Humour compatibility is crucial in a relationship
Abhinav Verma
What’s life without a few laughs? Relationships would be a snoozefest if it weren’t for at least one partner’s good sense of humour. While it’s alright to occasionally not find your partner’s jokes and one-liners amusing, not being able to stand their sense of humour at all can make it hard to sustain the relationship. It can become a tricky landmine of neverending fights. Here are a few situations:
1) He likes to be sarcastic while her puns are intended. If both the partners have a different sense of humour then they might have difficulty relating, bonding together as both the partners have trouble understanding each other; they feel that the other doesn’t get them, especially if they can’t make each other laugh. This can cause the relationship to become wry.
2) If your partner gets your joke but doesn’t appreciate it because it offends them, there’s a problem. Especially, if your jokes make your partner feel humiliated, excluded, insecure, judged or patronised!
3) If your partner uses humour to disguise criticism or pass remarks, which they may not feel comfortable expressing directly then it can lead to resentment. Negging (emotional manipulation) is an example. You might think you are being nice by jokingly passing unpleasant remarks, but you might come across as mean to your partner.
So, if you’re in any of these situations, talk it out with your partner; try to meet halfway.
(Inputs by psychologists Pulkit Sharma and Priyanka Varma)