Irony is a serious thing : It is a great human resource, despite the fact that Freud has labeled it as a defense mechanism.
Lately, its importance has been reevaluated in therapy, and this element has been considered as a facilitating resource for the construction of the therapeutic relationship.
Humor stimulates laughter and, as we know, physiological stimulation through laughter carries a series of health benefits. It is associated with a reduction in stress, and also appears to increase pain tolerance.
But, in addition to this, laughter also helps us have a satisfying emotional experience. It not only induces states of intense physiological activation. If a person is angry or sad and starts laughing at a humorous comment said by someone around them, their mood will instantly change and they will go from anger and sadness to a more pleasant feeling, even if only for a moment. .
That’s why irony, as part of humor, can be a powerful weapon to combat bad mood and sadness.
In fact, recent research by the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor has highlighted the positivity of therapeutic humor, defining it: “an intervention that promotes health and well-being through the stimulation, discovery, expression and appreciation of inconsistencies and situations.” absurdities of life. These interventions can be used to improve health or be used as a complementary treatment of diseases, either to cure or face physical, mental, emotional, social or spiritual difficulties.”
Irony is an excellent therapeutic tool because the fact of being able to laugh at something that is oppressing us, even if it is just for a moment, is a bit like decompressing the accumulated tension.
The basic functions of irony in psychotherapy are these:
1. It is adaptive
It represents an adaptive and effective coping strategy to contrast painful mental states, offering an alternative vision of critical events. Through an ironic intervention, which leads to a modification of the rigid vision of a problem, the therapist can teach ironic aspects of an event, helping the patient to experience it with greater detachment and lightness and teaching to adaptively manage negative emotions.
2. Increases the ability to cope with problems
Increases the capacity for “problem solving”. As Borcherdt says, “if we can laugh at a problem, it is solved.” Most situations, even the most difficult ones, have an ironic side, but Experiencing certain negative emotions prevents us from perceiving the fun side of them. Over time, the decrease in the intensity of negative emotions puts the critical and painful aspect in the background, allowing the comic side to be appreciated.
3. Increase optimism
It works as a mediator between positive emotions and a humorous comment, which can lead to experiencing confidence, optimism and happiness. Furthermore, irony allows us to express certain feelings that are experienced intensely. This expression occurs in a controlled and safe manner. The irony It also allows you to express emotions and feelings that otherwise would have remained silent.
Helps increase the therapeutic alliance, helping to establish and maintain the positive therapeutic relationship. During a psychotherapy session, a humorous comment expressed by the therapist can help communication between him and the patient, also reducing resistance to the sessions, since it leads to establishing a more relaxed and open conversation.
5. Helps improve self-esteem
It helps to increase self-esteem: laughing at oneself represents a useful mechanism for the patient to achieve self-acceptance and acceptance of their defects. Those who have the ability to laugh at themselves have a higher level of well-being, since they develop fewer depressive symptoms and increase their tolerance for negative emotions.
Indications for the proper use of irony in psychotherapy
It must be kept in mind that humor and irony should be used as a complement to make the recovery processes easier and more fluid, and not as something that is used simply because “it is funny”, since this could interrupt the recovery. dynamics of psychotherapy. It is used as a way of interpreting events that cause discomfort in a more adaptive way.
Furthermore, we must remember that irony and humor must be used once the therapeutic bond has already been established and has been consolidated as such, at the moment in which the patient can also use it in his comments to the psychologist or psychologist. Otherwise, comments of this type can be taken as a lack of respect or professional seriousness, which would greatly damage the progress of the therapy.
