As the little thunder clouds of doom lurk overhead heavy with grief, misery, sadness and worry, the very idea of laughter feels wildy inappropriate.
As though you shouldn’t be allowed to forget your woes by having fun or pleasure. As if laughter would be a betrayal of the all consuming thoughts and feelings that plague you.
And if by sheer accident a laugh does escape, you clamp your hand over your mouth, riddled with guilty feelings as if joy should be reserved for better times. But the truth is, laughter isn’t a betrayal of pain, it’s a remedy for it.
Studies show that young children laugh 300-400 times a day, while adults laugh on average 15-60 times a day. I understand fully, as responsibilities pile up, worries mount, adulting doesn’t always feel like much fun.
As a result, a good deep belly can be hard to find, especially on a daily basis. In difficult times, it might even feel forced, half-hearted, or worse, indulgent. But it’s precisely in those darker moments, when joy feels furthest from reach, that we need laughter the most. I think at some point we’ve all uttered ‘If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry’
Laughter releases endorphins, lowers stress hormones like cortisol, and boosts immune function. It oxygenates the body, relaxes muscles, and can even reduce physical pain.
These aren’t just feel-good anecdotes; they’re physiological facts. Laughter isn’t merely an emotional response, it’s a full-body act of healing.
Did you some researchers believe, that our body doesn’t know the difference between a genuine laugh and a pretend laugh? A few years ago there was an emerging trend of “Laughter Yoga” – which is basically an hour or so of… laughing! I went along curious about the whole thing, to be honest I thought it’d be a bit embarrassing and not in the least bit funny.
How wrong was I? Well, yes, it was embarrassing at first, but it was also hilarious. We began in pairs, looking at our partner and basically fake laughing, within moments we were all howling with laughter, tears of joy, streaking our faces. Something in the ridiculousness of the situation cracked the tension wide open. It was very childlike, making silly noises, being daft and full of fun, as far from being a grown-up as you can be.
Maybe I should find another session to respark my laugh.
That said, you should never pretend to be happy when you’re not. Sadness is valid. Grief is real. But good mental health isn’t the absence of struggle, it’s the capacity to rebound, and lean into your resilience, it’s being able to bend without breaking. And part of building that resilience is reintroducing small sparks of joy, even if we don’t quite feel ready. We may never feel ready.
But, it’s worth a try. How about a phone call with that one friend who always has you wheezing with laughter. Rewatching a classic sitcom that once felt like home. A funny book, a ridiculous meme, my cat Gordon breaking into his food timer in under 30 seconds never fails to make me laugh.
These aren’t frivolous distractions designed to bury our head in the sand, away from real life problems, they’re important lifelines. They reconnect us to something essential, something enduring. Laughter reminds us we’re still here. Still capable of feeling joy, even if only fleetingly.
Sometimes, it’s a memory that brings laughter, a flash of someone’s expression, a moment that once had you doubled over, a silly story retold, it might be a photograph that hasnt seen the light of day in years.
At first, those memories might sting. They can feel bittersweet, or sad, especially if tied to people or times we’ve lost. But we can’t let sadness steal what was once real happiness. Those joyful memories are evidence of a life truly lived, and laughter keeps that spark alive.
So give yourself permission to laugh. Let yourself remember. Let joy find its way back in, one smile at a time.
Shannon Humphrey is a First Aid for Mental Health Instructor and Wellbeing advocate, find out more about her work at www.pathwaysforpositivity.com
Photo: Shutterstock
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