Humor in Tough Times

NET MIRTH IN A TIME OF DEARTH A Humorist’s Advice for Mental Health Month

A UClub Member since the 1980s, Michele Jackman spreads humor and cheer whenever she stops by the Club. Michele recently came to pick up a UClub To-Go food order (see page 16) and spoke with UClub GM Sarah Rudd in the UClub parking lot (from a safe distance). They couldn’t help but note the irony of this month, so fraught with uncertainty, stress, and mental, emotional, and physical isolation, being Mental Health Outreach Month. Mental Health Month was started way back in 1949, when our nation was getting back to work after WWII and facing all new ways of working and coping with change, much as we are having to slowly do now. To help all of us find a bit of optimism in these difficult times, Michele offers the following advice:

MENTAL HEALTH OUTREACH MONTH was started in 1949. It is ironic that we are essentially experiencing community life with wartime limitations right now. There is no actual war here of course, but what we are experiencing can be just as unsettling. Our day-to-day is currently filled with many post-WWII-like challenges: the rationing of food stuffs and basic supplies like toilet paper; unavailable medical appointments; the loss of nurturing moments like a haircut; and the constraints on all our rituals and nurturing habits like meeting friends at Bistro dinners, lunches at the Club, attending events, and more.

This COVID-19 warlike experience is straining all our thinking and emotional and mental capacities. We think we know earthquakes, horrible fires, and other disasters. A long- lasting pandemic is not in most people’s planning. Unlike those other disasters, we are experiencing a “grinding halt” similar to how the 1925 Earthquake impacted people and businesses. We recovered then, and we need to now.

THIS IS A TIME TO CONSIDER ONE’S “MENTAL WEALTH”. By that I mean all of the resources we have – all of our financial, personal, social, and spiritual resources which can help us cope with any moments of doom, gloom, or depression we may face. This includes, for example, finding ways to continue to interact with other UClub members and UClub staff. As we all know, there are only so many projects one can do after 6+ weeks of a “grinding halt,” and the longer we go without tapping into our mental WEALTH, the more dangerous it becomes for our mental HEALTH.

As one very mature, talented person expressed with frustration, “All my models and strategies for coping that worked in the past for me don’t seem to be working.” We need to learn new strategies, adapted to these warlike times.

My first career was in mental health. My second career is in developing healthier workplaces and workforces where creativity and innovation are needed as ongoing routine. In that capacity, I taught Organizational Psychology and offered Extension courses for several years. These topics are relevant now as workforces require new and different models to help boost the productivity and health of workers. For many of our members, the future means ensuring that it is increasingly safer to meet and eat in person again and also learning virtual tools like Zoom and Podcasts so that we can enjoy new kinds of fun events like a virtual cocktail party or online Book Club meeting.

Zoom, Podcasts, and To-Go meals are, out of necessity, being used as a substitute for actual interactions and in-person events. These things can help, but many of us may not take to these online modes of communication or are unable to use them. Personal contact and the energy that it gives us is still essential. We may need to forgo the hugs and handshakes and being in close proximity in the same room with other Club members in person, but we should still strive to connect as best as possible.

HOW CAN YOU GET THROUGH THIS PANDEMIC? BOOST YOUR NET MIRTH!

1) Some clichés ARE true: “This too WILL pass.” Remind yourself that while things may be different from now on, they may also be even better for all of us. Think of some new things you always wished you had time for. “We are all in this together”, so let’s get together, remain together, in new virtuous and virtual ways. 2) Don’t Panic - Still Pay Dues: You can give yourself reassurances that you will be ok, health-wise, financially, and otherwise. You have the Club folks to assist you in avoiding “scarcity thinking”. Paying your dues can help you keep sight of the light at the end of the tunnel. We need to trust in the clichés, that “this too WILL pass”, and that we ARE in this together. You CAN reach out and connect with fellow Club members in the meantime. (The launch of the Club’s new and improved website at the end of this month will give us all access to the full member directory again, as well as real-time updates and news!) 3) You CAN connect - masked, sanitized, and vigilant. You will go crazy sooner rather than later if you don’t connect with people who can assist you. Come pick up a To-Go meal at the Club and have a safe chat with Sarah or David in the parking lot. Drop off flowers or a card – or much coveted toilet paper or flour – on a friend’s doorstep and catch up at a safe distance from the stoop. Or invite someone over for a safe-distance cup of coffee in your driveway (visitors bring their own coffee in a thermos!). 4) You can fit more fitness in with activities that give you joy rather than bore you now. 5) Laughter – sharing humor with others is a proven immune response to keep you safer. Give someone a call and have a good laugh about life or check out the fun memes Ammanjah collected for us on page 14. 6) You can still find meaning in your day-to-day routines. Volunteer your services in new ways, even just getting on the phone to share some stories you never made time for before or sending someone a letter can make both others and YOU feel better.

Our Club is one of our best Mental WEALTH resources in these trying times. It offers us not only groceries, meals, and wine, but also a ready and welcoming list of people to reach out to, connect with, laugh with, and share with. We can cheer each other on, boost each other up, and share our resources with one another. (Such as Priya’s wonderful offering of a free Vision Boarding course for UClub members! See page 15 for the link.).

NET MIRTH IS THE KEY TO BOOSTING MENTAL NET WEALTH. And of course, do not hesitate to reach our for any help you may need!

The online world has been using humor to deal with the anxiety around COVID-19. Psychologists say it’s a healthy response.

Spinning humor out of tragedy is by no means a new phenomenon. The Civil War era in the US was largely considered “the age of practical joking.” Gallows humor helped soldiers cope with tragedy during World War I and World War II. Letters, posters, and songs at the time poked fun at the enemy and the soldiers’ own predicaments. Kilroy Was Here, a graffiti doodle that Americans began drawing across a variety of obscure places during WW II, is said to be the world’s first viral meme. And of course, it’s always nice to know you’re not alone in your experiences, even though you’re physically and socially isolated, and memes helps with that as well. With the click of a button and the scroll of a mouse, we can see that others far and wide during this global pandemic are in the same boat.