Laughing at 'the wrong time'

[pax]

Not about the laughing, but I've found that many teachers aren't actually the most empathetic creatures on the planet.

 

[Lula1989]

Was attending a wake, and one minute my spouse was beside me and then he was missing. This was a wake, where everyone sits around and some cry. I saw him through a window running around outside in the cemetery. I walked after him and discovered him sitting on a bench, laughing. Asked him what was funny; 'people's faces when they're crying, they screw them up and distort them, and they make me want to laugh.'
I've not been to any kind of wake or funeral since, where people's crying faces didn't make me want to laugh, I have to cover my mouth so I won't burst out laughing. He's right, people do look funny when they cry.

I had a similar situation at work Monday. We found out someone from the team's boyfriend passed away, so we had a group meeting to be told about this. Everyone started crying and I was the only one just standing there unphased. Sounds mean, but I did not know the person so I was not sad. Someone kept looking at me and I just found it funny because we kept looking at each other when the other averted their eyes, so we kept missing each other. I had to repress my laughter but a few saw me smile... was awkward because I wasn't smiling for the reason they thought...

 

[Nervous Rex]

More often, I will exclaim "Ah!" out of nowhere because I made a realization or solved a problem completely unrelated to what's going on around me. I will have to explain myself with, "I just solved a work problem" or something like that.

When I laugh out of the blue, I just say, "I just told myself a joke I'd never heard before."

 

[OkRad]

I am old enough not to give a hoot about it now. Usually I have a book in face anyway. If I laugh, no one asks as they assume I just read something funny. If it's out of the blue, i just shake my head like, "Doh!" No one cares, really. TOo bad they cant make themselves laugh!

 

[Voltaic]

I find the stuff in my mind are funny.

 

[Progster]

Yes, I sometimes do this - I remember being at school, and the boy in front of me had a black school jacket on and really bad dandruff, and the phrase "The sky at night" popped into my head (in the UK there is a documentary series with this name) and I started laughing. If it happens, I just say that I had a funny thought - but it can be awkward when they want to know what is funny.

 

[Fridgemagnetman]

I remember someone telling me how difficult dealing with a certain thing was, theu were sad almost crying.

I thought ahead of them, i had been through the same situation countless times,

I started laughing as a result of the familiarity with the dire situation - actually empathising - but outwardly seen as derisive or dismissive.

I felt for them but thought too far ahead and got to tne part when some horrible things become funny. Didnt get to express how i dealt with the same situation and provide solution, how i found distance etc..

That was that.

 

[AGXStarseed]

Makes me think of this:

 

[Ragnahawk]

I tend to play the fool when I mess up and laugh it off. I would tell the teacher it is a healthy habit as it releases endorphins. Maybe prod her with well if you have time to think about trivial stuff like that than you must have it easy. She would probably double back on her decision making and be more conscious of judging.

 

[garnetflower13]

Oh god! These comments made me laugh so hard!!!
You're all right. It must be some sort of mechanism to avoid sadness or any bad feeling.
I even laugh when I'm physically hurt.

This might explain why my brother, who is also autistic used to rock with laughter at tense moments in movies and also in real life. I have seen NTs laugh hysterically at scary or disturbing scenes in movies, too.

 

[Judge]

This might explain why my brother, who is also autistic used to rock with laughter at tense moments in movies and also in real life. I have seen NTs laugh hysterically at scary or disturbing scenes in movies, too.

Personally I find some things so "over-the-top" to a point where they are unintentionally funny.

I think, depending on what really is considered "over-the-top".

Anyone see the latest episode of "Knightfall" ? Parsifal and his axe. I laughed- guilty as charged.

 

[Ellie.s]

Makes me think of this:

Actually this is one of the few movies that made me cry! This scene was not at all funny to me, I don't know about other people.

 

[Judge]

Another thing I've noticed is that this is more likely to happen to me over something spontaneous and unexpected than any event where I know something grim is about to happen.

Sometimes I want to lament and just say that many of us simply don't handle things in real time as well as others. That it takes longer for things to catch up with us to parse them in their proper perspective.

 

[watersprite]

Putting this behind a spoiler as it might be triggering. I agree with Judge in that the element of time it takes to process is where difficulties can compound a situation's social dangers. Interesting that timing is also important to jokes. Maybe that is related(?)

Spoiler

once when driving I got in trouble and really upset someone because of my double error/faux pas. We were passing by an unfortunately and sadly familiar (here in the Western U.S.) scene of a deer that'd been hit and killed by a vehicle.
Without thinking, I uttered, "oh dear." And then, also spontaneously, I laughed at what a stupid mistake I'd made. They did not take it that way at all

 

[Judge]

Putting this behind a spoiler as it might be triggering. I agree with Judge in that the element of time it takes to process is where difficulties can compound a situation's social dangers. Interesting that timing is also important to jokes. Maybe that is related(?)

Spoiler

once when driving I got in trouble and really upset someone because of my double error/faux pas. We were passing by an unfortunately and sadly familiar (here in the Western U.S.) scene of a deer that'd been hit and killed by a vehicle.
Without thinking, I uttered, "oh dear." And then, also spontaneously, I laughed at what a stupid mistake I'd made. They did not take it that way at all

Totally related IMO. Similar to my inability to parse sarcasm in real time. Where if I'm lucky I might figure out the meaning of something but only after the fact.

I want to say that in general, for so many of us that real-time is not our friend when it comes to directly communicating with others. It's just how we may be "hard-wired".

 

[mw2530]

I think the kid laughing randomly in the middle of class is when he is bored so his mind is wandering and thinking about who knows what. Sometimes he thinks of something that is funny, and then laughs. I've done this, although it is usually a smile, not a laugh.

 

[Nervous Rex]

Laughter usually comes with an unexpected change of perspective. Most jokes lead you one direction, and then the punch line takes you in a completely different direction.

I love that, when one of your own thoughts makes you laugh, it means one part of your brain took your thoughts in a direction that the rest of your brain didn’t expect. Basically, you just surprised yourself.

It’s pretty cool having a brain capable of surprising itself.

 

[Nason]

I like to keep a catalogue of funny, or interesting sounding words in my mind (amongst other things, obviously). Often I remind myself of them, and then I start to laugh. When I was in primary school one of my favorites was, "Electroencephalograph." (HAHAH) sorry, I had to. It usually confuses the **** out of people, but I just say, "You wouldn't understand." and move on.

 

[Nervous Rex]

One of the worst ones that happened to me:

One of my coworkers ("W") told me how, when the urinals in the men's room at work were occupied, he walked up to one of the guys (a good friend of his) standing at the urinal, stood 6 inches behind him, and breathed heavily down his neck until he finished and walked away.

For weeks afterward, every time I walked into the bathroom, the image of that story would come to mind, and I would almost bust up laughing. Thinking about how inappropriate it is to walk in on anyone in the men's room and just spontaneously start laughing - yeah, that didn't help any. Once or twice I had to leave and wait until the bathroom was empty.

Thank you, W - wherever you are. I'll never forget that.

 

[Nervous Rex]

I like to keep a catalogue of funny, or interesting sounding words in my mind.

You might like this.

I think it was originally an audio only sketch - the video part doesn't contribute anything.