A qualitative study investigating the role of humor in supporting recovery from addiction

Humor can be utilized in adaptive ways (i.e., humor used to reframe negative events) to support mental health. Humor-based interventions can improve mental health, but minimal research exists on humor in people with addiction. We sought to examine whether and how people in recovery from opioid addiction utilize humor in their daily lives and whether they perceive it as supportive of recovery.

Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted in one study visit with people in recovery from opioid addiction receiving methadone (n = 11). Extant literature and a reflexive thematic approach informed theme generation and coding; codes were developed inductively and deductively using thematic analysis.

Participants had been in recovery for up to two years. Humor was central in most participants' lives, but its role varied considerably. We identified the following themes: Dark Humor and Lived Experience (humor used to make light of a difficult past); For Humor, Timing is Everything (dynamic receptivity to humor); Good Vibrations or Distractions? (pleasurable and distracting qualities of humor); and Read the Room: Social Contexts Can Drive the Supportive Role of Humor (humor to facilitate social connections and conversations about addiction). Most participants expressed enthusiasm for humor therapy, but preferences about the type of humor and setting varied.

Humor was integral to participant's lives. Greater investigation is needed into how recovery identity may interplay with preference for substance-use-related humor, whether humor can lead to sustainable mood improvements, and heterogeneity in preferred timing and context for humor.