How to Stop Laughing when You Laugh at Inappropriate Times
Sometimes, you just can't help
feeling the urge to laugh. If you allow yourself to laugh during
serious moments, you may end up accidentally offending someone. While
it might not be that easy to stifle a laugh, for most people it can be
done! Remember you have the power...
STEPS:
TIPS:
Warning:
.
Sometimes, you just can't help
feeling the urge to laugh. If you allow yourself to laugh during
serious moments, you may end up accidentally offending someone. While
it might not be that easy to stifle a laugh, for most people it can be
done! Remember you have the power...
STEPS:
- Understand
when it is inappropriate to laugh. They say that "laughter is the best
medicine," but if the occasion is very serious, others may not
appreciate your laughter. If you go into a situation knowing that it's
not laughable, it'll help you maintain a more serious demeanor. - Check to see if others are
laughing, or at least smiling a lot. If they aren't, then remind
yourself not to laugh unless they do. Or, if you see someone else
laughing inappropriately (and everyone else giving that person dirty
looks) then get away from them as quickly as possible, because
inopportune laughter can be infectious. - Think of something very sad and
depressing. If you need inspiration, the daily news is usually full of
unfortunate events that will suffice to calm you down. Think about
something that makes you want to cry. Although this can be unpleasant,
it usually takes care of the uncontrollable urge to laugh. - Try pinching yourself or
causing some other strong physical sensation, such as biting your inner
cheek or your tongue (don't bite too hard!). Bite each side of your
mouth together, so that the edge of your lips aren't rising up to make
you smile or laugh. Hold your breath when you are about to laugh. This
can act as a distraction, helping you beat the urge to laugh out loud.
If you still squeeze out a smile which other people tend to notice,
press your lips together so it doesn't look like you're
smiling.(sometimes when you hold your breath though, it just squeezes
the laugh out even louder or you laugh at yourself, so be cautious.) - Disguise a smile or laugh with
a coughing fit. If a grin or chuckle slips through, quickly cover it up
by putting your hand over your mouth and coughing. Move away from the
crowd, even if it means stepping out of the room or going to the
restrooms. If they see you are coughing, they will understand. - Force yourself to turn your
laugh into a cry if the occasion is something sad such as a funeral.
Some people sound like they are laughing before they cry. - Try exhaling as much of the air
as possible from your lungs. This removal of the air will not allow the
laugh to continue and make it stop. This usually works best when
combined with the coughing technique mentioned above. A combination of
techniques is often the best! - If it gets really bad, hold
your nose and cover your mouth with that hand. Then people can't see
your grin, and you can laugh as hard as you wish inside yourself. You
may start shaking, but that's OK, it can be covered as crying. Try not
to let any sound out, but if you do ease up by accident it sounds much
like a sneeze or a strange snort. - If none of the above work, then
get away to a private area (e.g. a restroom) and let it out. Return to
what you were doing after you're done. - Open your mouth wide and let the laughter out silently without smiling, this may look odd but it works.
- Pretend to pick your teeth.
Open your mouth wide and pretend to pick away at something stuck. Not
only does it totally hide your smile, you also clean your teeth at the
same time! Be careful though because the face made is funny enough to
make others start laughing when they see what you're up to. - Use reverse psychology on
yourself. By telling yourself something like, "This is funny! Laugh
some more!" you end up finding what ever you were laughing at not funny
any more. - Count backwards from 10 to 1. If this doesn't work, try again. Even forward counting can help.
- Try biting down on one side of
your lower lip. Then laugh all you want without opening your mouth.
People will think you are crying and trying to hold it back. But after
you are done, don't just stop. Inhale a few times as if you are
hyperventilating. - Push your tongue against the top of your mouth, and at the same time pushing your mouth shut slightly.
TIPS:
- Sometimes,
the best defense is a good offense. What makes inappropriate laughter
difficult to control is the out of control aspect of it. By choosing to
laugh, you can control it and choose to stop it. - If the urge proves particularly
difficult to beat, you may have to pull out the heavy ammunition, so to
speak. Think about the feeling you would get if something very bad
happened to a good friend or a loved one. This can be difficult, but it
will stop almost any urge to laugh. As soon is the urge is gone, you
can let the unpleasant thoughts go. - Don't feel guilty for wanting
to laugh. Human emotions are very complex. For example, some people
even have the urge to laugh at funerals. This is not necessarily
because they are mean, callous people. On the contrary, some people
deal with loss and grief in unusual ways. - If your laughter is detected,
simply apologize honestly. Explain that you know your laughter is
inappropriate, you don't understand why you are having trouble
controlling it, and you do not mean to cause any offense. - Try physically pulling the
corners of your mouth down into a frown. There's a connection between
your expression and your feelings - alter one and you can alter the
other. Conversely, if you're feeling depressed or glum or sad, force
your mouth to grin - bite a pencil if nothing else works - and you will
feel better. - Developing a sudden feeling of superiority or a condescending attitude in your mind can help you temporarily stop laughing.
- Take long and deep breaths only through your nose. Concentrate on not opening your mouth.
- Breathe out and hold the breath
out of your lungs until you stop laughing. This will not only stop your
laughter quickly but silence the giggles you give out until you do stop. - Flex most of your muscles without moving, this will expel your laughter in a different form.
- Occasionally, drinking something before is gets really bad can help you to stop your laughter.
Warning:
- Laughing
at other people (particularly strangers) can make them quite angry. If
you feel the urge to laugh at someone who is trying to be serious with
you, use any and all of the techniques above to avoid laughing. The
pain you save may be your own (especially if you laugh at someone you
don't know well). Most people are able to deal with being laughed at,
but some are very sensitive about it. - Although holding your breath
(as mentioned above) can help in some situations, it will literally
make you burst out laughing (very loudly) and you won't be able to
cover it up if you don't manage not to laugh at all. Holding your
breath is a double-edged sword and you should keep that in mind. - If you are unable to stop
laughing (or crying) uncontrollably at inappropriate times, a
neurological disorder, caused by injury or illness in the brain, may be
the cause. A million people suffer from this embarrassing problem,
which can have serious social consequences. Pseudobulbar affect can
sometimes be treated with medication. See a neurologist...
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