Stuck inside your home with a deadly pandemic on the loose outside can be a traumatic experience to handle. In a situation like that anything that can put a smile on your face and make you laugh can be an asset.
That is why Kentucky officials showed photos of light-hearted sayings written on sidewalks during a news conference mainly about Covid-19 deaths and infections happening in the state. “Humour is healing,” were the words of Public Health Commissioner Dr. Steven Stack.
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Sean Truman, the psychologist at St. Paul in Minnesota said that comedy can be a strong support for the mind during tragic times like these terming it “mental armour”. He said comedy and humour are powerful mental tactics to gain control of the sagging effect the pandemic is having on people’s psyche.
Americans are watching new Instagram stars like Quentin Quarantino to have a good laugh at the terrible reality that is becoming a threat to their health and lives each day. Mental health experts are encouraging the use of humour to hold on to hope during the Corona catastrophe.
The satirical newsletter called The Jaffe Briefing being run by Jonathan Jaffe from New Jersey now has 40 percent more readers since the first Corona death in the US on February 28. Mr. Jaffe says he is trying to cheer his audience in an otherwise traumatic situation. He shares articles that he believes can help relieve some of the pressure that Americans everywhere feel is building up.
The news items on Mr. Jaffe’s newsletter are sarcastic but give off a positive vibe. For instance Anheuser-Busch’s decision to stop producing beer and start producing antiseptics.
“NEWARK – The Sultan of Sanitizer? The Highness of Hand Hygiene? The Ayatollah of Antiseptic? Someone has to devise a new, snappy nickname now that The King of Beers is mass producing hand sanitizer.”
Comedian like Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, Stephen Colbert and Trevor Noah are performing through online streaming after their late-night shows had to stop production activity in the lockdown. They are getting viewership in the millions and are helping fight the stress hormones. Clinical evidence does point to a slow immune system when there is a high level of stress in people. Humour is a balm for soothing the nerves as mental health professionals insist and so comic actor Danny DeVito was asked by New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to spread the decidedly serious message about self-quarantining.
The public service announcement by DeVito said, “Stay home. We got this virus, this pandemic, and you know young people can get it, and they can transmit it to old people, and the next thing you know – ‘Gghhhhkk, I’m outta there!’”