The key facts
- According to psychologist Yekaterina Bulgakova, sincere laughter is a 'powerful physiological reset'
- Humor helps cope with shared anxieties but should not replace solving problems
- Earlier, Bulgakova noted that mocking others' mistakes can be a way to feel superiority
Laughter as a physiological release
Watching comedies and stand-up shows helps relieve nervous tension and makes you feel that everyday anxieties are familiar not only to you, a psychologist has said Yekaterina Bulgakova said in an interview with RT (reported by Life.ru). According to her, jokes about irritators familiar to everyone allow people to get through shared anxieties and gain emotional release. 'Laughter is not just an emotion, but a powerful physiological reset. When we laugh sincerely and abundantly, the brain sets off a real chemical fireworks display,' the specialist noted.
The boundary of healthy humor
By recognizing themselves in a comedian's stories, viewers realize they are not the only ones facing such difficulties. However, Bulgakova emphasized, watching comedies should not turn into a way to constantly numb the pain and postpone difficult decisions: healthy humor helps cope with reality, and the psychologist advised not to forget about self-irony.
Context: mockery and superiority
Earlier, as noted in the publication, the same psychologist explained that mocking other people's mistakes can be a way to feel one's own superiority. At the same time, according to her, one reaction alone cannot reliably indicate a person's character or their capacity for empathy.
