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LAUGH

Humor is a coping mechanism, and a sophisticated one, at that.

"Now take my diabetes, please."

Here’s what it does:

• stress reducer

• improve social skills

• facilitates difficult topics

• gives new perspective

• diffuses tension

• improves mood

• shields against pain

• buffer against fear

• improve the immune system

There are methods of learning to reconnect with your sense of humor: watch children, humorous videos, TV shows; read humor; create an ability to think funny ("private jokes," smiling inside), actually be funny, or spend time enjoying other’s humor for distraction and soothing. You can probably benefit from thinking funny without actually being funny. Actually, most people think they are funnier than they actually are. I did my doctoral dissertation on Humor as a Coping Mechanism and that was NOT funny nor was it fun.

• It is important to THINK of and or in fact SAY humorous responses to difficult diabetes-specific situations:

  Q.“Should you be eating that?”
  A.” No, but it looks like you’ve been eating it.” (This one should just be said silently rather than used.)

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