Ive just finished my second yoga torture on Apple Fitness , this time with Molly . I had a tough day at school today and thought doing a bit of yoga might help. Sadly I must report back that it did , by the time I had stopped feeling sorry for myself for the positions Molly put me in , I had forgotten about my day. One position made me laugh , it is exactly the same my dog does when it’s time to pee. That got me thinking about childhood trauma and Humour, not great bed fellows you may think , but perhaps you should think again.
William Shakespeare , perhaps you have heard of him once said ” Laughing faces do not mean that there is an absence of sorrow! But it means that they have the ability to deal with it”.
Some might say that laughter or Humour is a emotion focused coping mechanism that helps to regulate the stress response . That’s probably true , I just like humour as it makes me feel better , however it’s important that the humour is not at the expense of someone else’s trauma .
Many comedians , the funniest , have suffered childhood trauma and some like Kevin Hart use their own experiences in their acts. It’s strange just how many famous comedians and comedic actors have had Adverse Childhood Experiences. Will Smiths childhood was shaped by trauma and Violence ,Chevy Chase was physically and Psychologically abused as a child. Kelsey Grammar , his father was murdered when he was 13 and his sister was raped and murdered. Kevin Smith from the comedy show Silent but Deadly and Clerks , he spoke to People magazine telling the story of how he was sexually abused and bullied by an older child.
One memory that I hate to recall is from my childhood , the priest who married my sisters was driving passed our house one day when I was about 9 and his car overturned . It was awful , the fire rescue came and cut him out , he was ok, but it was my reaction that haunts me . I laughed , I couldn’t stop myself , I have no idea where it came from or why I did it , my parents were rightfully furious . I now know that this was nervous laughter , we laugh sometimes to deal with negative events.
So laughing is great , except when its not socially acceptable , one of the ways that experts say we can help with nervous laughter is Yoga , I feel that Ive come full circle here. All I know is that when I watch comedies , when I try to be funny and when I laugh the world seems to be a better place , it links us to other people and lightens our mood. Perhaps it is a coping mechanism , perhaps on my reminders app that I have set up to research helpful things to put in my book , next to Yoga, Meditation , Piano and write book, I should add a-tick box, to Laugh .
