Did you know that humour can, and should, be trained? With practice the brain stops relying on the prefrontal cortex, the seat of logic, and engages the temporal lobe, making spontaneous and creative associations easier. Because humour is highly subjective, the first step towards its therapeutic benefits is to map your own profile.
Identifying your triggers#
The first step is to identify what makes you smile naturally. Answer the following questions to begin that mapping:
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Childhood toys: Which were your favourites? Adult humour is often related to the kinds of entertainment we enjoyed as children.
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People who inspire you: Who are the people in your life who make you laugh without trying?
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Entertainment favourites: Who are your favourite comedians, which comedies stayed with you, and what are your favourite jokes?
Dominant humour styles#
Favour the humour that strengthens resilience and relationships, and avoid styles that mask insecurity or wound other people.
| Style | Main characteristics |
|---|---|
| Affiliative | Aimed at easing social relations and reducing interpersonal tension through anecdotes and light observation. Positively associated with optimism, self-esteem and life satisfaction. |
| Self-enhancing | Works as a defence mechanism, allowing you to keep a humorous perspective even in adversity. |
| Aggressive | Uses sarcasm, ridicule or mockery to demonstrate superiority or to manipulate. This style can damage relationships permanently, and can do real psychological harm to someone already vulnerable. |
| Self-defeating | Seeks approval by laughing excessively at your own weaknesses. Jokes about the core competencies your job depends on can undermine the confidence others place in you. |
If you often use aggressive or self-defeating humour, consider:
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Shift the focus: Aim humour at situations rather than at people.
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Always weigh the risk: If there is a reasonable chance of offence, drop the joke.
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Avoid "it was only a joke": If you need that defence, the remark was in fact received as an offence.
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Judge the moment: Using humour ethically requires respect for other people's dignity and sensitivity to what they need right then.
The techniques, and the value of laughter#
Laughter has an architecture of its own, resting on 45 techniques grouped into categories such as language(irony, wordplay),identity(impersonation, caricature) andsurprise (absurdity, coincidence). Biologically, the body does not distinguish spontaneous laughter from simulated laughter, as in laughter yoga: both lower cortisol, strengthen immunity and improve blood flow to the brain.
Bringing humour into daily life#
A humour diary: Every day, write down three amusing things that happened. List three items, the first two serious and the third unexpected or ridiculous. Doing this for just one week brings proven benefits. The aim is to develop a funny focus: knowing you will make the entry that evening, you spend the day more alert to positive things.
Five minutes of humour at work: Take a break to watch something funny. People who do are twice as productive.
Travel with comedy: Instead of news or silence, listen to comedy podcasts on the commute, and improve your morning mood.
Cinema as emotional training: Watching comedies allows temporary distance from daily stress, and narrows the gap between the real self and the ideal self.
Follow humour on social media: Tune your algorithm by following genuinely funny accounts, so that humour turns up organically in your feed.
Practise simulated laughter (laughter yoga): Do not wait for a joke: try guided laughter exercises.
Think of what you could have said: Rehearse humorous responses to past situations in your head. It helps the brain make comic connections faster in future exchanges.
The "yes, and..." exercise: When something unexpected happens, accept the premise ("yes") and add a constructive or amusing detail ("and..."). This prevents mental blocks and encourages flexibility.
Comic exaggeration: Reframe an irritating aspect of reality by amplifying it. For example, if the technology is slow, think: "This computer is so fast I have time to learn Mandarin."
Conclusion#
Humour does not remove adversity, but it lets us reinterpret what happens as less threatening and meet adversity with more flexibility, balance and dignity.
References#
Mekhakyan, A., & Szulc, A. (2025). Film therapy and anxiety disorders, self-esteem and quality of life. Report from research. Journal of Psychiatric and Mental Health Nursing. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1111/jpm.13143
Stiwi, K., & Rosendahl, J. (2022). Efficacy of laughter-inducing interventions in patients with somatic or mental health problems: A systematic review and meta-analysis of randomized-controlled trials. Complementary Therapies in Clinical Practice, 47, Article 101552. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2022.101552
Wu, X., Guo, T., Zhang, C., Hong, T.-Y., Cheng, C.-M., Wei, P., Hsieh, J.-C., & Luo, J. (2020). From “Aha!” to “Haha!” Using humor to cope with negative stimuli. Cerebral Cortex. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhaa357
Van der Wal, C. N., & Kok, R. N. (2019). Laughter-inducing therapies: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Social Science & Medicine, 232, 473–488. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.socscimed.2019.02.018
Tagalidou, N., Distlberger, E., Loderer, V., & Laireiter, A.-R. (2019). Efficacy and feasibility of a humor training for people suffering from depression, anxiety, and adjustment disorder: A randomized controlled trial. BMC Psychiatry, 19, Article 91. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12888-019-2075-x
Yanovsky, M. I. (2023). Impact of the comedy on the self-concept of the viewer. Cultural-Historical Psychology, 19(4), 34–45. https://doi.org/10.17759/chp.2023190404
