Humour is a quality of perception that enables us to experience joy even when faced with adversity. Stress is an adverse condition during which we may experience tension or fatigue, feel unpleasant emotions, and sometimes develop a sense of hopelessness or futility. Nurses work in stress-filled environments that place demands upon their physical, emotional, and spiritual well being.…

Humour is thought to serve a wide range of positive functions in health care. This includes providing comfort to patients and reducing anxiety in difficult situations, serving as a means of raising difficult topics that might otherwise be taboo, offering an outlet for negative emotions such as frustration and anger, enhancing working relationships by relieving interpersonal tension and challenging and maintaining the structure of professional relationships.…

Of all my tools to combat depression and negativity, humour is by far the most fun. And just like mastering the craft of writing, I’m finding that the longer I practice laughing at life—and especially its frustrations–the better I become at it, and the more situations and conversations and complications I can place into that category named “silly.”…

Gallows humour is a basic human instinct. We have been laughing in the face of danger since the first troglodyte came face to face with a sabre-tooth tiger and giggled nervously to avoid shitting all over his favourite sloth-skin loincloth. Gallows humour makes us brave just like swearing helps us endure more pain. No shit.…

Within scientific circles, humour is often treated as a “non-serious” topic. According to the article “The Importance of Humor Research” by Peter McGraw in Psychology Today, many scientists fear that their work would be disrespected if they dared to research the what, why, and how of humour. Yet, humour deserves much more reverence than professionals — other than professional comics — are willing to bestow upon it.…

Facing our psychological issues is difficult, confronting and painful. Remember the old adage, “There’s safety in numbers.” It’s true. But there is solace there too. Misery loves company. I feel much better knowing that the Brazilian Fire Ants are stinging you too. The first-person plural, as in “we” is a comforting word. Loneliness is corrosive. “We” is a kinder word than “I”.…

Philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein said, “A serious and good philosophical work could be written consisting entirely of jokes.” Despite the buffoonish imagery that comes to mind when one considers the joker, the clown or the pie-in-the-face comedian, humour is more than mere silliness. It is an advanced intellectual means of developing new perspectives and coping with extreme circumstances..…