Why is a sense of humor important?

[Solitude]

Why is a sense of humor important in a survival situation?

 

[BorderReiver]

Anything that keeps panic at bay is an asset.

 

[andyn]

Is that a question or a joke without a punch line?

Guess If your able to keep smiling instead of allowing panic to set in your much more likely to stand a change of getting out of it again.


Edit: Pipped to the post.

 

[bloodline]

A sense of humour would keep you from giving up if you can still laugh there is probably hope

 

[Stuart]

The act of laughing has the interesting effect of deactivating the effects of the Amygdala, short circuiting the emotional chain reaction that otherwise often results in blind panic.

 

[EdS]

as they say you either laugh or cry.

 

[Jodie]

I googled it, just to see what others might have said, and found this:
http://www.massey.ac.nz/~trauma/issues/1997-3/moran1.htm
"Humour in emergency work" - 1997, The Australasian Journal of Disaster
and Trauma Studies.
[I used the UK English spelling of humour to search though]

Disclaimer: I just skim-read it and have no idea if it's utter guff or not as this
isn't an area (psychology of traumatic situations) I have much knowledge of.

Secondly - Stuart, nice bit of sneaking some neuroscience in
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Limbic_system
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amygdala

 

[spamel]

If you tried to make a raft for yourself and Wilson to escape the dreaded island, but as soon as you put it in the water it fell apart, what do you do? If you cry, your morale plummets and you probably won't make another raft due to fear of failure. This means you will end up living on the island indefinitely, and may even resort to cannibalism. Poor Wilson!

If you can laugh at your crap knot work and the fact that you shouldn't have let the football talk you into using slip knots, then your morale will stay up, you will have another go at making the raft, ignoring the footballs' rather crap input and get away from the island to be rescued, only to find the woman of your dreams gave up on you years ago and has married another guy and had children so what was the point in all that effort........

Oh, never mind!

 

[xylaria]

The act of laughing has the interesting effect of deactivating the effects of the Amygdala, short circuiting the emotional chain reaction that otherwise often results in blind panic.

The ability to laugh at yourself and others also defuses other negative emotions. I have done some really hairy jobs, and for some totally bizarre reason I laugh at violence, the more stressful it is the more I laugh. I also move really quickly and do my job, but have often ended up doing restraint while feeling calm and happy. IE the opposite emotions to what I think I should feel. But then colleagues that show fear tend to be the ones that end up been aggressive which is the dangerous to everyone. It is like the laughter protects you from the worst of yourself, and others.

I still have 2 1/2 cm piece of wood in my thumb, I think it is really funny that anybody could miss it at the time. I mean I did tell the bloke doing first aid "I have a piece of wood in my finger, I don't want first aid, Have you got a scalpel or tweezers I will get it out myself.". Laugh at little things Stuart when I finally get it removed would like a spoon carved out of it

 

[Porcupine]

for me humour is a safety valve,it stops me goin ballistic most of the time when i discover (again) murphy's laws

 

[hanzo]

So you don't die?

 

[Draven]

for me humour is a safety valve,it stops me goin ballistic most of the time when i discover (again) murphy's laws

So you don't die?

Aye, that's pretty much what I think, in a nutshell.

Unfortunately, I don't have a sense of humour - remind me never to go anywhere TOO remote...

 

[Gailainne]

I think everyone who did the WEISS course this year will agree, humour helped us all thru it, I think the expression "If I didnt laugh I would cry" expresses it very well.

Johan, Big Rob and lawyer Dave were the best at helping people thru dark moments, being able to lift someone spirits is a skill I dont possess, but thankfully these guys and others were around.

We need humour, we need to be able to laugh at ourselfs, the situation, the inevitability of people to screw up, Murphys law whatever, its a safety valve, a release, like a good cup of tea, it gives you time to get things in perspective, chill, calm the mind, the beating heart, and make a descision based on reason rather than panic.

I for one would'nt have got thru WEISS without other peoples ability to make me laugh, and I'm sure other people on the course would say the same.

never underestimate the power of good a belly laugh has.

Forgot to mention my sig below is the result of a "dark moment" cheers Rob


Stephen