Eszter Woller

Budapest, Hungary
PPKE BTK Psychology BA
Migration, History and Culture Spec. Coll.
2nd of January, 2018.

Sorrow & Satire1

„My fear of death – this infantile fixation of mine – was, at that moment, overwhelming.
I felt myself in contact with death day and night, and my fear was tremendous.”2

Humour is probably one of the most important social tools we rely upon when we cope with
the difficulties which accompany tragedy and loss. In order to cope with the extremest of
circumstances, humans cultivated many devices, spiritual and non-spiritual alike but as many
traumatized individuals recount, humour had always come handy when one felt short of hope.
When forgiveness and forgetting seems hard and so does speaking of the experience itself,
victims often seek alternatives to articulate the memories of what they had gone through.
Humour, along with acting, writing and expression through various genres of visual arts are
the most frequently used, usually semi-conscious channels with which trauma victims learn to
reconnect to their past and begin their heeling process.3
Perhaps one of the most famous example of turning sarrow into satire is Prof. Chaya
Ostrower’s book It Kept Us Alive: The Humour in the Holocaust which tells in detail how a
trauma so severe can be cause of humour so macabre. Similarly to many survivor stories,
these little absurds also focus on the everyday oddities of living in a concentration camp or a
ghetto which memories later turned into tearful, joyful bouts of gratitude for the wonders of
life.4 The rare honesty and captivating power of holocaust humour lies not in its
sociolinguistic singularity but rather in its psychological role since these jokes helped the
people who told them to magically dissolve the strength of their oppressors, meanwhile
enabeled the survivors to connect, share their experiences and confide in each other.5
Therefore there are basically two ways to look at loss from a psychological perspective: 1.)
personal loss, along with how an individual is coping with the physical, emotional, cognitive
and psychological factors of loosing someone close to him or her and 2.) public loss or the
social psychological aspect of loss including how a group deals with loss and its effects
(Bonnano, 2004). So, in the following paragraphs I’m going to exemine both personal and
social aspects of loss in detail, illustrating my points with examples along the way and
focusing on coping mechanism and on the role they play in helping us return to our everyday
social activities subsequently traumatic experiences. I’m also going to expand the topic of
how humour is a key element in our descendance back to a normal life and how humour based
therapy, the so called Laughter Therapy might change a lot more in our bodies than just our
present mood.

1
This essay is based on Prof. Michal Sipos’s topic titled „Recovery from loss happens through a descent into the
everyday.”
2
The quotation is from Ingmar Bergman referring to the period while making his film The Seventh Seal (1957).
Retrieved from an article which can be found following the link:
https://swedenborgsociety.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/the-seventh-seal-1957-bergman-swedenborg/
3
Visual arts as key to trauma processing: : https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201603/what-
is-translanguaging
4
This is an article on Prof. Ostrower’s book: http://jewishjournal.com/culture/books/184778/
5
Victor Frankl recounts how humour helped survivors in self-preservation:
http://theschooloflaughter.com/viktor-frankl-humour-souls-weapon-for-self-preservation/
From a biological point of view, loss means stress: the physical symptoms one endures while
grieving for a loved one is similar to the physical symptoms of elongated, strenous, constant
overwork (Desborough, 2000). Neurohormones related to the activation of the sympathtetic
nervous system like cortisol and vasopressin along with larger quantities of adrenalin,
norepinephrin and blood sugar can be found circulating around in the blood stream, which in
result prolong the transfer back to normal vital signs and therefore lengthen the onset of
psychological sense of relief (Desborough, 2000). The biological perspective of loss
emphasises the connection between bodily sensations and psychological disturbances bonding
the two through the altered neurohormonal activity (Caplan, 1990). Coping, from a biological
aspect means the proper use of the fight or flight mechanism and the act of stress relief
through social bonding (Sapolsky, 2008).
Cognitive psychologists view loss as a form of stress that has an effect on cognitive functions,
mainly pointing at emotional arousal as their key to unlock the mysteries behind the various
forms of reduction in cognitive effectiveness (Caplan, 1990). Information collecting and
processing slows and becomes more laborious when grieving beside alterations of one’s self-
concept and difficulties with problem solving (Caplan, 1990). The cognitive perspective of
coping with loss stresses the importance of bonding, attachment, perseverence and resiliance:
while bonding and attachment theories contemplate upon the importance of coming to terms
with the fracture within the bond, restructing the resources following the loss of the bond
itself as part of developing perseverence and rebuilding the state of emotional well-being prior
to the loss (Caplan, 1990).
The most common body-related symptoms of grief are fairly benign: many people experience
fatigue, weight loss or weight gain, mild insomnia, nausea and various forms of mild aches
but whenever coping mechanisms fail partially or entirely, one might experience symptoms of
depression, panic attacks, post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD), anxiety attacks, insomnia,
disorientation, flash-back memories and short term memory loss (Comer, 2000). These
complex psychopathological syndromes often evolve from the basic existential crisis that
follows every loss one experiences and has to come to terms with, but driving one’s thoughts
deep into unknown territory enhances psychological vulnarability.6 Whenever symptoms
don’t subside, people suffering tend to turn to any product that helps numbing the pain of loss:
it’s often alcohol, prescribtion drugs and sedatives which on the other hand can easily lead to
addiction (Comer, 2000). This circle of emotional pain, stress reaction and subsequent intake
of any subject that serves as emotional anesthetics creates a long spiral of departure from
reality, leading to adjustment disorder with far-reaching consequences (Caplan, 1990).
In order to avoid shutting out from social circles, people with severe emotional pain from loss
now have many options: some turn to anonymous psychotherapy groups to confront their
emotions and find associates with similar problems, some use the social media to find support
while others rely on a close circle of friends and family to help them deal with agony.7
Finding a support group, weather it’s friends or people in an anonymous group, is highly
important since through guidance that comes from others these individuals suffering learn
new ways to cope and experience a sense of relief (Comer, 2000). Personal therapy, with its
one-on-one session structure fits better to the needs of those individuals who have trouble
with expressing their emotions in a social context or for those, who would rather deal with
grief through a more intimate, contemplative approach first (Comer, 2000).

6
Viktor Frankl uses extistentialist questions to reflect upon his and others experiences of life inside a
concentration camp: https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-search-for-meaning/
7
More on the stages of grief and how socializing helps: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-
grief-and-loss.htm
In the course of the following paragrahps I will describe a specific, social dynamic based
therapeutical approach through which individuals begin their descent back into their normal,
everyday life: it’s called the Laughing Therapy. This type of therapy has been developed by
several therapists and enthousiasts throughout the years, but the first researcher who propesed
that laughter has therapeutic effect was Stanford University scholar Prof. William F. Fry.8
Through studying the physiological aspects of laughter, followers of Fry’s proposition came
to the conclusion that various forms of laughter (right from a little benign giggle to a
chuckling, roaring, howling laughter) have a favorable effect on the body: laughter helps the
brain to regulate stress hormones like cortisol and enhances the production of more anti-
bodies, endorphins and epinephrin (Berk, 2009).
Professionally Prof. Anette Goodhart was the first therapist who used laughter therapy on
various patients and she was the methodological mind who created the guidlines for therapists
how to use laughter as medicine. She believed that through four steps the patients first
acknowledge their emotions, learn how to release them through cathartical laughter than
having cleared their minds and reblanced their internal physiology return to the problematic
question or questions at hand and take sensible actions to solve their problems.9 Currently,
laughter therapy is being used around the United States at several clinics with various aims: it
often accompanies cancer treatment to relieve pain, improve mental functions, balance blood
pressure and to strengthen social bonds between patients, survivors and family. 10 Laughter
therapy is part of the general relief for the physical and emotinal stress which on the other
hand helps boosting the immune system, enhancing the mood, strengthening resilience and
relaxing the muscles.
The social aspect of laughing together in a group is more intrigueing: individuals who take
part in group laughing therapies often recount how these sessions help strengthening their
relationships and creating new friendships, encourge them to focus on teamwork and shift
their perspective while aiding the group bonding and relieving conflicts.11 Further research
proves that combining laughter therapy with slow movement excersises for example with
yoga outdoors, doubles the beneficial effects on the participants and is easily accessible to
groups with special excersise needs like elderly people and people with disabilities.12
In conclusion, as I now look at my research I see, that the many ways people deal with loss,
either through therapy or through restarting their personal journeys all help them to come to
terms with not just loss itself, but their own new role following the loss of a beloved person.
In general, people tend to use whatever help is available for them in order to reconnect to their
social surroundings but individuals with better social support have a chance of a more calmer
and less stressful readaptation to reality. According to scientific reviews of this topic,
researchers now make a clear difference between the physiological symptoms and managment
of grief and the psyhcological symptoms and managment of grief, with these two being often
interconnected through the brain’s neurohormonal system. Meanwhile, the importance of
social support is a key element in overcoming the fear of starting again and the anxiety that
often accompanies loss, there’s a possibility that many group therapies, similarly to laughter

8
History of the Laughter Therapy in details can be found here:
http://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/western-history-laughter-therapy/
9
More on Prof. Anette Goodhart’s method and book titled How to Laugh About Everything in Your Life That
Isn't Really Funny: http://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/laughter-therapy-annette-goodheart/
10
For laughter therapy guidlines and use in cancer treatment see:
https://www.cancercenter.com/treatments/laughter-therapy/
11
Laughter therapy’s affects on individuals and on group: https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-
health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm
12
Various benefits of laughter yoga: https://qz.com/824005/the-hard-science-that-backs-up-age-defying-
laughter-yoga/
therapy which helps individuals to find new friends and reconnect to people following loss,
will be subject to further research in this particular scientific field.

Reference List:

Comer, R. J. (2000). Pszichopatológia. Osiris Kiadó, Budapest.

Bonnano, A. G. (2004). Loss, Trauma and Human Resiliance. Have we underestimated the
human capacity to thrive after extremely aversive events? American Psychologist, Vol. 59.
No.1., 20-28. pp. January, 2004.

Desborough, P.J. (2000). The stress response to trauma and surgery. British Journal of
Anesthesia, Vol. 85. Issue 1., 109-117.pp. July, 2000.

Caplan, G. (1990). Loss, stress and mental health. Journal of Community Mental Health,
Volume 26. No. 1. 27-48. pp.

Sapolsky, R. (2008). Killer Stress. A National Georgraphic Special. Director: John

Hemminway. Available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AytXzf2TvA8

Berk, S. L. (2009). Laughter remains good medicine. American Physiological Society,

Science Daily. Published online: April 17th, 2009.

https://swedenborgsociety.wordpress.com/2012/09/13/the-seventh-seal-1957-bergman-
swedenborg/

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/life-bilingual/201603/what-is-translanguaging

http://jewishjournal.com/culture/books/184778/

http://theschooloflaughter.com/viktor-frankl-humour-souls-weapon-for-self-preservation/

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2008/jul/06/healthandwellbeing4

https://www.brainpickings.org/2013/03/26/viktor-frankl-mans-search-for-meaning/

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm

http://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/western-history-laughter-therapy

http://www.laughteronlineuniversity.com/laughter-therapy-annette-goodheart/

https://www.cancercenter.com/treatments/laughter-therapy/

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm

https://qz.com/824005/the-hard-science-that-backs-up-age-defying-laughter-yoga/