When I cracked a joke last week on social media about “ChatPTSD”, my not-so-affectionate nickname for A.I., it seemed to hit a nerve (or a funny bone!) with a lot of people. Everyone got a good chuckle out of it, and lots of people said A.I. gives them the heebie jeebies, too.
It dawned on me that I was doing something I’ve been doing for 19 years: making light of the things that intimidate me. I learned this critical skill from the cancer community. When I was diagnosed with cancer at age 26, I found an online world called Planet Cancer, a support forum for young adults ages 18-39. The conversations on the Planet Cancer website were raw, real, and FILLED with dark humor. Every day there was another joke about things you never thought you could joke about: missing body parts, chemo brain, or colostomy bags.
I got a lot of mileage out of telling and re-telling the story of the VERY attractive male nurse who had to warn me “you’re not peeing on yourself, that’s just a side effect of the medication.” I was mortified, but making it into a joke made it better.
I quickly learned that cracking jokes about the parts of life that scare you helps you move forward. And I still use the technique to this day. Here’s why making light of difficulty is a great strategy:
#1: Minimize
When you can make a joke out of something, you’re minimizing the effect it has on you. Oftentimes when we worry about a situation, we tend to blow it out of proportion. If you ruminate on an event (that’s where you turn it over again and again in your head), you risk amplifying the actual situation because you’ve gotten caught in an echo chamber where it becomes A. Huge. Deal. By laughing at the situation instead, you’re lessening the power it has over you. You’re turning it into a punchline instead of a punch in the gut.
#2: Find the Bond
Now, I’m NOT a “just look on the bright side and everything will be fine” kind of girl. I know that’s not true. But when you’re able to laugh about something, it’s not just about finding the positive. It’s also about finding the bond with other people. In the young adult cancer community, we shared that dark humor like a badge. Anyone who could laugh at our jokes was “one of us”. And it made us feel less alone to have that connection with others.
#3: Stay in Control
When you can make a joke out of something, you’re saying “this doesn’t control me. I control it.” And finding some feeling of control (no matter how small) in stressful situations is critical for success. A sense of power feeds into something called “locus of control” where you believe you have the ability to influence your surroundings. Humor is one way to feel like you’ve regained control.
“ChatPTSD” is a silly joke I make about a serious topic. The rise of AI has me feeling both excited and concerned about what it can bring. But I’m going to keep poking fun at technology (and my own tech screwups!), because it helps me cope. Hopefully it can help you, too!
