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GoatOnFire
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24 Mar 2008, 1:49 am

I know I must sound to the world like one hell of a Scrooge when I write this, but maybe some of you can relate.

I hate it when other people laugh. I'm not exactly sure why. It may be a sensory issue, I just don't like the sound. I also have a hard time distinguishing if other people are laughing at me or not.


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Catalyst
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24 Mar 2008, 1:55 am

Yeah, you sound like a scrooge. :)

However, I can sympathise, even if I don't agree. Laughter can be very confusing, esp. if you don't understand the source. I tend to assume that everyone laughing, if I don't know why, is laughing at me.


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Icheb
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24 Mar 2008, 3:29 am

Laughter, like talk, can be pleasant or unpleasant. I like to crack jokes, so obviously I'm flattered when I'm rewarded with laughter. (My proudest achievement was making a friend snort water out of his nose when I made a joke while he was drinking.) But I dislike the laughter of a group of middle-aged men who have drunk too much beer and roar with laughter at every inane or derogatory comment made by one of them, especially if it goes on for half an hour or more. I also dislike the non-stop giggling of schoolgirls who feel they have to provide a laughter track to everything their friends say.



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24 Mar 2008, 4:16 am

I think almost everyone can agree that some kinds of laughter are unpleasant (annoying, nauseating, or whatever). A lot of laughter sounds like crying, which is always unpleasant to hear. You're probably just a little extreme being bothered by all laughter, not totally alien. :wink:



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24 Mar 2008, 5:24 am

Catalyst wrote:
I tend to assume that everyone laughing, if I don't know why, is laughing at me.


I seem to do this also. I often accuse people of staring, talking about me and laughing at me. They deny it, although I believe they are lieing.

I don't have a problem with people laughing, though. Laughter is good for you. Laughing makes your brain release endorphins, which in return makes you want to laugh more and talk more and generally do more of everything haha.
For me, laughter is like a natural "high" at times. Once I start, sometimes I can't stop unless i physically remove myself from what is making me laugh. The only problem is that most of what I laugh at are my own thoughts and i can't remove myself from those. :?

I know that some people have certain laughs that irritate me. There is one person at my social group who does a "Dr. Evil" style laugh. Of course, when he laughs it sets off a chain reaction and we all start laughing haha. At the same time, though, I do want him to stop laughing because if he doesn't stop then i wont be able to either haha.


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CockneyRebel
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24 Mar 2008, 7:15 am

The type of laughter that I don't like, is when typical teenagers look at one another, and than they appear to be looking at someone who's different, and than they start laughing. Other than that, I find it quite pleasant.


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LiendaBalla
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24 Mar 2008, 9:17 am

GoatOnFire wrote:
I hate it when other people laugh. I'm not exactly sure why. It may be a sensory issue, I just don't like the sound. I also have a hard time distinguishing if other people are laughing at me or not.


I know the feeling. The kind that annoys me most is in a nice quiet place, and there is a small group of people laughing loudly. It's annoying and distracting. I have better things to pay attention to than them.



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24 Mar 2008, 9:27 am

I think, not knowing whether people are laughing at you or not.. would create confusion.. It also sounds like you may have been the victim of having people laugh at you in the past.. That slowly creates a negative correlation with hearing that sound.. plus with the confusion of not knowing whether they are laughing at you or not, makes the whole experience stressful..

One way to possibly deal with this, is just try to ignore it and assume that they are not laughing at you.. If they are, to hell with them.. ;)



MeshGearFox
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24 Mar 2008, 11:45 am

GoatOnFire wrote:
I know I must sound to the world like one hell of a Scrooge when I write this, but maybe some of you can relate.

I hate it when other people laugh. I'm not exactly sure why. It may be a sensory issue, I just don't like the sound. I also have a hard time distinguishing if other people are laughing at me or not.


I can relate, and I've been called a Scrooge for it. It's a sensory issue. Too much talking, too much laughing, too much street noise, many sounds can cause me to get downright irritable and give me a headache. I then need either silence or music to recover. I used to dream of following Proust's example of building a sound-proof room.

Years of being an outsider has also made me sensitive to people laughing at me. At some point, I had to stop caring about what anyone was laughing at or saying because thinking about it brought about unhealthy paranoia. A negative reaction also encouraged people to screw with me more. (They would make a point of laughing or talking about me within earshot.) I ignore the outside environment, show no outward signs it gets to me, and do what I need to do. I'm better for it.



GoatOnFire
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24 Mar 2008, 12:48 pm

Bah, you're all humbugs. :P

Just to clarify. If one person is laughing, and I know what they're laughing about, I know it's coming, and they don't have an annoying laugh then it doesn't bother me. However if multiple people laugh at the same time it bothers me. I have the same problem when multiple people are talking at the same time.


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9CatMom
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24 Mar 2008, 7:48 pm

It depends on the kind of laugh. If it is a happy, from the heart, kind of laugh I enjoy it. If it is a cynical cackle or an airheaded giggle, I hate it.



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24 Mar 2008, 8:57 pm

I dislike laughter when I'm in a bad mood, otherwise I'm mostly neutral towards it.


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24 Mar 2008, 9:04 pm

I dislike laughter when I hear it while out in general public, especially if it comes from anywhere out of view. It comes from being laughed at constantly when I was a kid, a time when I always seemed to be the butt of some kind of joke I was never 'in' on. I don't mind laughter from people I know. The sound itself doesn't bother me. Even now, at 40, I'd hoped to have outgrown this, but I still feel self-conscious whenever people (particularly women) are laughing behind me somewhere. Most times it's completely innocent laughter and people don't even know I'm there, but the feeling of being a fool is hard to set aside.


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Nico
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24 Mar 2008, 9:08 pm

I dislike laughter if the person laughing has a harsh, high-pitched laugh or if they're laughing at something which I don't find funny.


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AToughCustomer
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25 Mar 2008, 12:22 am

SilverProteus wrote:
I dislike laughter when I'm in a bad mood, otherwise I'm mostly neutral towards it.


indeed



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25 Mar 2008, 12:25 am

I like to hear children or a baby's laugh, cheers me up if I am in a miserable mood