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Sense of Humor and mental Well-Being

How do you rate your sense of humor? 

I find it ticklish that most of us, even the grouchiest ones, believe that we are in possession of the funny streak. 

Humor indeed has health benefits. We have heard all too often about laughter being the best medicine. In more recent times, researchers in psychology and mental health have humor to be the most effective defense against anxiety or stress, and also a soothing balm against negative effects of loss and deprivation.

There is a contradiction of sorts that despite most members of society claiming to have a sense of humor, we find much grumbling, anger, sorrow and fights in our offices and community. The reason could be two-fold.

Humor is truly subjective. What seems funny to one may not be funny at all to another. While PG Wodehouse can trigger a giggle in many, I have seen others put the book down with a sardonic โ€œWhat is so funny about it?โ€ kind of expression.

Not to be disheartened, researchers have gone on to explore and study different types of humor and how they impact our brains, moods, health and life. 

  1. Affiliative humor: refers to common simple jokes that are universally considered funny, the types that we often use in starting a conversation among strangers in a party. They help build relationships with friends and colleagues.
  2. Self-enhancing humor: is the type when you crack the joke on yourselfโ€ฆfor example how stupid you looked when you physically banged against the wall and fell on the floor at a party as your attention and gaze were fixed on an attractive person across the room! This kind of joke enhances your โ€œlikeabilityโ€ among peers.
  3. Aggressive humor: is laughing at the expense of others. It involves ridiculing, mocking, teasing, being sarcastic or putting down someone to generate a laugh. 

When many people think they have a sense of humor, this is often the type they inadvertently practice. It does not create geniality, relaxation or positivity.

  1. Self-defeating humor: where one makes himself the butt of all the partyโ€™s jokes and ridicules. Sounds magnanimous at first, but generally leads to alienation, isolation and depression if it becomes a recurrent pattern of offering oneself as the โ€œpunching bagโ€ all the time.

You may self-assess your โ€œhumor statusโ€ by taking a test on www.humorstyles.com.

Learning to laugh well could be a great stress-buster and help add that dash of spice to enhance the quality of your life.

Contributed by-

Dr. (Prof) Gourdas Choudhuri,
Chairman, Department of Gastroenterology and Hepato-biliary Sciences,
Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurgaon, Haryana.
The article has been published in HT City, Lucknow.
To read more articles by Dr. G. Choudhuri, please visit www.drgchoudhuri.net

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