Community Chat

[Shogirl]

I know three people who do this and it drives me insane sometimes.  One of them is my father - he thinks absolutely everything he says is funny.  I don't normally laugh with him unless it's an actual laughable moment, so you'd think he'd get the hint, but he never does.  He just keeps right on laughing! 

[Shorty2U]

Yes, our next door neighbor laughs after everything she says, and it drove me crazy at first! But on her behalf, at least she (and her husband) are friendly, (unlike others around here!).

[Carmie]

Yes, I used to work with a gal that had a nervous laughter,  many co-workers used to make fun of her and talk about her behind her back. Her name was Luanne.

Luanne was very smart, but lacked self confidence.  She applied for other jobs outside of   then dept she worked in,but this nervous laugh always held her back..  It was annoying to others.

She was my cubicle partner for over a year and I really got to know her.  She was very likable and sweet, but couldn't seem to break the laugh  habit at the end of almost every sentence.

Finally, after about 15 years, she got promoted to another department.

I retired last year and was surprised to learn that Luanne had passed from cancer a few months ago. I never even knew she was sick.

I agree that this nervous laughter is annoying, but like stuttering, for some people it can't be helped.  

We we should try to be kind to people.  No one is perfect,

[Plaid Pants2]

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@QueenDanceALot wrote:

Do you know someone who does this?

I work with someone who laughs after pretty much everything she says.  As though everything that comes out of her mouth is oh.so.clever.  After being around her for any length of time I just want to say "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT".

lol

I figure if something is funny then the person listening would do the laughing, not the person uttering the assumed funny.

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I don't know anybody like that personally, but there is a female QVC host that cackles after everything that she says, that's annoying as all get out.

[Glitter51]

Antionella is bad for this!

[tuscaloosa]

I have some one in the family that laughs and makes light of an serious issue she does not want to discuss. If I pursue it she walks away. 

[MillieMilan]

Ina Garten, Barefoot Contessa

[Sui Generis]

There can be physical/psychological illnesses that cause inappropriate laughter.

Wikipedia:

Paradoxical laughter is an exaggerated expression of humor which is unwarranted by external events. It may be uncontrollable laughter which may be recognized as inappropriate by the person involved. It is associated with altered mental states or mental illness, such as mania, hypomania, or schizophrenia and can have other causes.

Paradoxical laughter is indicative of an unstable mood, often caused by the pseudobulbar affect, which can quickly change to anger and back again, on minor external cues.

This type of laughter can also occur at times when the fight-or-flight response may otherwise be evoked.

Pseudobulbar affect (PBA), emotional lability, labile affect, or emotional incontinence is a type of affect characterized by involuntary crying or uncontrollable episodes of crying and/or laughing or other emotional displays. PBA occurs secondary to a neurologic disorder or brain injury.  Patients may find themselves crying uncontrollably at something that is only moderately sad, being unable to stop themselves for several minutes. Episodes may also be mood-incrogruent: a patient might laugh uncontrollably when angry or frustrated, for example.

[Debzzz]

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@Zefra wrote:

Perhaps I'm happy and not miserable like some😊

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Somehow, I'm not seeing that lol.

[Noel7]

There are numerous physical reasons for inappropriate laughter.

15 are listed here:

http://www.steadyhealth.com/medical-answers/compulsive-and-inappropriate-laughing-disorders

Some people just can't stop laughing, or laugh at very inappropriate times. The problem usually isn't that they are crazy. The problem usually is a physical. Here are just a few of the over 15 conditions that can cause inappropriate or uncontrollable laughter.

• Pseudobulbar affect disorder can cause uncontrollable laughter or tears without warning lasting for up to several minutes several times a day. The condition usually follows brain injury, brain tumors, or brain infections. It is distinguished from depression or a kind of schizophrenia called hebrephrenia by its suddenness. It comes on without warning and without any particular relationship to what's going on in the world of the person who has the condition. There are drug treatments for pseudobulbar affect disorder.
• Dementia, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis can also be accompanied by pseudobulbar affect disorder. A relatively new treatment called Nuedexta, which is a combination of a medicine usually prescribed to control coughing called dextromethoraphan plus quinidine so it is better absorbed, helps control symptoms after 30 to 90 days.
• Social anxiety disorders can also result in inappropriate laughter. Usually the laughter is clearly not directed at anyone or anything. It's more like punctuation, as in "Good morning, ha-ha., How are you, ha-ha." When the condition causes embarrassment, it gets worse, and causes still more embarrassment. Usually the condition is treated with antidepressants.
• Tourette syndrome and tic disorders can cause outbursts of laughter at inappropriate times, although they usually also cause uncontrollable facial movements and inappropriate speech.
• Post-traumatic stress disorders can cause outbursts of laughter, among many other symptoms.
• HIV encephalopathy and AIDS dementia complex can be characterized by uncontrollable outbursts of laughter.
• Premenstrual dysphoric disorder sometimes results in uncontrollable outbursts of laughter.
• Angelman syndrome is a genetic condition that causes challenges in mental development like those in Down syndrome, although people who have the condition are excessively cheerful.
• Bipolar affective disorder can cause fits of laughter in the manic phase.
• Phobias can provoke laughing fits as a means of dealing with fear.
• Complex partial seizures and gelastic epilepsy can result in unusual displays of intense emotion without loss of control of muscle function.
• Brain tumors anywhere in the brain can cause emotional outbursts seemingly unrelated to conditions around the person.
• Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, also known as motor neurone disease in the UK and Commonwealth) can result in outbursts of inappropriate emotions, including laughter.
• A rare hereditary enzyme defect called phenol sulfotransferase deficiency can cause build up of toxic chemicals in the nervous system that leads to aggressive behavior, redness in the face, circles under the eyes, and fits of laughter, among other problems.
• Lack of an enzyme for the conversion of folic acid into its active form called tetrahydromethylfolate reductase can result in a variety of problems, including fits of inappropriate emotion.
• Vitamin B12 deficiencies sometimes cause this symptom.