Why Laughter Loosens Anxiety’s Grip

A good laugh can feel like a reset button for the mind, but why does it work so well—and why do some spaces still treat joy like a liability? We dive into the science of endorphins, the psychology of pattern interrupts, and the social rules that tell us when it’s “acceptable” to smile. From nervous giggles in tough moments to the quiet relief of sharing a joke, we explore how humor helps us regulate emotions, widen perspective, and reconnect with ourselves when anxiety tightens its grip.

As therapists, we talk about how we use humor with care—laughing with clients, not at them—to gently loosen rigid stories and make room for choice. We unpack cultural and gendered stigma around visible joy, especially in professional settings, and why that bias costs us well-being. We also compare flavors of comedy, from dark humor to slapstick, and discuss how to curate content that actually nourishes your nervous system. Along the way, we touch on laughter yoga, the contagious lift of live comedy, the mindful power of softening your face, and how improv-style “yes, and” thinking builds resilience without denying reality.

If you’ve ever been told you “laugh too much,” or you’ve felt you had to hide your smile to be taken seriously, this conversation offers language, tools, and permission to reclaim joy. Leave with simple practices—micro-moments of comedy, a “sure-thing” clip list, social rituals that invite levity—so you can dose humor like daily care. Subscribe, share this episode with a friend who could use a lift, and tell us: what reliably makes you laugh?

Chapters

• 0:00 Laughter As Emotional Release
• 1:45 Endorphins And Pattern Interrupts
• 3:20 Serious Spaces, Misread Smiles
• 5:20 Nervous Giggles And Childhood
• 7:50 Using Humor To Cope
• 9:45 Comedy’s Collective Lift
• 12:30 Dark Humor, Slapstick, Boundaries
• 16:30 Laughter Yoga And Contagion
• 19:10 Different Tastes In Humor
• 22:00 Gender, Culture, And The Smile Stigma

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:00

A good laugh, how liberating it can be when you see your friends and you have that that good giggle giggle and chat. Yes. Well that's what we're gonna be talking about in this week's episode of Get It Real with the English sisters mind health and anxiety. We are therapists and we are here to help you. And like they say many a time, laughter is the best medicine often. Yes, that's correct. Yeah, absolutely. They do say that, and there is a good reason for it. Why? Well, because when you laugh, you release lots of those good feeling hormones, you know. The good one, the endorphins, that's it. I couldn't remember the word for it, and so they they they flood through your system and they create this feeling of well-being, and it's like, yeah, it's like no matter what happened before or what was happening around you has suddenly sort of been interrupted, so it also interrupts your thought patterns, doesn't it? Well, yeah, like if you're if you're at work and that you like if you're in a very serious work environment. Yes. Do you remember that time when we had to go and talk to the doctors and we said we're usually too friendly, we're gonna be serious with our doctors. Oh that was terrible, that wasn't. But it didn't turn out too good. Well, no, because I think there we realised that we were too serious. We were too serious, yeah, because normally we do we yeah, that was I mean it was fine, it just it felt weird. It felt unusual, yeah. It felt unusual, yeah, because it wasn't like in our normal spirit. But sometimes you do have to sort of uh tone down the the smiles. Obviously, it depends what circumstance you're in, you know. Well, yes. If you want to get sick leave. If you want to get sick leave, you're not gonna start laughing. Exactly. That that's a different you want to be taken seriously, don't you? Yes, so what the reason why you're discussing sick leave is because you might be having mental health mental health problems, but still be but still be laughing, exactly, and you know, like the way I'm saying it now, you might be feeling that because sometimes laughter isn't just it's not just because you're feeling happy, no, no, you could just be feeling that's why they say you can cry laughing, don't they? Well when you laugh, you cry a lot sometimes. Do they say tears come, yes, but I I didn't realise, I thought that's because they're like tears of joy from laughter. They are joy, but you still have the you're still releasing emotions. I mean, there's no way. Yes, exactly. You're releasing emotion, that's what I wanted to say. Yeah, now I'm like it's the afternoon, and I'm like you've got giggly mode now. I've gone into giggling mode because I'm thinking about the laughing. However, yes, you're right. Yeah, it's all about releasing emotions. So sometimes laughter can come up in the most you know, inappropriate ways when you would think no, that's inappropriate. Would you remember when like little children at school when you're all giggly and you're like the teachers really tell you off because you're laughing at something that's serious? That's right, but really it's a way of you coping with uh uh maybe a difficult subject, or like what you say, a mental health concern that you have, and you're just trying to to do some best. You're trying to do like you're you don't know what to do with your emotions, so they they come out as giggles. Sometimes they cry. I remember when I was little, sometimes I would just cry, but other times I do remember once with uh with the maths teacher in particular, I started laughing and giggling. And after he was bullying you, yeah, and uh it was a lady and she went nuts, you know, and then I I had to run under the desk, and then she was she obviously she I mean that was naughty of me, but then you know it was it was terrible really because then afterwards she just wasn't really naughty, it was just that you were a child and you just had you didn't know what to do in a very serious situation. When you saw someone was angry, you just didn't know what to do. So she was so angry. Was to laugh. Yeah, I mean, what I say uh define as naughty is because I was actually hiding, but if I think about it, poor me. If I I was hiding because I knew that she wanted to catch me and to hit me, because we would we would get you know hit in those days, which was awful, you know. So that was a different situation. But I do remember giggling, and I remember her shouting at me, telling me to stop it, and the more she shouted, the worse it got. So obviously that was some kind of a nervous giggle. But yeah, but I mean, laughter does help us in so many ways. So, like if you're feeling down and you watch a you know a funny film or something, it's definitely a sketch, it's gonna make you feel better, isn't it? I would definitely recommend that. Yeah, watching something funny, you know, that's gonna put you in a good mood. I think that's why it's so therapeutic as well, why people like going to the comedy shows because everyone's laughing all together and there's so many endorphins being released. Yeah, that's great. You always feel great after going like to a live comedy, yeah, yeah, definitely. No, no, that no, it's true. Or when you like uh there's this uh this programme that my hubby watches about sports, and oh my gosh, they're commenting on sports, on football, on foot, it's actually on football, and they laugh. I come in in the morning and I hear them laughing, like so happy, giggling and laughing at all the jokes that they're little gibs or jokes they're having with each other, and it really is coming to an enjoying mood. It's such an easy way, isn't it, to really sort of transform your day. And and it's something I think that it's it, you know, if you've got a choice, and nowadays most of us do, of what we're gonna watch or what we're gonna listen to, we might as well listen to something that's gonna uh make us have a laugh and and not forget how important it is to have a laugh and to cultivate that, cultivate people around us that are jolly, have more of that. That's why we like doing these podcasts as well, isn't it? Because we do have a laugh when we do them. We do have a laugh, yeah. We get through many little laughs when we're doing them indeed. It's fun, it is fun, but I mean, even when we have therapy sessions, we laugh a lot with our clients. We do use humour. We do laugh with them, not at them. No, no. Now that just sounds awful. Of course it's not at them. No, no, absolutely not. We laugh with them and we make them see how some things can be humorous, can be seen in a different way as uh and they can be found almost funny, so that you can reframe certain things that might always annoy you and see the funny side of them. Or things that have been very difficult for you sometimes in the future when you look back on them, you can actually see the funny side, can't you? Not always, but not always, but sometimes you can. Um I think that that's where all that dark humour stems from, isn't it? Never understood that that much, but well, yes, that's a kind of um that's supposed to be very common in British people, isn't it? So we should really understand it. I didn't like it much. No, I know what you mean, but it's kind of It's cathartic, isn't it? It's kind of like, yeah, brings out you sort of see the worst things, but you see the funny side in the worst things, like a man, uh I don't know, something happens to him tragic, a brig falls on his head, and you think, oh my gosh. No, I think that's more slapstick. No, no, but that slapstick would be like it just bounces off. Like Lauren Harden. No, something happens, like he likes, you know, you you might see something dramatic happen to his head, you know. That's more like dark comedy. Well, that sounds like a horror, right? Have I not got to it right? I don't know so, but that's funny in itself. But I'm sure you listening out there will be able to tell us. Yeah, I mean, uh there there is like there's there are some things going now, like on Netflix that are classified as dark humour. These funny things like there's an there's a series of The Boys, it's all about superheroes, and it's quite some of it's very explicit, you know. You see all these people and things happen to them, body parts flying around, and that's supposed to be dark, comedy and funny at times. Yeah, have you ever heard of it? I think I watched it a bit, but it wasn't my cup of tea. No, no, it's about superheroes that are like and they go bad, or they're not bad, but I thought it was a bit gruesome for my life. It's gruesome. There are lots of gruesome and that's no, it's just you know it's about it's about they're just props, aren't they? Yes, of course they're props. They're always props in films, goodness me. That wouldn't that be horrible if they weren't? Of course they're props, but it looks kind of realistic, you know. So they make it they make it gruesome, they make it look pretty gruesome. Over the top. Yes, it's very over the top. But anyway, that's so you get like um You get accustomed to it. Well you can't you can get used to it. I mean you can anyone that watches horror movies and they love them. There's so many people that do love them, so they're all accustomed to it. I remember they used to say they're funny, people you tell me. People used to tell me that. Do you remember like oh we're going to see so outrageous that people just think it can't be true? Exactly. But people as a therapist, I always think they're just like truth in them. Do you? Well and I find it creepy. Yeah. Yeah, I know what you mean. This is like the Halloween one, isn't it? Yeah, I know, I know. You're always coming after Halloween. It is, yeah. It's it is it is like that, but anyway, any kind of humour, I think it's you know, it's it it's always good for us. It can also be a mindful practice because they've had that laughter yoga for years in course. They have, yes, they really have. And they just start fake, fake laughing, and then they all laugh together in a group. That's supposed to be very healing, or hearing all the other people laugh. So, what you were saying, there's a lot about other people laughing that sort of it's contagious, isn't it? It's contagious. Like the other day, I was watching a film and I was laughing, and then my husband, who was in the other room, he came over, what's so funny? And I said, Oh, it's just this film I'm watching. I'm just it's just really funny. And he couldn't see it was funny at first, but then he sat down and he tried to see it. Because it was in it in English and he's Italian. Yeah, it was in English, but I put the um subtitles on for him. It's not the same, is it? No, no, it's not the same, but I watch a lot of films with subtitles. Yeah, okay, okay. Well, to be fair, yeah, I guess he couldn't really fully understand it, but I did hear him sort of like chuckling away at a few of things, yes. Not that much though, to tell. Not really. No, but I mean I continue. But obviously, everybody has different sense of humour. I mean, I see the lot of I like like humour. I I find humour in every day. So as if I'm going round, I just find something funny or something someone said as is funny when other people think, what are you laughing about? That's not that's not. Or they always say violetter, why you're always laughing. You always say I am laughing, but I'm not laughing. I just find it comical, the situations, and uh it's not as if I'm laughing at the people. One person actually said, Are you laughing at me? Yes, yes, I'm I said, No, I just find I find it fun. I I suppose because I observe and I can see the facial expressions, and then all of it together is just it's just it's cute, it's humorous. It's humorous, yeah, because you can sort of see the thought process happening once you become aware of it, and obviously we're trained therapists, so we we can see where the thought might be coming from, and how that person might be coming overwhelmed by that thought, and how bewildered they might become. And that sounds horrible. That sounds horrible, but no, I mean it's like they start scratching their heads when they're thinking the thought process that we can have, we can identify with because we've had similar thoughts. Of course, because we're the same, we're all the same. We have the same problems and the same issues, everyone does. Oh, yes, you're correct. I guess so. We've been through it, and so we think, look, we know how to you know. You have to be funny, don't you? You have to have a huge thing. I think I mean that to go back to that day at the doctor, because we said if you at one point we thought, if you're a woman and you're like giggly or laughing, especially here in Italy, but probably everywhere. I think everywhere is you're taken as as you're not taken or considered to be very serious person. You're not like people do not value your opinion, and you're not considered to be of value because you're considered to be like frivolous or light heart light-hearted, like not not serious. So we didn't do an experiment where we thought, okay, we're not gonna be because here in Italy there's an actual expression, isn't it? No, it's care like ridere come at so that's really horrible, but it actually does say you're laughing like a madman, like a mad person, as if only people that were mentally ill would laugh. Gosh, that's terrible. Yeah, terrible. Yeah, but that that's what it was that that's what the saying is ridere comeato, like a mental mentally ill person. Gosh. Well, I wouldn't I wouldn't have known that. No, I'm telling you. I mean, I I thought the question was like, what you what have you got to laugh about? What's your life? No, that's also another expression, but that's really no more. The other has probably been the other one is like no one says it anymore now. I don't think. Obviously, the newer generation probably don't politically correct. But it's kind of in the culture, though, whether it's politically correct or not, it's in the culture. These expressions may not be said, but they're thought about. Yes, and that's what I'm saying is that the culture is there, and that's what you were saying about the woman and the woman laughing and the woman not taking that seriously. So that's why the it's in the culture, and I've heard it so many times, even my sons are young and they're brought up here, but I hear them still saying certain phrases that belong to the old culture, really, yes, and also because like on their profiles and that they don't really smile much people, do they? They're always pouting. Pouting. Well, yeah, people like I see the profiles of younger people, they never you don't see that many smiles around. Yeah, that's quite sad. You're right, actually, yeah. They've always got like this pouting face or very serious face on. Yeah, especially, I mean, in the dating world, you don't you have to do that. Oh, in the dating world, oh I know what you mean about pouting, yeah. Like, oh, that pouting, yeah. No, no, but or just serious. Serious, really. Well, I wouldn't We wouldn't, because smiles and laughter, but I see that's awful. I do see it. You do see it, yes. You're right. As if there's something wrong with smiling. Oh, or laughing. Or laughing. Yes, well, there's that's what I'm telling you. It stems from it stems from you know, this kind of culture. I'm sure it's not just an Italian saying, I'm sure that comes, you know, it's as if only the the the fools were allowed to were happy. Only the fools, you know, only the the the people that weren't quite sane of mind because they were nothing to think ignorant about the world's troubles, yes, because they were like like like some children, yes. So they were they they could go around laughing. Of course, you're not you know laughing for a for a reason or laughing for no reason at all, who cares? Well, who cares if you're jolly and happy, exactly, or if you just want to relieve stress. I think the reason why you spoke about it is because there's this kind of taboo around stigma. There's a stigma as a culture, and it's time to be get rid of. It's time to get rid of that, and it would be lovely to see more people laughing and smiling on their profiles. You're absolutely right, and to just have more laughter in the world, generally more laughter, generally amazing. That would be amazing. Imagine just clicking through a TV. Even just having a couple of giggles a day, and our facial expressions say so much about us, and a lot of us do go around with a frown all day without realising it, don't we? Yeah, that's sad. Yeah, and that can the frown. Do you remember when we first learnt about the facial expressions and body languages to go back to it again? We realised how serious we were as we were going around our business. Goodness me. And at one point I even thought, what have I got to laugh about? There's not that much to laugh about. Yeah, I do remember that. You remember you telling me, well, life is pretty tough at the moment, there isn't that much to laugh about, but yes. But it was because we hadn't really learned to be mindful and to look at the present moment and just look about the joy in every day. It's a kind of a skill, isn't it? I think so. It's a skill to be fine-tuned and it can start with. I mean, that's why a lot of people that do improv comedy all of a sudden they feel a lot better as well. Their mental health gets better. Because they're doing this improv comedy, but they're just coming up with little uh sketches and you know, follows following. That must be tough. Well, it's hard. I've always thought that must be so hard just to go after it. That's also good fun, isn't it? No, I mean that's the one. Well, I mean those classes where you go together and then an actor, so you start off with a scene with a like with a frame. Today I was reading the Times End. And uh oh, and I would have to say something, and I saw a really funny cartoon on it. With a frog. Um with a hat on. A hat on, yes. Yeah, and then it goes on and on, and then you have a laugh in the end. Okay, right, I see. That's a gay room. Do you know that I've got three toads in the garden? Toads. A mother toad or father toad and two baby toads I mean the baby toads are adorable. But yeah, well, you know how many toads we've got here in our butt we haven't got a pond, so it's quite unusual. There's always a resident toad that's enormous. I think they came from the time that we had the pond, and the kids bought all the little tiny tadpoles for me. Oh, my house. And they spawned, and they they I think the garden was like they populated our garden. And then we had massive toads, but we've always had like two or three, two, I think. I don't know. Uh you know, my son says it's this it's not the same toad, but some people my daughter or the other one thinks it is my husband. The one no, that's funny. Yeah, the other one is like just who is he? But I don't know, but it's funny to see them because they line up. Really? I didn't know they go in a line, and the the father and the two little ones. I mean, the little ones you think it's a father, but you don't know. It could be the mother, yeah. Or it could be non-related. I don't know. It probably is related, probably the mother. They should be related because they're all together, but we don't know. No, no, but like often you have those wild boars that come along and they're all like little groups, aren't they? They are, they come in the field next to you. They definitely look like a big one, which is like daddy and mummy and the little ones that you can see them. But they come up and they follow the little trotting. That's a different story. Anyway, what do you find amusing? What do you find funny? Do you find that uh laughter like dissipates anything? I mean, I do. I always have believed a firm believer in laughter. Me too. Laughter is the best medicine. It just there's just no no way about it. If you can manage to have a laugh a day or more, yeah, you're in a good place. You're dead. Oh, if you have one a day, it's already a good, good place to be in, one a day. I think you if you aim for that, if you think I'm like. I remember when my daughter told me to watch Shits Creek, and I and I thought, oh, we can't be bothered with that. It's just another comedy series. She goes, Mummy, it's really good. It's funny anyway. I watched, I started watching it and I was laughing out loud, honestly. And I thought this is amazing, it's actually making me really laugh. I watched it, but I never did laugh out loud. But I did find that funny makes me laugh my head off. The mother is funny, she is funny. Anyway, yeah. Let us know what your favourite show is, or what makes you laugh. Do you find everyday situations are comical, or do you find I don't know, watching films of any genre funny? And let us know if you find that maybe it's a taboo in where you live as well, to sort of like laugh and uh what kind of you know, in the professional environment, in any kind of have you had any issues with things like that? People say you're you know, you're you're not too funny, huh? You laugh too much. I mean, yes, the podcast you get it, you know what I'm talking about. In over 110 cities in the world, yeah. So maybe owners with a different culture that appreciates laughing, or maybe they don't appreciate laughter. Let's see what happens. Let's see, let us know. Thank you for listening. Lots of love and smiles and laughs from the English citizens. Bye.