Photo by Engin Akyurt
People use comedy and a lighter life perspective in dark times because humor can help manage grief and the loss of a loved one.
In Eleanor Gaccetta’s book One Caregiver’s Journey, Eleanor tells how she cared for her mother until her passing. This personal memoir shares the hardship of a caregiver but with a twist of humor in the author’s experiences.
We experience grief when we lose a loved one from certain circumstances in life. The feeling of grief is heavy and actually exhausts one’s mental capacity. It is a natural response to loss, but some people have other ways to cope with this heavy feeling.
Humor, on the other hand, is a lighter feeling. It is when people see the fun and lighter side of things in life. While experiencing grief over the loss of a loved one, some people tend to see the funny and happy side of the experience. Humor can help manage grief and loss. It is seeing the positive side of life.
So, how does humor help manage the feeling of grief?
Humor is a Natural Defense Mechanism
When we encounter bad experiences in life, we tend to find ways to hide our true selves to avoid shame or embarrassment. Humor and laughter help us cope with some bad situations, putting the situation into perspective, and keeping us on track with the current experience.
Humor is a natural defense mechanism that makes us feel positive. It goes along with patience, mindfulness, tolerance, humility, and forgiveness. Moreover, this state of mind helps us cope with the hard times, letting us feel secure from the heavy loads of grief.
Humor is a Natural Way to Heal
People always say that laughter is the best medicine. Laughter can help our bodies produce happy hormones, dopamine, and endorphins. With these hormones, our body also tends to boost immunity by producing T-cells and immune proteins that fight infection and improve our body, and mental state.
Humor Helps the Flow of Emotions
Other than the immune or physical impacts of humor and laughter, people also tend to have emotional support from humor. It allows the person to see a more positive perspective in life, which clears the mind of the doubt when facing a difficult challenge. Humor also triggers one’s creativity. As we see a more positive outlook in life, we also exercise our imagination through funny scenarios that can possibly happen.
Some people resort to stand-up comedy because it is a retelling of someone’s life but seeing it in a lighthearted way. One Caregiver’s Journey also brings the audience a perspective where the author tells funny yet insightful anecdotes. Everything the author tells is real from creativity to finding humor in different situations.
RELATED: Emotional Burden of Life as a Caregiver and Alleviating Them
Humor Increases Social Bond
A lot of people get are attracted to humor. People with a sense of humor tend to become more charismatic. They will shine in the crowd and trigger creativity from other people as well. Creating a good bond with other people means you will have individuals you can channel out your feelings to, helping you cope with difficult situations. So, if you feel the heaviness of grief, you can always count on people with a sense of humor. Or you could use your kind of humor to connect with people more.
Humor Boosts Morale
Because your humor can invite kindred hearts, you actually have the chance to boost your morale. Grieving for a loss can always make someone feel drained and depressed. However, humor will let you see and feel positivity for the current time and the future.
When you are feeling depressed because of loss, you may always look back on your experiences with the person and reminisce about the funny situations you both encountered. Most people always tell humorous experiences during their remembrances at a funeral, keeping the other people feeling more positive in life despite carrying the burden of grief.
Grief is not always something to ignore. It is okay to not feel okay. Nevertheless, seeing a brighter day ahead will help us move on and expect a new day to come.
Buy a copy of One Caregiver’s Journey at onecaregiversjourney.com/order, or get it on Amazon and Barnes & Noble.
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