If you have never been to a 12 step meeting (as I am certainly new to it all), the last thing you would expect is laughing. 

To the unknowing you would expect tears, sobbing, dismay, anger, sadness, frustration or anguish.  The last thing you would think to expect is laughing.  You would think that addiction, codependency, habits, hurts and hang-ups are no laughing matter and they are something serious that should not be joked about.  But there is laughter….

Laughter is not just for happiness.

Laughter can be a great coping mechanism. Laughter can be a sign of nervousness or stress.

In the meeting we laugh. We make gentle jokes about ourselves or our challenges to lessen the weight of the issue.

We laugh at sometimes the ridiculousness of our behaviors when we take a moment to look at them for what they are.

We laugh at the circumstance.

We laugh at ourselves.

We laugh with each other, not at each other.

We laugh in knowing we have done the same damn thing as the person sharing her story.

We laugh because we have let similar circumstances bring out the same feelings.

Laughter makes the unbearable bearable.

I think laughter is a sign of courage.