Albert Ellis argued that one way of thinking about emotional disturbance was to see it as extreme thinking. He taught that fallible humans, all humans, are prone to taking themselves, others, and life too seriously or not seriously enough. He often attempted to use humor to help people give up the three general ideas they use to drive themselves unsane:
- I want to do well (healthy) and absolutely must do well (unhealthy)!
- I want you to treat me nicely (healthy), and you absolutely must treat me nicely (unhealthy)!
- I want life to be easy, predictable, and safe (healthy), and it absolutely must be easy, predictable, and safe (unhealthy)!
One of the things I have personally loved about being trained in REBT is that humor and laughing were part of REBT. I often joke with my good friends who are REBTers and often use humor during my sessions. To me, laughing is a natural drug that helps me enjoy and cope with life.
I teach my students and my patients that the first step in using this powerful and liberating philosophy and psychotherapy is that you have to have a good understanding of the fundamental ideas of REBT. One way to learn these basic ideas is to listen to Ellis and others trained in REBT present them in serious and humorous presentations. Here is a link to my webpage where I have two lectures by Ellis. The first is a typical lecture titled Dr. Ellis Explains his theory (part 1 and part 2). On the same webpage is one of my favorite lectures by Dr. Ellis. It was an invited address at the 1976 American Psychological Association’s annual meeting. It is a witty presentation of REBT. I would strongly suggest you give it a listen to both deepen your fundamental understanding of REBT and secondly to have a laugh or two! Enjoy the wit and wisdom of Dr. Albert Ellis: https://rebtdoctor.com/dr-ellis-explains-rebt-theory.html