Mental Health Monday: Jokes!

Stop me if you’ve heard this one:

Q: What did the tie say to the hat?

A: You go on a-head; I’ll hang around

That was my favorite joke when I was six years old! I loved checking out joke-books from the library as a kid, and while my sense of humor has evolved since those days, I still get a kick out of good word play.

At its core, humor is a disruption that creates a positive effect. In the case of a pun, the meaning of one word is disrupted by linking it to another word. Physical comedy is a literal disruption of a person’s body, while absurdist comedy is a disruption of the literal. And social commentary– the brand of humor favored by standup comedians– disrupts our perspective.

According to a team from the University of Wolverhampton, the first recorded joke traces back to 1900 BC Summeria (you guessed it - a fart joke) [1]. But what is it about jokes that make them so inherent to human nature? What are the benefits of comedy and humour?

• Stress Relief: I don’t know who first said, “laughter is the best medicine,” but Victor Hugo beautifully conveyed the same sentiment when he said “Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face [2].” Laughter has been shown to relax the whole body, release endorphins, and even protect the heart [3], so it’s no wonder that we gravitate towards funny cat videos, web comics, and our favorite sitcoms during times of stress. Go ahead– laugh out loud!

• Vehicles for truth: Jokes allow us to look past the lens of social norms and see patterns of behavior differently. In Shakespeare’s plays, fools like Touchstone, Feste and Lear's “The Fool” are often intelligent characters that speak truth to power, and the audience [4]. Traditionally marginalised groups have used humor to combat oppression, heel pain and build bridges between communities. In recent years, comedy with a focus on neurodivergence is on the rise, with comedians like Hannah Gadsby talking openly from their experience [5].

• Social Bonding: Victor Borge said “Laughter is the closest distance between two people” [6]. It allows us to connect over shared (often unpleasant) experiences. At work, sharing memes and gifs can often become its own form of communication. Not sure if your tone is coming across in a message? Add a gif! What to empathise with your coworker over a hectic workload? Send a meme!

Speaking of memes, here are some fun memes and comics to get you through your Monday:

Neurodivergent Jokes

https://www.instagram.com/p/CV0S6NWDmfW/

Analytics meme’s?! Yes even jokes about data analysis such as:

Even SQL data security jokes!

And of course Star Trek jokes

What are your favorite jokes or memes? Please share with us in the comments below.

Happy Mon-YAY, everyone!

Shelly and Heath

References:

[1] https://www.wlv.ac.uk/news-and-events/latest-news/2008/august-2008/the-worlds-ten-oldest-jokes-revealed.php 

[2] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/victor_hugo_105044?src=t_laughter 

[3] https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm

[4] https://blog.oup.com/2016/09/shakespeare-clowns-fools-infographic/

[5] https://www.theskinny.co.uk/comedy/interviews/neurodiversity-in-comedy

[6] https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/victor_borge_100429