Although mental health jokes have become quite the norm, and in some cases are a coping mechanism to many, they may have some damaging and desensitizing impacts. Mental health is in itself a very sensitive field, making mental health jokes that have been rising quite problematic, especially when used in an aggressive or deprecating way.
What do we mean by mental health jokes?
Mental health jokes consist of jokes intended to just make light of a situation – though these jokes tend to make light out of a dark situation, and I am unsure how effective such a comedic take on things may be. Some things can be made into jokes, but can mental health jokes really not be as hurtful? I personally believe it is all about the context and the way in which a joke is said.
When are mental health jokes funny?
Mental health jokes can be humorous when they are light and when people identify with them. However, this is not to say that all mental health jokes are permissible. Many jokes can make a situation light, identifiable, and humorous. In fact, jokes are positively correlated with a better sense of mental health and the feeling of not being alone. They could create a positive aura in many cases and not be hurtful to anyone. These light jokes that are intended to make you laugh are known as affiliative jokes, or even self enhancing jokes – which is known as finding humor in dark situations
When can mental health jokes hurt us?
We cannot say the same for other, more aggressive jokes regarding mental health. There is a fine line between a joke that is light and intended to make us feel better and a joke that is quite frankly degrading and dark. These are known as aggressive jokes and have the intention of degrading and being rude to others. These types of jokes are similar to sexist jokes that are designed to put us down. They feed on our insecurities and build on them. Self-defeating humor is when you make a joke that is quite demeaning to yourself with the intention to laugh it off when, in reality, the impact of the joke on you does the opposite: it sticks, and not in a good way.
We all must be conscious of the contexts that we are in, the type of people we are surrounded by, and the jokes that we make. Some might be offensive without our knowledge.