What is the difference between hurtful and healthful humor?
In general, healthful humor stimulates wit, mirth, or laughter. It creates closeness and intimacy. Hurtful humor creates pain and distance. Often healthful humor pokes fun at oneself and situations while harmful humor pokes fun at other individuals or groups. Sarcasm, put downs, ethnic jokes, and anti jokes (anti men, women, religious groups, nationalities, ethnicity, etc) are all considered hurtful as opposed to therapeutic.
