Can't stop laughing (smiling)

**Posts:** 2 · by **siriusblack** » Tue Sep 27, 2011 8:23 pm

As the title says, in some settings, I simply just can't stop laughing. For example: today at school one dude fell asleep during the lecture. The guy in front of me noticed that and broke into a fit of laughter. So did I, but I couldn't stop it. Without even wanting it, I held on for minutes (so did the guy in front of me, fortunately. Then the guy on my left hand side told me to pull myself together. The thing is that I often do this, somehow uncontrolled (there is no sense in laughing when there is nothing funny). Comments like that stuck in me, making me sad. I don't like this habit. Some people may say its a "luxury problem" or a "good thing" (because its meant to be nice when you laugh), but I rather experiences this as a strain.

I've done this in almost ten years I think. It started when me and my older sister walked together to school and on the road we always passed some girls from my class, making me all embarrassed. It may happen at school, at soccer practice, at a restaurant or when I am just chilling with friends, in other words, everywhere. It seems like it happens in situations where I am not necessarily insecure, but in situations where maybe I am not that comfortable like I am with my best friends (tho it may happen even whem I am with them).

Even with my family. When my parents are to pick me up (they are sitting in the car waiting for me and I walks toward them) it always happens. I simply cant help it. It feels like I have this urge to smile or laugh, altho I don't want it. Another example: we're having a family visit and my aunt drop in my room to see me and ask how its going. Then my mom join her, and even tho I am busy they fall inn and disturb me. So I ask them to leave while I am smiling, and then mom says "ohh, you are so pretty when you smile", which really makes me angry and wanting them to leave even more, but I still cant stop smiling. You know, I don't like to be interrupted or be spoken to as I was five years old. In those situations it seems like I smile/laugh because I get unwanted attention.

(As you see I also have this smiling-thing going on. Unwanted, "uncontrolled" smiling. I've got a lot comments on this, making me sad. If I try not to smile I just ends up making this weird grimace with my mouth, which also have been commented a lot. I kind of know from where this comes from, my dad told me he used to do exactly the same when he was young, and he still does this today.)

I went to a psychiatrist last year, abot 18 months ago, to deal with grief and mentioned this "thing" to him. He told me to try not to think like "okay, don't smile/laugh now, don't do it", because that way I will do the exact opposite and just make it worse. Therefore I try to think like this "okay, your smiling now. Why? Why do you smile? There is nothing to smile about". Tho, in addition to these thoughts it often turns to "don't do it, stop it". Is there any professional psychiatrist or psychologist, psychology students or someone with smiliar experiences that can help me and "solve" this?

It would really make everyday easier. Thanks in advance!
Yours sincerely…

**Posts:** 40 · by **Worthy** » Mon Oct 10, 2011 3:28 am

Laughter is good. If you really want to calm down (do you really want to?) then just take a few deep breaths and move to another focus.

I don't believe that you actually want to get rid of it - for whatever reason.

**Posts:** 2 · by **siriusblack** » Wed Oct 12, 2011 7:07 pm

Well, when it happens during soccer practise or evaluations at schools it suddenly becomes a problem. It once happened during a one minute silence in class because of a murder in this country. it's not funny or "nice", it really is unwanted.

**Posts:** 1083 · by **givingup** » Fri Oct 14, 2011 4:26 pm

**Posts:** 1058 · by **idiocy** » Sun Nov 20, 2011 6:52 pm

Funny that I missed this. I had the exact same "problem" in school, except it wasn't much of a problem really. Is your problem that you find certain situations funny enough that you can't help wanting to laugh, while the others don't show signs of wanting to?
I agree that it can seem rude at times but I guess you've got to ask yourself why it happens, and then you'll have better control.
I remember that we were moving house once, when I was a kid. I'm the youngest and my parents always found fault with anything I did, but they didn't do that with my older brother. So while everyone packed I'd be lying on the sofa and laughing uncontrollably as the scenes unfold, and although that might have seemed irritating to anyone else at home, I wasn't doing it to annoy people, but because I genuinely found the arguments that would unfold, funny. And then I realized I found the whole thing funny to compensate for the fact that I actually found the arguments stressful and unnecessary, but that unlike my brother, I had no direct role to play in them.
And then once you realize this you have better control, like I'd walk away somewhere else and laugh now, whereas as a kid I wans't sure why I was laughing.
About grinning--you miht be grinning at the positive aspect of a negative event--such as in your example, the fact that people were mourning someone's death, instead of carrying on like nothing had happened.
I'm guessing, once you deconstruct these events, they won't seem weird or beyond some constructive action, anymore.

**Posts:** 6 · by **billy73** » Sun Dec 25, 2011 9:37 am

In many asian cultures for example people laugh even situations are sad. Maybe
smiling is more natural than we think. As we all know everything can be interpreted
in a different way. So, smiling could be seen as a positive method for dealing with
difficult situations.

Of course it doesn´t work in certain environments but be careful. In Germany there was
a series about a rich man who lost his laugh and there was a teenager who laughed very
much. The old guy tried evrything to steal the laugh of the teenager.

So, laughing is like gold. Be shure when you want to give it away.

**Posts:** 1058 · by **idiocy** » Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:11 am

I think it has more to do with age, than culture. Most people in their teens and 20s chuckle over random stuff.

There are differences between people, but its pretty natural if the OP is in that age group. It just doesn't seem natural when the chuckling happens in non-peer group situations, I'd think, because everyone else treats the situations seriously.

Example : my family was at our Venezuelan friend's place and she was trying to explain where she got her wall painting from, and my parents were straining to figure out what she was saying like really genuinely, but the expressions on their faces and her repeated, genuine attempts at explaining with "ancestro" blew the situation up for me, and I had to excuse myself and leave her apartment so I could have a laugh. I could imagine a similar reaction with someone of the same age, or if there were a few other people of that age around there.

I think its difficult to answer the question because its really relative to situation to be classified as "odd" , but if it seems like its odd behaviour , its probably still a stress buster.

Can't stop laughing (smiling)

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