How to Stop Laughing when You Laugh at Inappropriate Times

Nancy

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From URL: http://wiki.ehow.com/Stop-Laughing-when-You-Laugh-at-Inappropriate-Times

How to Stop Laughing when You Laugh at Inappropriate Times

Sometimes, you just can't help feeling the urge to laugh. If you allow yourself to laugh at serious moments, you may offend someone. Controlling the urge to laugh is not always easy, but it can be done.

Steps

1. Make sure that you really shouldn't laugh. They say that "laughter is the best medicine," and unless the occassion is very serious, others may not mind your laughter.

2. If you decide that there is no way you can go ahead and laugh, try to think of something very sad and depressing. If you need inspiration, the daily news is usually full of unfortunate events that will suffice to calm you down. Think about something that makes you want to cry. Although this can be unpleasant, it usually takes care of the uncontrollable urge to laugh.

3. If the above does not work, you may want to try pinching yourself or causing some other strong physical sensation, such as biting your inner cheek or your tounge (don't bite too hard!). This can act as a distraction, helping you beat the urge to laugh.


Tips

• If the urge proves particularly difficult to beat, you may have to pull out the heavy ammunition, so to speak. Think about the feeling you would get if something very bad happened to a good friend or a loved one. This can be difficult, but it will stop almost any urge to laugh. As soon is the urge is gone, you can let the unpleasant thoughts go.

• Don't feel guilty for wanting to laugh. Human emotions are very complex. For example, some people even have the urge to laugh at funerals. This is not necessarily because they are mean, callous people. On the contrary, some people deal with loss and grief in unusual ways.

• If everything fails and you simply must laugh, attempt to cover your mouth, turn away from others, or leave the area. If your laughter is detected, simply apologize honestly. Explain that you know your laughter is inappropriate, you don't understand why you are having trouble controlling it, and you do not mean to cause any offense. Tell them, "it's not you, it's me."


Warnings

• Laughing at other people (particularly strangers) can make them quite angry. If you feel the urge to laugh at someone who is trying to be serious with you, use any and all of the techniques above to avoid laughing. The pain you save may be own (especially if you laugh at someone you don't know well). Most people are able to deal with being laughed at, but some are very sensitive about it.
 
There are at times when I have a problem with this one.....but I do think of something sad and it cures me of this issue. :)

The exercpt about "laughing at funerals" reminded me of an episode on Mary Tyler Moore show where she was laughing at a guy's funeral where he was a "clown" being killed by an elephant. :)
 
I got in trouble one time for laughing at an inappropriate time. We were in the process of arresting a 22 year old kid who was having sex with the 13 year old neighbor. He saw us coming and tried to run into his house. We chased after him and got him just as he went into the front door in a foyer area. We take him into the front yard where he is cuffed, etc.

Well, his mother comes outside throwing a fit about a footprint that was on her floor (the kid had mud on his shoes....she was upset about the mud more than her son being arrested). She called me every name in the book, swearing like a sailor. This went on for some time while trying to talk to the son and search him for weapons/drugs. At one point she got up in my face, nose to nose. I told her to march into her house or she was going to jail for interfering. She wouldn't back down so I pulled out my cuffs. She backs off and is still cussing up a storm yelling like a bat out of hell....as she turns to walk into her house, she trips on the step and falls. She wasn't an older lady and she wasn't injured in any way (except for her pride in front of all the neighbors who came outside to see what the yellign was about).

I asked her if she was OK and she gave me a big F' You and I couldn't help cracking a smile. That smile ended up as a letter to the chief :angel:
 
I know I laugh at the most awkward moments in life and that's funerals. I've pissed people off by laughing in their faces and wouldn't you know it, it is a sign of pre-programmed nervousness. :o
 
It may not be funny but I've laughed when I shouldn't. My daughter gets hurt allllll the time.. She's a tomboy and very clumsy. Well, she would get hurt and I tried not to laugh but the way she did it or how she did it, it just made me laugh. As for me, when I get hurt, I don't know whether to get pissed off or cry or laugh so I ended up laughing at myself. Have that happened to you before? I know its not funny but its funny. :laugh2:
 
Nancy said:
There are at times when I have a problem with this one.....but I do think of something sad and it cures me of this issue. :)
Yes, it sure helps me to think of my grandfather's death to control me stop laughing at the wrong time.

One girl at school always laughing when I told her about my dog's death, and I can judged her personalities she fought hard to stay straight face saying "how sad" but I can see her deeply she is not really affect and share the feelings with me, I came to realised its her we can't changed her feelings.
Some people have no remorsed feelings.
 
Oh this happened a few days ago. My son put his small lunch pack with metel on top and the plastic cover over it and he heated up. While it was heating. It popped and my son opened the door. The macroni and cheese was all over the place inside my microwave. Two of his friends was laughing so hard. Boy oh boy my son was pissed and told to stopped laughing and they continue to laugh. I realized what happened and told the boy. I said, "You know guys, that microwave is barely new and I cant afford to get a new one. I dont think it funny if it get broken." with my firm voice. That shut them up. I found out that my son forgot to take the metal off before putting it in the microwave. Poor my son.. :(
 
That happened to me last week, after I found out my friend died, my dad came up laughing, and he made me laugh so I told him to stop, and took deep breath, walked away from him, he was like :confused: and later on I explained to him, so he got it.....
 
Taylor said:
I got in trouble one time for laughing at an inappropriate time. We were in the process of arresting a 22 year old kid who was having sex with the 13 year old neighbor. He saw us coming and tried to run into his house. We chased after him and got him just as he went into the front door in a foyer area. We take him into the front yard where he is cuffed, etc.

Well, his mother comes outside throwing a fit about a footprint that was on her floor (the kid had mud on his shoes....she was upset about the mud more than her son being arrested). She called me every name in the book, swearing like a sailor. This went on for some time while trying to talk to the son and search him for weapons/drugs. At one point she got up in my face, nose to nose. I told her to march into her house or she was going to jail for interfering. She wouldn't back down so I pulled out my cuffs. She backs off and is still cussing up a storm yelling like a bat out of hell....as she turns to walk into her house, she trips on the step and falls. She wasn't an older lady and she wasn't injured in any way (except for her pride in front of all the neighbors who came outside to see what the yellign was about).

I asked her if she was OK and she gave me a big F' You and I couldn't help cracking a smile. That smile ended up as a letter to the chief :angel:

Oh geez... Mom should get mad at son, why would she made big deal about carpeting when cops are over.... 22 yrs old kid is VERY SICKO!! he need to know better!! I wonder have he registered as sex offender? Otherwise you did good job as a cop..... **give you coppie treat--DONUTS!!!**
 
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