3wpc
Mayo Clinic - Stress relief from laughter? It's no joke: https://tinyurl.com/4w8f4rwx
Scientific American - Laugh so you don't cry: how laughing kills the pain: https://tinyurl.com/3sysuwyf

Tell us what you think about using humor as a coping strategy by emailing us at [email protected] or using ...

Previous Episode

Happiness Break: Restore Through Silence, with Tricia Hersey

When was the last time you spent a moment savoring silence? Tricia Hersey, aka The Nap Bishop, guides us through an appreciation of silence and its restorative powers.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2s37nzdy

Scientists have found that spending just two minutes in silence can lower your blood pressure and heart rate, even when compared to listening to slow, relaxing music.

How to Do This Practice:

Find a quiet place to rest. Set a two-minute timer and put it aside.
Close your eyes and soften your face. Allow yourself to listen to the silence and rest your body.
At the end of the two minutes, slowly open your eyes and notice how you feel in your body. Or, continue resting in silence for as long as you need.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Tricia Hersey is an activist, organizer, and founder of The Nap Ministry. She is also the author of a new book, Rest is Resistance: A Manifesto. Order it here: https://tinyurl.com/5bkk6txk

Learn more about Tricia and her work: https://thenapministry.com/

Follow Tricia on Instagram: [https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/\](http:// https://www.instagram.com/thenapministry/)

Follow Tricia on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thenapministry/

Follow Tricia on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thenapministry

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

How to Avoid Burnout—or a Breakdown: https://tinyurl.com/5h4nrahy
What Is Black Fatigue, and How Can We Protect Employees from It?: https://tinyurl.com/yzcujre7
Quiet Justice: https://tinyurl.com/yc78fknk

More resources on the science of silence:

TIME - How Listening to Silence Changes Our Brains: https://tinyurl.com/4brpst8b
Healthline - 8 Physical and Mental Health Benefits of Silence, Plus How to Get More of It: https://tinyurl.com/5d84mxen
New Scientist - The power of quiet: The mental and physical health benefits of silence: https://tinyurl.com/2wn82wkr
PsychCentral - The Hidden Benefits of Silence: https://tinyurl.com/2p9fkc36

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of holding silence. Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcasts: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break! Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

We're living through a mental health crisis. Between the stress, anxiety, depression, loneliness, burnout — we all could use a break to feel better. That's where Happiness Break comes in. In each biweekly podcast episode, instructors guide you through research-backed practices and meditations that you can do in real-time. These relaxing and uplifting practices have been shown in a lab to help you cultivate calm, compassion, connection, mindfulness, and more — what the latest science says will directly support your well-being. All in less than ten minutes. A little break in your day.

Next Episode

Happiness Break: Making Space for You, with Alex Elle

Consider what you want to make space for in your life in this 6-minute contemplation guided by Alex Elle.

Link to episode transcript: https://tinyurl.com/2vxehzrk

How to Do This Practice:

Take a few deep breaths. File up your belly on each inhale. Drop your shoulder and soften your body on each exhale.
Say these eight phrases to yourself, or your own variation of it. Consider which resonates with you the most:

a. “In the presence of fear, I will make space for courage.”

b. “In the presence of self-doubt, I will make space for self-belief.”

c. “In the presence of hurriedness, I will make space for slowing down.”

d. “In the presence of overwhelm, I will make space for rest.”

e. “In the presence of overthinking, I will make space for letting go.”

f. “In the presence of chaos, I will make space for inner peace.”

g. “In the presence of confusion, I will make space for clarity.”

h. “In the presence of pain, I will make space for self-compassion.”

Bring your attention to the line from this meditation that resonates with you the most. Think about all the ways you wish to make space so you can bloom into the best version of yourself.
Write it down, perhaps on a sticky note, and keep it somewhere you can see it.

Today’s Happiness Break host:

Alex Elle is a breathwork coach, author and restorative writing teacher. Her new book, How We Heal, will be published this November. Keep an eye on our Instagram page, @greatergoodmag for a chance to win a copy.

Learn more about Alex and her new book: https://www.alexelle.com/about

Follow Alex on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alex/

Follow Alex on TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@easewithalexl

Follow Alex on Twitter: https://twitter.com/alex__elle

Follow Alex on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexElleFB

More resources from The Greater Good Science Center:

Listen to another Happiness Break podcast hosted by Alex: A Note to Self on Forgiveness
Being Kinder to Yourself: https://tinyurl.com/yxu64duk
Can Self-Awareness Help You Be More Empathic?: https://tinyurl.com/bjue72bn
How to Bring Self-Compassion to Work with You: https://tinyurl.com/2xn4f3pk
Can Self-Compassion Overcome Procrastination?: https://tinyurl.com/ytvxmp5d
Does Self-Compassion Make You Selfish?: https://tinyurl.com/528h6h6x

We love hearing from you! Tell us about your experience of making space for yourself. Email us at [email protected] or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Find us on Apple Podcast: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Help us share Happiness Break!

Leave us a 5-star review and copy and share this link: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap