A State of Mind

I'm convinced that "laughing at your self" is a state of mind.  You can be in it even if you are not thinking or saying anything particularly funny.  It's a place you can put yourself where the world around you takes on a humorous tone.  You're a step removed, looking on, relaxed, maybe verging on happy. Nothing is really going to bother you, because what ever there is to be said, you've already said about yourself.  In the last paragraph of the novel "Cutting Through the Knot,"  I call it "thinking funny."

Medium,Large or Jumbo?

Fear is a good thing if you are being chased by a mountain lion and you need to climb a tree.

Fear is not a good thing when you need to choose between two sizes of ketchup!

Couldn't Have Said it Better

Here's a section of a post the the Amazon humor discussion boards that I include unattributed.

" I suggest you read a comedy book called, "Cancer on $5 a day (chemo not included). How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life", by Robert Schimmel. Cancer on Five Dollars a Day (chemo not included): How Humor Got Me Through the Toughest Journey of My Life
This man had so many trials and tribulations it's unbelievable: a son that died of cancer, surviving Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma himself, a major heart attack, a testicular cancer scare, two very nasty divorces, Hepatitis and resulting cirrhosis of the liver...I could go on. And yet this wonderful, incredible man always had a very positive outlook on life and found a way to laugh and write great jokes about pretty dark subjects. He overcame all these obstacles in his life by laughing at them and having a positive attitude, and inspired countless others with his comedy, donating money to cancer causes and devoting countless hours of his time performing charity comedy shows for fellow cancer patients. Sadly, Robert died in September 2010 from injuries resulting from a car accident. On his Facebook status the day before he died Robert himself even laughed at the irony of surviving so much illness just to die of a car crash.

I have worked for many years with terminally ill people and mentally ill people. Laughter truly is the best medicine, believe you me. People with terminal illnesses that have a pessimistic outlook, that lose their sense of humor, basically give up and give themselves to their illness and die soon after. Can you believe I know *happy* terminally ill people, because they still manage to have a love for life, and surround themselves with loving family, positivity, and laughter? They don't always survive, but they have a hell of a lot better quality and length of life than those poor miserable saps that just give up, wither up and die.

Mental illness is no different. The people I've met that could joke and laugh about their condition were much happier and mentally healthier people, and stayed "with it" much longer. Comedy about illnesses is a good thing!! It's not oppressive, demeaning, or humiliating. It is in fact quite the opposite! It can be inspiring, uplifting and motivating. You seem to view comedy about mental illness as the bully in the schoolyard picking on the mentally retarded kid. I think you have quite the wrong impression. "

'Nuff Said!

The Dying Banker

     I heard a remarkable story on NPR last night.  They were interviewing a banker with a malignant brain tumor and literally months left to live.  Instead of wallowing in self pity the man has used his remaining time on earth to write a book of seat of the pants wisdom for the ordinary investor and to resolve his affairs with family and friends.  The book has sold a lot of copies.  It was reviewed in the New York Times, and the review "went viral."  This extraordinary man joked with genuine good humor and a laugh,
     "Maybe they are just happy to hear about a banker dying."

Why it works

Feeling love and laughing, I believe, releases positive chemicals in the brain.  I suspect that laughing at yourself does this as well, maybe more so. There may be technical medical devices that can measure these changes, brain scans or something of that kind.  I would wager good money that if you looked at the brain chemistry of people who regularly mock themself you would see all good things, appropriate levels of serotonin or what ever else is floating around up there.  Here again, I'm not really breaking any new ground.  Reader's Digest has had a column running for years entitled "laughter is the best medicine." I'm just saying that when you make yourself the focus of the humor, everybody wins.

I Vant to Be Alone

"Am I the only one who avoids social situations?  If it involves sharing the room with another human being, I have distinct reservations.  Here are my ten best ways to get people to leave me alone.  One: Don’t leave the apartment.   Two:  Move to a neighborhood where nobody speaks my language.  Three:  Return all e-mail messages with the person’s name spelled wrong.  O.K. I only have three."

It's a way of looking at your self, of not taking things too seriously, of not hesitating to take things head on.  I don't know why but humor of this kind tends to even out the bumps in the road.

Let's Do Lunch

     "I'm the kind of guy, that if I was having lunch with myself, I'd leave and leave myself the check."

     Why is this statement therapeutic?

     Maybe it is in the power of humor, that nobody really knows.  One theory is that if you say these kinds of things about yourself, it doesn't hurt nearly as much if someone else says them afterwards.  That's one theory, but I'm sure that's not the whole thing.  Many comedians do it.  Rodney Dangerfield, "I don't get no respect." Bob Uecker  "Front row!"  Much of the early Woody Allen.  It is healthy in part because it doesn't put anybody else down.  But there is more to it than that.  I am convinced that these kinds of jokes pick up the comedian, even if no one else hears them.  Go figure.