Humor That Can Hurt or Heal

By

Katherine Tapley-Milton

Hurtful Humor

     I think that the mentally ill are the last group of persons left that can be mocked

and made fun of without it being considered politically incorrect.  In today’s society it’s considered in poor taste to make racist jokes or wise cracks about sexual orientation, but it’s still open season on the mentally ill.  The following two jokes taken from Internet sources demonstrate my point.

Joke Example # 1

     “A doctor at the asylum decided to take his inmates to a baseball game.  For weeks in advance, he coached  his patients to his commands.  When the day of the game arrived, everything seemed to be going well.  As the national anthem started,

the doctor yelled, “Up nuts!”  And the inmates complied by standing up.  After the anthem he yelled, “Down nuts!” And they all sat.  After a home run he yelled, “Cheer nuts!” And they all broke into applause and cheers.  Thinking things were going very well, he decided to go get a beer and a hot dog, leaving his assistant in charge.  When he returned there was a riot in progress.   Finding the assistant, he asked what happened.  The assistant replied, “Well ... everything was fine until some guy walked by and yelled, “PEANUTS!”

Joke Example # 2

     It was visitor’s day at the lunatic asylum.  All the inmates were standing in the courtyard and singing “Ave Maria”.  And singing it beautifully.  Oddly, each of them was holding a red apple in one hand and tapping it rhythmically with a pencil.  A visitor listened  in wonderment to the performance and then approached the choir.  “I am a retired choir director,” he said. “This is one of the best choirs I have ever heard.”  “Yes, I’m very proud of them,” said the conductor.  “You should take them on tour,” said the visitor.  “What are they called?”  “Surely that is obvious”, replied the conductor, “the Moron Tapanapple Choir.”

Calling the mentally ill “nuts, and morons” and referring to a mental hospital as a lunatic asylum is hurtful and degrading.  In a column by Otto Wahl Ph.D. he comments:

  “People whose self-esteem may already be compromised by their disorders see themselves being laughed at and misrepresented.  They  are aware that other serious conditions are seldom treated with such insensitivity and wonder what they have done to warrant such treatment.  They may also be angered and discouraged by the apparent lack of sympathy for their concerns and being the target of such ridicule.  Moreover, humor that ridicules those with mental illness reinforces the public’s already pronounced tendencies to disparage those with mental illness and treat them with disrespect.  While people who enjoy status and social acceptance may be able to accept humor at their expense, those who have long been stigmatized, devalued, and discriminated against cannot afford to be tolerant.”

     I think that it is high time that psychiatric survivors should protest abusive humor directed at us.  How many times a week do you hear mental illness referred to in a derogatory way?  Without thinking people use hurtful humor.  Words  like psycho, nutbar, looney tunes, crazy, bonkers, etc. slip from the tongues of many every day, offending millions of persons afflicted with the agony of mental illness.   Psychiatric survivors should refuse to accept slurs on their condition even if people hide by saying, “It’s just a joke.”  To report instances of stigma in the media, an individual can call 800-969-NMHA (National Mental Health Assoication) or to subscribe to NMHA’s Stigma Watch Alerts you can visit their website at www.nmha.org and click on “Online Community”.

Healing Humor

     A  century ago Sigmund Freud recognized that humor offers us a healthy escape from stress.    Comedian, Groucho Marx, observed that, “If it weren’t for the brief respite we give the world with our foolishness, the world would see mass suicide in numbers that compare favorably with the death of lemmings.”    Furthermore, Paul

E. McGhee in an article titled, “Humor Your Tumor”, states that : “ Your sense of humor is one of the most powerful tools you have to make certain that your daily mood and emotional state support good health, instead of working against it.”  Psyhotherapist and stand-up comedian David Grenirer, advises:  “Here’s a tip for the nest time you feel stressed out and need a wellness break.  It’s called the Smile Time Out.    Take a deep breath, smile, exhale and say, ‘Aaah’ while visualizing all your muscles and cells smiling.  Then add to that a memory of a time you felt really good and laughed and laughed.  Remember, even when you fake a smile or laugh, you get the same physiological benefits as when it’s the real thing, because your mind is smart, but your body is stupid and can’t tell the difference.”  I can’t imagine this working with someone who is deeply depressed, however, for those mildly to moderately glum it might have some benefit.

     In his article, “Humor in Group Therapy”, therapist Tony J. Joyner attests to the healing power of humor.   He comments, “ By increasing the client’s enjoyment of and participation in his/her treatment, a therapeutic environment permissive of light-hearted discussion and laughter can positively affect treatment outcome.  I found this to be true through my 14+ years of work as a mental health professional.  I currently work with adult and adolescent psychiatric patients in an acute care unit and incorporate humor into my one-to-one sessions and my game or group presentations on a regular basis.  I found through the use of appropriately-timed humor that I developed a quick rapport and a lighter group atmosphere.  This opens up opportunities for therapeutic interventions.  It gives patients a friendly and human touch that they need during this difficult and frightening time in their lives.”

     There is a need breed of therapist today called a “jollyologist” or one who specializes in humor.  You can actually get a Masters Degree in the subject.  Allen Klein, creator of the show Captain Kangaroo has kit the road as a professional jollyologist and has authored books such as “Up Words For Down Days” and “The Courage to Laugh”.  Whether one is dealing with a traffic jam or a tragedy Klein teaches people to use humor to soften the blow.  Patch Adams is an unconventional doctor who sports a red rubber nose and a whoppee cushion instead stethoscope.  He believes that laughter is the best medicine and is another jollyologist with his own particular quirks.

     Humor has the power to hurt as well as heal.  While psychiatric survivors may be

wounded by insensitive jokes and  slang references to our illness, thus minimizing our pain,  humor in therapy or in our personal lives can lighten our black moods and give us a sense of control over our lives.