The HaHa Report: Laughter Really IS Medicine

**CW: mentions of friend passing, family passing

Happy holidays, my dear darling comedy nerds! For this edition of my Haha Report, I wanted to take a break from interviews, overviews, and previews to wish everyone a very haha-filled holiday. 

I hope this isn’t cringe, although I can’t make any promises as I’m a cuspy zillenial who grew up on Vine (Merry Chrysler). In light of our collective winter celebrations, gathering with family and friends, I’d like to use my platform to share a bit about the value of comedy as a community practice, like in a spiritual sense. Again, imma hope this isn’t barf-worthy, but no promises, I’m also known to be perhaps way too sentimental for the average emotional palate. Don’t worry though, mostly there will be  reason, and some science quoted. I aim to please. *bisexual finger guns*

In Amy Poehler’s book Yes Please, she retells a moment of crisis in the hair & makeup room at SNL where John Hamm gave her the gift of added minutes to her life with one joke. She was getting ready for a dress rehearsal (or show? I can’t quite remember, you should buy the book and read it, for scrupulosity’s sake) when she received a call from her doctor’s office. Her beloved doc had unexpectedly passed away. She now had no one she knew or trusted to deliver her baby. Oh yeah, she’s quite pregnant at this point and expected to have the baby THE NEXT DAY.

Upon hearing the news, she burst into woman-protagonist-from-a-comic-strip type tears. Who was going to be there for her on such a scary day, and will she love them as much as she loved this OBGYN? The sad news combined with show stress and general pregnancy stress had her in a panic. This was the moment host and friend of Amy’s, John Hamm, kneeled next to her and said, “This is a really important show for me. I need you to get your shit together.” Amy recalls erupting with laughter, tears and snot, in a moment of total gear shift from devastation to uplifting levity, and she said she felt minutes added to her life. 

From National Library of Medicine

In a 2021 report published by the National Library of Medicine via the National Institute of Health titled “Laughter therapy: A humor-induced hormonal intervention to reduce stress and anxiety” researchers said, “Laughter has been shown to exert stress-reducing effects by suppressing the bioactivities of epinephrine, cortisol, and 3, 4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid (a major dopamine catabolite) (Berk et al., 1989; Yim, 2016). Reduced neurotransmitter activities, including norepinephrine, serotonin, and dopamine are linked to depression, and laughter is shown to enhance dopamine and serotonin activities (Yim, 2016).”

What this means is when we make a good-faith joke, even if it’s dark or crass, we have the opportunity to co-regulate emotions with someone experiencing a chemical imbalance. Literally, reducing stress and enhancing joy on a bioactive level. Pretty cool right? 

Here’s a personal story for ya: On September 21, 2016, my father unexpectedly passed away in our family home. It was a whirlwind of blue and red lights, lots of strangers in uniforms coming and going, and being warp-sped into a new era of post-dad life for me and everyone else, all before 6am. I rubbed my blurred eyes to see a big white van drive off with him for the last time.

Putting on a smile through the pain in 2014

pic courtesy of me

I waved farewell, and my mom ran in asking, “Did I miss saying goodbye?” Her face distorted with so, so many emotions, I felt in my bones if I didn’t say something funny right then and there she would weep or pass out. I blurted out, “Who’s ready for a new Tinder profile, single lady?”… Cue the eruption of laughter, tears, and snot. She then hugged me, and said we were gonna be okay.

Was that crass? Yes absolutely. Some would say even a little disrespectful (sorry dad, I love you every day and forever, also I couldn’t think of anything better to say…next time I’ll gather in my writer's room for punch-ups). And, in that moment, my mom was able to laugh on the worst day ever. Her dopamine kick-started, and to be honest, mine did too. 

When you give someone a joke, when you make them laugh, you are participating in an act of community wellness, even healing. So when you kick it with those you love best this winter, let the bits, banter, teehees, and har-hars rip, because yes, it’s that important.

Much love y’all, season’s greetings!