what did you mean by the last thing you said "jokingly"?
the laugh at the end doesn't make it untrue. sometimes humour is the only door you let yourself walk a feeling through.
every day there's one live question, the same for everyone. answer it anonymously, see what other people said. it's all gone in seven days.
answer today's question →think about the last thing you said as a joke that wasn't entirely one. write it down word for word if you can. now write the version without the laugh. the version you would say if you knew no one would deflect or minimise it. notice how different those two versions feel. write about who you said it to and what you wanted them to hear. did they catch it? did they let it pass? write about what would have happened if you had said the serious version instead. what were you afraid of?
- write the joke, then rewrite it as a plain, honest statement and notice what shifts.
- think about who you were testing with that joke, and what you hoped they would say back.
- consider how often you use humour to say things you are not allowed to say directly.
this is for people who are funny in a way that sometimes worries the people who know them best.