In the face of daily struggles, it might seem unlikely that silly little pixels on a screen, aka memes, could offer much help. But don’t underestimate the power of humor, especially when it's needed most. To understand just how it works (and when it might not), Bored Panda reached out to mental health professionals for insight.
Psychotherapist and content creator Lauren Baird described humor as “a powerful tool for managing difficult emotions.”
“When we laugh, our bodies release a cascade of neurochemicals including endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin—often called our ‘feel-good hormones.’ These create immediate physiological and psychological relief, essentially providing a natural mood boost,” she explained. “Just listen to people laughing around you—it’s hard not to smile yourself!”
Part of the reason humor feels so contagious is because those feel-good chemicals also help us bond with others. As psychotherapist Sarah Lee pointed out, endorphins don’t just improve our mood; they also strengthen social connections. So next time you forward a meme to your bestie, know it’s doing more than just making them laugh.
And the benefits don’t stop there. “In more technical terms, humor helps people address the dual tasks of solving the problem and managing their feelings about the problem,” Lee explained. “Researchers suggest that it is often used when the situation is unpredictable or uncontrollable.”
Even a single funny line can break the tension in an otherwise stressful or even dangerous environment. This is where the polyvagal theory comes in. According to Baird, we constantly pick up on the emotional tone of those around us. If others are anxious, we might feel it, too. But if those same people are relaxed and even joking, that calm can ripple out.
“Humor and laughter activate our ventral vagal pathway, moving us from states of distress into a more regulated state where we feel safe and connected,” Baird said. “This is why humor is commonly employed in high-stress professions like healthcare, emergency services, and social work.”
“It provides the opportunity for what we call ‘co-regulation’—the process where one person’s regulated nervous system helps calm and regulate another’s.”
Sometimes, using humor isn’t just a way to cope; it’s also a way to protect ourselves. “Telling a joke about a serious topic might brush off some more serious questions about what’s happening,” psychotherapist and counselor Emily Cook told Bored Panda. “Maybe this is needed at times, as you might not want to spill the tea in every situation. Therefore, humor could be strategically used to shut down a conversation.”
But there’s a fine line between using humor to get through hard times and using it to avoid them. When jokes become a way to mask what you’re truly feeling without ever addressing the root cause, that’s when things can turn unhealthy.
“Humor might be used as a cover-up when people feel uncomfortable or as a distraction; if you feel too vulnerable asking for help or it feels embarrassing, making a joke about it can feel much easier,” said Lee. “If one person is taking a serious approach and the other is making jokes, this can also cause feelings of being misunderstood or dismissed.”
Baird added that research distinguishes between adaptive and maladaptive humor.
Adaptive humor can be self-enhancing—it helps you stay grounded in the chaos of life—and affiliative, meaning it brings people together and promotes well-being. On the other hand, maladaptive humor tends to be self-defeating or aggressive. It can involve putting yourself down to gain approval or mocking others to deflect your own discomfort.
So, it’s worth checking in with yourself: what kind of humor are you leaning on?
If your go-to coping strategy is to deflect serious issues with constant jokes, not only will it fail to resolve the real problem, but it could also become a harmful pattern that sneaks into other areas of your life.
“This pattern can lead to emotional avoidance, where feelings become ‘stuck’ rather than processed and released,” Baird said. “Over time, this can contribute to psychological distress or even mental health illness like anxiety and depression, as unprocessed emotions often manifest in other ways.”
So, how do you know when you’re crossing that line? It’s a matter of timing. Knowing when to laugh and when to actually feel.
“A healthy way of coping with complex problems is processing the associated emotions in a safe space with a safe person,” said Cook. “This is when humor is left at the door.” Whether that involves seeing a therapist or simply talking to a trusted friend or family member, it counts.
That doesn’t require having all the answers. Simply putting your feelings into words can already make a big difference. “We don’t always need solutions; sometimes feeling validated can be enough,” said Lee.
