Article by Fattima Mahdi

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Today is both Easter and April Fool's Day. A blessed day for sadists of all kinds, cathos and a***s alike who'll go ahead and feel free of doing whatever they want under the cloak of religion or humorous subterfuge to torture/torment their brethen.

Normally, I would enjoy the irony of celebrating fools (as if you needed permission to do that) and seize the opportunity to indulge in expressing my true nature freely, but for some mysterious reason I didn't feel like it at the time of writing. So I'll follow my heart and ignore socio-cultural dictates (except for Big Jim's finger on the above picture which is purely intended even though not the right finger). Therefore you won't get any of the traditional “Happy Easter” nor the usual cheap prank from me this time. Instead I'm reposting Carrey's selfie tweet from last year which speaks for itself plus a short article to urge you to nurture healthy humour in full awareness (and not just to avoid addressing your unease or to manipulate others). A topic I have already covered at length in some articles of my own (only available in French), also a current practice for me as you may have noticed and which I'm certainly not about to give up — never ever. It's just that I can't help going against trends because I do enjoy a good nose thumb sometimes as opposed to thumb noses.

Happy egg and fool hunting!

Ey@el

Laughter being the best medicine is already a widely held belief. Whether you’re making yourself laugh or the people around you, the sudden change in one’s emotional state can be seen as an extremely effective cerebral hack, breaking a loop of negative emotions and thought patterns. Positive feelings create positive thoughts, which create positive actions, leading to a healthier and happier lifestyle. So it comes as no surprise that a research team based at the University of Granada (Spain) have found that even a self-deprecating sense of humour has no ties to low self-esteem or depression. They, in fact, discovered that those who employ a self-deprecating sense of humour tend to be happier and more socially adjusted than the average person.

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