To laugh at funerals

[Loullzz]

Okay hear me out its not as it sounds.

Whenever I go to a funeral, I ALWAYS get the giggles. It's absolutely horrendous and I think about it for days prior. It comes from a place of anxiety, "the worst thing that could happen right now is I laugh" and so it creeps up on me. I think about how awful it would be then I get that awful bubbling up feeling from my stomach into my throat and laughter could explode out of me. I have to really concentrate on trying to get into an upset mindset or bite my tongue as hard as I can. It's the weirdest thing, I'm genuinely sad, heartbroken for the family there but this weird nervous laughter always appears and I'm at the point I'm terrified of going to a funeral which only makes it worse!

My gran was the same and called it a giggle loop, it builds up, you choke it down then it starts again. How do I control or fix this? I feel awful guilt as it feels so disrespectful, I think I'm so anxious and focused on it I manifest it myself.

I'm not alone am I?

I laughed hysterically at my grandad funeral, everyone was looking at me in horror then I ended up inconsolably crying.
I think it's nerves or something like I'm so aware of how I should be acting.
I do the same when I'm being shouted at (chef) it's very awkward

You're not alone. This was a big topic in the UK version of Coupling!

You're not the only one, I do too. The first funeral I went to was my gran's and for some reason I found the pall-bearers hysterically funny, it was awful. I think it's because a) you're in a heightened emotional state and b) you know you're supposed to be serious.

Grow your nails

Nails into palm

Works for me at weddings with unintentionally hilarious meaningful vows

Have you seen this?

www.snotr.com/video/6244/The_Giggle_Loop

I've tried nails and biting my tongue literally, I just doesn't work, I can draw blood and it carries on.

Neverender Oh my god that's brilliant and literally what happens! 😂 Thankyou for sharing

I get this, especially as we got to one early and the vicar was going " 1 2 1 2 " testing the mic it was weirdly funny so that didn't help.

I do this. Not limited to funerals either. I find counting helps. Like counting flowers on the coffin. It’s worst when there’s a funny anecdote in the eulogy and my brain switches from serious to not serious. Also nerves has a part to play I think

I did this in my early 20s at the funeral of one of my best friends, it was nervousness and anxiety I think.

My school's head teacher's father died so we had an honor guard at the church. I had to leave the service I was shaking so much. It was one of those awful situations where I coughed and my breath went funny, then I started laughing as a reflex and I just couldn't stop. That was a difficult rest of the school year.

I burst out laughing out of nowhere at my friends grandads funeral when I was about 16, everyone stared at me and that feeling of guilt soon shut me up, I really fancied my friends cousin as well but after that I didn't have a chance

I laughed at my grans funeral . We'd started to sing the first hymn, and my grandad from the other side of the family was singing in his usual big booming voice, but slightly behind everyone else, so it was really noticeable.

I wasn't embarrassed at all, I thought it was absolutely hillarious, and the more I tried to hold it in, the worse it got, until I exploded, side stitch, tears, the works. I wish I could have gotten away with being prostate with grief, but I have a really "dirty" laugh, and was cackling like a witch.

It was like being back in school and trying not to laugh during a lesson, which always just makes it worse.

I've never sworn once in front of a driving instructor, after months of lessons, but I've laughed like a loon a few times, eg when I had to do a random emergency stop, because a car reversed out of a side road into a main road in front of me, I laughed for ages. I've laughed at other crazy times too, I don't know if it's nerves, seeing the sometimes hillarious/gloriously ironic side of things instead of the bad, or a combination. Eg my gran was deaf and practically a mute, and wouldn't have been able to hear her anyone singing. She'd have had no idea why people keep turning to look at her in laws or why the wife was elbowing the husband, if she'd even noticed

Oh god yes. And when someone I know is on stage (school plays etc - even before dd came on stage)
Absolute nightmare and you feel so disrespectful

I couldn’t stop laughing at my grandmother’s funeral. It was awful

My DH’s singing is truly terrible. We start with the first hymn and he starts up with this bloody awful racket and I got the giggles and just couldn’t stop.

I almost have the opposite where maybe twice per month if I'm really laughing at something and it makes me eyes water because I'm laughing so hard, it gradually turns in to me absolutely sobbing and feeling weirdly so sad. I'm genuinely crying and I have no idea why. My OH will say "oh no, are you having a 'thing?" and then have to cuddle and comfort me until I stop crying. It's so bizarre.

God, this is me. Its like I'm outside my body looking down on myself thinking you fucking loon but I just can't help it.

Oh wow this is a thing?! This happened to me at my grandmother's funeral when the song came on, I was about 7 months pregnant too. I've always been embarrassed that to those behind I probably looked like I was hysterically crying dramatically rather than getting the giggles.

I once did this when my baby was having his injections at the doctor's. Totally inappropriate emotional reaction to seeing my son in pain. God they must have thought I was a loon.

Oh god I get this too and my mum. It's awful, happens every funeral I go. I can't even sit next to my mum anymore as I know what's coming.

Mary, I do that too, going from hysterical laughter to sobbing great big tears of soul wrenching sadness. It's, um, dramatic

Yes, and weddings.... Especially if my mum is there too, we daren't look at each other. So inappropriate.....

I’ve had that laughing uncontrollably to sobbing my heart out. It’s bloody weird!
I’ve not had the laughing at funerals but have laughed at inappropriate moments. It’s awful