Topic Tuesday *closed* Laughter 4 Mental health. This will make you chuckle...

It may not be particularly funny, but my first psychologist appoinment we were discussing what I wanted to gain from therapy, and I said something along the lines *mumble mumble* be normal.

His answer to that was why would you want that! Have you seen normal people?! They're so boring!

@CherryBomb You know, it does. And it's a bad habit. When somebody gives you a compliment, they want you to validate it. Not deflect it.

It's much better to say, "Thank you. That's very nice of you to say."

oh oh oh! I've got a big question for everyone again @Former-Member @PeppiPatty @Crazy_Bug_Lady

What is humour? I mean, how do you know when something is funny?

@DanielTobias when you were writing your show, how did you decide if something was funny? Is there like a secret ingredient?

@CherryBomb yes that is a huge question... need a couple of thousand words lol, where to start, depends on the situation, the people, their relationships to each other, the culture, place, time! It is releasing tension, lightening mood, for fun, enjoyment... maybe..

It's really interesting...

I have had lots of ideas that didn't make it to the final 70 minutes.

The most important thing for me was having a team of other writers that I would check in with on a regular basis that would act as bullshit detectors.

Sometimes, they might say things like, "I can see what you are trying to say, but that line makes you sound like a bit of a smart arse... or a bit mean... or stupid."

The show went through constant rewriting and editing. In fact, I'm still working on it now before I take it overseas.

You can think things will be funny, but you never really know until you try it out in front of an audience.

@Crazy_Bug_Lady that's amazing. You're psychologist sounds like he's got a good sense of humour, like you!

As you @Former-Member pointed out, it is very much to do with subjectivity and context. What I find funny with one friend, isn't funny with other people. But what I do think might be similar across most contexts is that humour in some odd way speaks the truth of a situation.

What are everyone else's thoughts??

yeah @CherryBomb i agree it can speak the truth but maybe it can be a way to point out a differnt opionion about something in a non threatening way

I remember Jerry Seinfeld saying something like... comedy taste is more personal and specialised than food or music. I think that is true. Not everyone finds the same things funny.