“If I don’t laugh, I’ll cry.” Never have more relevant words been spoken, at least during this pandemic. For many of us, we are surrounded by uncertainty, isolation, fiscal and emotional distress, and even death. We are mourning, and grieving and missing and yes, crying. So is it also okay to be laughing? Of course, we need to respect and admire the incredible support we are getting from heroes in all walks of life- and of course, there is nothing funny about the despair and death that so many of us are currently going through. But at the same time, if levity is the antidote to gravity, then maybe what we can all use now is an occasional good belly laugh.

There are both physical and psychological benefits from humor during times of trouble. On the physical front, laughing causes muscles to relax, blood vessels to enlarge (reducing stress on your cardiovascular system) and immune cells to receive a boost, thus benefiting your immune system. Psychologically, laughter can reduce some of the negative symptoms of anxiety or depression and it’s a valuable way to lessen stress and tensions and improve your emotional well being. Humor is also a way to connect us to other people and to help us weather life’s struggles. There is a long history of humor surfacing during dark days (even during the Holocaust) as a way to cope and keep connected to your humanity.

As writer Gregg Levoy recently noted in Psychology Today, despite our current struggles, we are awash in jokes, memes, parodies, and humorous videos, often poking fun at politicians and pundits who defy and deny reality during these difficult times. As Levoy puts it, “Laughter gives us a bit of benevolent amnesia, a chance to momentarily forget our troubles.” And as Levoy reminds us, telling even a bit off-color joke in these pandemic times is less injurious than some other coping mechanisms, like binging, drinking, or raging. He even ends his article with a list of amusing coronavirus jokes- so do yourself a favor and scan his list of humorous one-liners here.

And for some additional coronavirus humor, get yourself in a good mood by watching here and here.