How Humor Can Help Someone Heal After Loss

Humor is sometimes our way of coping with embarrassing situations. Consider the example of slipping in public and falling on your butt. In the moment, it might have been embarrassing however when you later tell a friend about the experience, you both get a good laugh. Humor helps dissolve negative emotions around certain memories so we can cope with them better. 

It also helps us relate better to one another. If you tell your friend about your funny, yet embarrassing situation, they will probably tell you about something similar that happened to them. Knowing we all go through similar ordeals can lessen the embarrassment or negative feelings we associate with our own experiences or problems.

Humor can also be a way to relieve tension in awkward situations, form social bonds, ease anger, or process difficult emotions, like grief. Using humor to overcome loss is more common than you might think. The death of a loved one is sad but there is joy and laughter to be found in nearly every situation. 

Finding humor during the mourning process can be as simple as remembering a funny experience with the deceased. It can be making a silly joke at the funeral of your loved one, something that the deceased would have found amusing. Humor can also be found elsewhere to escape your grief and move on from your pain. 

Humor is meant to be light-hearted and fun. While you might want to laugh at something silly someone else does, make sure they find it amusing as well. Laughing at other people’s expense is not humor, it’s bullying. Although many successful comedians like to push the edge, be wary of doing so in your own life. You can laugh and have fun without putting someone else down. 

Never stoop to being hurtful for the sake of a laugh. It’s just as bad for you spiritually as it is for the other person. Karma has a way of coming back to us. Being unkind will not help you overcome your grief, nor will it help you become a happier person. 

Using laughter to cope with stressful situations like death is a natural and healthy way to handle tough emotions and feelings. Humor is our natural defense mechanism in situations we feel uncomfortable.

We use laughter and humor to lessen the discomfort we feel or change the “vibe” in the room. We may use laughter as a way to make the situation seem less threatening to ourselves and others around us. 

As mentioned in the example above, laughter in stressful or scary situations can help us and others around us relax. At least momentarily, giving us time to think more clearly. The same benefits of laughter apply to grief.

When we can find something to smile or laugh about, we can make our grief feel less threatening or traumatic. Laughter can signal to our grief-stricken mind and body that we should relax long enough to gain a different perspective. Humor can help heal us both physically and mentally. 

Using laughter to cope with grief in young children can help to normalize their situation. It will help them take their mind off their pain and confusion.

Utilizing humor as a grief coping mechanism helps children understand that it’s okay to laugh, even during a time of mourning. It helps them understand that life can and will go back to normal and that they are allowed to be happy. 

Read more on How Grief Can Change Over Time and What To Expect In The Days Ahead.

Remembering the fun and amusing times you had with your partner helps keep their memory alive. You’ll feel closer to them by remembering them at their best and funniest moments. You can smile and feel joy knowing they would want you to be happy. 

No parent should ever have to feel the pain of the loss of a child. Grieving a child is one of the most difficult burdens anyone could ever face. Humor and laughter may be a sentimental way to remember how loving and funny your child was. Remember all the fun and sweet moments you shared with your child to keep those memories alive. 

Losing close friends can feel like losing a part of yourself. Friends are the people we share some of our most fond and humorous memories with. Remembering the good times, you had with your deceased friend will bring warmth to your heart and a smile to your face. Let your memory of them be one of humor and joy instead of the pain of their loss. 

One of the most beneficial ways to heal after loss is to journal your thoughts and feelings. Journaling helps clear your mind and process difficult emotions in a way that makes them easier to understand. You can use journaling to find humor in your grief. 

Write down your funny memories or funny stories about the deceased. Refer to these journal entries when you are feeling sad or having a hard day. Reading funny memories and stories about your deceased loved one will keep them fresh in your mind and give you a reason to smile. 

A gratitude journal is a place where you can write a list of everything you are grateful for. It can be anything from the house you live in, your family, friends, or morning sunshine. No matter how difficult your situation might be right now, there is always something to be grateful for. 

Taking a moment to remind yourself of these small blessings shifts your focus to a more positive one. Instead of thinking negatively you are instead training your brain to see the good in every situation. Keeping a positive mindset will help with your grieving and make you more open to acknowledging humor. 

The best way to keep your deceased loved one’s memory alive is to speak of them often. Recount funny stories of them to your friends and family. Sharing your funny memories of the deceased will help everyone to remember the joy they brought to everyone’s life. 

It will also give you all a good laugh and a reason to smile. If the deceased were around, they would likely want you to remember the best parts of their life and celebrate them rather than mourn them. 

If you and the deceased shared a favorite funny movie or TV show, watch it alone or with other friends and family. Watching a movie or show that your loved one enjoyed will help you to feel close to them. Concentrate on each scene or joke and appreciate the humor and silliness. 

It will feel good to have something fun to focus on and will be a good escape from your grief. Watching a funny film, the deceased enjoyed will remind you of how they smiled and laughed and how much fun the two of you had sharing those moments.

A laughter yoga class combines traditional yoga and laughter therapy. It’s a yoga practice that encourages participants to laugh. Your laughter yoga instructor will take you through various exercises that simulate the physical act of laughing. Laughter yoga practice can help to lower cortisol and stress levels, decrease depression, and boost your mood. 

It may also help you cope with your grief to be around other people. Grief can be isolating and taking part in a social activity that encourages laughter and bonding may be therapeutic. Laughter yoga encourages participants to take themselves less seriously and feel more relaxed.

Find a local comedy club or research tour dates for your favorite comedian and see them live. A comedy show can be a fun way to get out of the house and out of your head. Enjoying comedy while in the presence of others can be more fun than when you’re by yourself.

You’ll not only feel the energy of your own laughter but the laughter of others. A live comedy show is a fun and exciting way to share a few laughs with strangers and forget about your grief for a short while. 

Remember the fun times you had with your loved one with a heartwarming thumbprint jewelry keepsake. Our selection of affordable thumbprint jewelry includes thumbprint rings, pendants, and keychains that can be engraved with your loved one’s unique thumbprint.

Use a thumbprint keepsake to help heal your emotional distress. When you are missing your loved one, you can place your thumbprint over their own and remember the joy and laughter you shared. You’ll feel closer to your loved one knowing you have a part of them with you always. 

Check out our helpful Guide To Buying Thumbprint Jewelry.

Find ways to laugh at yourself more, even in what you would otherwise consider a negative situation. Say you drop your food on the floor and ruin a meal you just spent half an hour preparing. You could either lament about how hard your life is because you’re clumsy, or you could laugh at how you’re so clumsy, you now must go through a drive through for dinner instead of eating the meal you spent time preparing. 

Life is what you make of it. Bad things will happen to you, but it is up to you how you choose to handle those situations. You can either choose to be upset or choose to be amused.

Social media is much more nowadays than simply a tool for keeping in touch with your friends and family. Social media has evolved into a platform where you can access all kinds of entertainment at any time of the day. Find a funny account (or several funny accounts) that share humorous jokes, skits, or pictures you find entertaining. 

Surrounding yourself with positive people, places, and things is so important during the grieving process. If you are going to scroll through your social media feeds, anyway, make sure you are scrolling through pages that bring a smile to your face.

Nothing can remind you of a fond or humorous memory than a picture. Have a piece of photo engraved jewelry made from a funny photo or funny memory of your loved one. A color photo engraved jewelry piece can capture the realistic details of your loved one to help you better remember the humorous moment.

Always keep your photo engraved jewelry on your person. When you are feeling sad or upset, you can look down at the memory of your loved one and be reminded of their love and joy. 

Your environment can have a huge impact on your mood. If your home or office space is looking dull or filled with somber, dark colors, switch it up. Fill your space with bright, happy colors. Studies have shown that brighter colors can lift your mood.

Paint your walls your favorite bright color or find colorful decor to hang on your walls or put in your room. Make your space a place where you can create new, happy memories. Sometimes a change of scenery is what you need to get your mind out of a dark place and look into the future. 

There are lots of laughs and fun to be had when playing games with friends and family. Host a game night and invite some of your funniest friends and family. Playing games is a great social lubricant and can make any get together more fun and entertaining.

Have a variety of games to play so you can have fun trying them all. Playing games while socializing with people you love is the perfect way to keep your mind off your grief and invested in creating new memories. 

Pets bring joy to our lives for so many reasons, one of them being that they make us laugh. Play with your lovable pooch or kitty to share a few laughs with them. Pets are naturally humorous, even when they are not trying to be.

Additionally, the act of petting your loveable dog or cat releases oxytocin in your brain, which can help improve your mood. If you don’t have a pet at home, borrow a friend's pet or go to a local animal shelter and volunteer. Being around cute furry animals will give you something to smile about and a way to distract your mind from your grief. 

Saying goodbye to your loved one’s is difficult but cremation jewelry allows you to keep a part of them with you forever. When you are missing your loved one, a cremation jewelry keepsake can help remind you that they are still with you in spirit.

Your loved one would want you to be happy and experience laughter even though they are no longer with you in the physical sense.