BY WILLIAM J. KOLE, BOSTON — It may be a little awkward, but humor is helping people around the planet cope with the fear and anxiety the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed.
Psychologists and comedians alike say laughter really is the best medicine, so long as it's within the bounds of good taste.
Los Angeles-based comic Erica Rhodes says quarantined people need humor as much as toilet paper, and the memes and amusing anecdotes peppering our social media feeds are helping them heal and hope.
Canadian psychologist Wayne Maxwell has extensively researched so-called “gallows humor.”
He says mankind has used humor to get through times of crisis as far back as ancient Egypt.
