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Have a laugh, even at yourself, it is good for your health

You might assume that how you view yourself affects your mental health - now, and in the future. If you have a negative sense of your worth, low self-esteem, a sense of victimhood, it can be hard to see your own role in that self-image; and how it's been shaped by early trauma or harmful life experiences. That can make it more difficult to build greater mental health and well-being.
On the other hand, if you have a strong sense of your value and "presence" in the world, and strong self-confidence, those qualities are likely to show themselves with the internal strengths and the capacity for resilience you need in the face of difficulties or setbacks. But maybe not: If that sense of yourself is so fuelled by narcissism and ego, you're more vulnerable to experiences that puncture your inflated view of yourself. And that undercuts your capacity for greater mental health; similar to the person with a diminished sense of self-worth.
But there's one, important factor, common to both of the above personalities. One factor, one capacity, that's a hallmark of mental health, or at least the potential for building greater health and well-being. I've seen it throughout my decades of psychotherapeutic work with men and women, and now some empirical research provides evidence of it. It's the capacity to laugh at yourself.
More specifically, it's the ability to see your foibles, your neurotic conflicts, your personality traits; even your disturbed emotional attitudes, with an "outside" perspective, through which you can experience all of that as humorous. Then, you're able to see the humour in it all; and laugh at yourself as one participant in the ongoing "human comedy."
Clinically speaking, a good prognosis - the outlook for a positive, healthy resolution of conflicts - is found in a person's capacity to laugh at oneself. That is, it's rooted in a perspective of seeing yourself and your emotional issues from the "outside." Being able to laugh at your conflicts, distorted relationships, and personality traits from that enlarged perspective indicates a greater likelihood of  psychological growth and healthy development over time.
One new study that provides empirical evidence for much of what we see clinically is from the University of Grenada. The research finds that people who frequently use self-defeating humour - which often gains the approval of others through self-mockery; poking fun at oneself - show greater levels of psychological well-being.
According to Jorge Torres Marín, a researcher, "In particular, we have observed that a greater tendency to employ self-defeating humour is indicative of high scores in psychological well-being dimensions such as happiness and, to a lesser extent, sociability." And that coincides with evidence from psychotherapy about enhancing mental health, overall.
So, my recommendation is to practise getting "outside" of your life dilemmas - see the humour in them. That perspective will put them into a broader context of shared human experiences, which, in turn, may expand and engage your capacity for growth and well-being in your life, going forward.
-Psychology Today
Douglas LaBier is a psychologist and the Director of the Centre for Progressive Development in the US