Using Humour to Decrease Anger.

By: Jo Johnson - Updated: 6 Oct 2025 | *Discuss

 

There are several ways in which humour can be used to lessen anger. Firstly, it can be used to diffuse a tense situation and change the direction of the discussion before anger is allowed to show and people lose control of their emotions and behaviour. It can also be used to help avoid discussion in the first instance, and finally having humour in your life can make you a less aggressive person and more optimistic and bright. Having a good laugh everyday will help lessen stress and is a good way of letting pent up emotion out of the system without hurting other people.

Using Humour to Your Advantage

It is a known fact that funny people or those with a good sense of humour are usually the most popular members of staff or family. These people will admit that they generally have good relationships with others and in the event of a difference of opinion occurring, the difference will normally be discussed and each person’s view respected. Humorous people do not often lose their temper or allow anger to build and appear, but seem to be more generally relaxed and less sensitive to small issues that frequently are not worth worrying about.Appearing falsely funny or trying too hard however will not usually be respected by others so it is important to be aware of this and not push yourself unnaturally. Simply being less stressed or bothered about small matters and laughing more will help you appear more fun and less irritated than before and allows people to see the nicer and more friendly side of your character.

Diffusing a Tense Situation

Diffusing a tense situation with humour must be carried out very carefully. If successful many arguments can be avoided, but if attempted at the wrong time, it can make an already tense and angry situation even more explosive.It is probably best not to try and use humour when the subject of debate surrounds a personal issue or another person’s misfortune. These subjects are highly emotive and in general people will react badly to the use of humour at these times and concerning these topics.It can however, be used very successfully for more minor disagreements or discussions and can often provide a new avenue allowing people to become distracted from the tension. Circumstances that it can be useful for are events such as dropping something, breaking something, minor car accidents, arguing over really small issues and when the argument has detracted totally away from the subject that caused the disagreement in the first place.

Adding Humour to Your Life

Including more humour in your life may result from making small changes such as changing your reading material to something more light hearted, watching a comedy film or show on the television, listening to a funny play on the radio or even by trying to make each other laugh more often.Letting your hair down and allowing your barriers to lower can provide a great opportunity to have fun and release energy and pent up emotions that otherwise could have developed into anger and irritation.

Humour is a great weapon and also a gift that can be used to help diffuse certain situations before they are allowed to escalate and people lose control of their anger.Learning how to inject some humour into your life may be beneficial to health, social and professional status and change other people’s opinions of you.

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