In Reply to: that's honest posted by lydia on January 06, 2007 at 07:18:12:
I don't know about Jo's laughter, but I can attest that most of my laughter is about coping with pain. That is one of the physical functions of laughter--it releases endorphins in the brain.
When I was smashed by a truck, I was pinned in my car for quite a long time while the emergency crew pried my body out of the wreckage. It was also quite a long time before I finally got to the hospital, and all the while, there was nothing they could give me for the excruciating pain, which I honestly think of to this day as my own personal crucifixion. I prayed to God to let me pass out from shock, but it didn't happen. Then I asked one of the EMTs to tell me a joke, because I needed to laugh or I was going to start screaming.
So the EMT started telling me jokes. Some of them were pretty lame, but they got me laughing.
I should add that the Dancing Jesus video made the hair on my neck stand up when the bus plowed him down. I can't go back and watch this video over and over, the way I can with some videos. It triggers PTSD symptoms. The way I deal with that is by laughing.