Dating Humor

by Jennifer Kelton

“Social Benefits of Laughter: Laughter connects us with others. Also, laughter is contagious, so if you bring more laughter into your life, you can most likely help others around you to laugh more, and realize these benefits as well. By elevating the mood of those around you, you can reduce their stress levels and, perhaps, improve the quality of social interaction you experience with them, reducing your stress level even more!”

-http://stress.about.com/od/stresshealth/a/laughter.htm#

 

I’ve gone out on a lot of dates in three decades of dating. The worst dates have always been humorless and filled with lots of dead air – or would that be hot air? – without even a glimmer of a smile, giggle or chuckle. While dating humor can be subjective, it’s also remarkably universal. Dating humor has the ability to change a very bad date to a great date. It’s just that simple.

Getting down to the nuts and bolts of dating humor, I’m going to be, extremely honest here. Let’s say it’s early in the morning, you’re still fast asleep and “wow” his or her impressively dreadful morning breath is the 6:00 a.m. wake-up-call that has just kick-started your day from a peaceful, deep sleep. Within moments, he or she makes an incredibly funny joke about his or her extreme case of combustible halitosis, and within seconds, he or she becomes the cute, wonderful and hilariously funny guy/girl with bad breath that you had a fantastic and unforgettable night with. Let’s reenact that same exact sour-smell moment and early-morning wake-up call, but now, he or she lies there breathing his or her fire mouth, filled with last nights heavy garlic dinner and red wine, saying absolutely nothing. Do I hear the sound of running feet and an opening and shutting front door?

Dating humor is bonding and can save a relationship, transforming a tragic situation – “Hello, Mr. or Ms. Fire Mouth” – to a light-hearted situation that can actually strengthen, join and bring two people closer together.

I have an old boyfriend that, to this day, makes me laugh, and when I think back to our hilarious first date together, it was his dating humor that I was most attracted to. It was his sense of humor that helped me to overlook his flaws and things that, historically with other men, I would not have been able to look over. I’m not saying that we all need to rush down to our local theater, learning annex, improvisation group or community college for comedy lessons. However, I am saying that, in life and in dating, sometimes taking a look at things from a light-hearted, humorous point of view. Give it a snicker, snort, giggle or laugh that makes your face hurt and you get a serious case of the hiccups. This will not only save your date, but there’s a ton of other benefits from some dating humor and laughter.

Cheers!

“Remember that even in the most difficult of times, a laugh, or even simply a smile, can go a long way in helping us feel better

• Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.
• Humor unites us, especially when we laugh together.
• Laughter heals.
• Laughs and smiles are enjoyed best when shared with others.
• To laugh or not to laugh is your choice.

Mental Health Benefits of Laughter

• Humor enhances our ability to affiliate or connect with others.
• Humor helps us replace distressing emotions with pleasurable feelings. You cannot feel angry, depressed, anxious, guilty, or resentful and experience humor at the same time.
• Lacking humor will cause one's thought processes to stagnate leading to increased distress.
• Humor changes behavior – when we experience humor we talk more, make more eye contact with others, touch others, etc.
• Humor increases energy, and with increased energy we may perform activities that we might otherwise avoid.
• Finally, humor is good for mental health because it makes us feel good!”

- http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm