ABSTRACT
This chapter looks at the role of humor in extreme environments, particularly those involving emergency rescue workers and people in related helping professions. The term emergency worker is used to refer to the variety of professionals who are called upon to respond to emergency incidents such as major accidents, melees, and conflicts, as well as those who deal with the physical and psychological aftermath of these incidents. Humor is often regarded as one of the highest forms of coping with life stress (Andrews, Pollack, & Stewart, 1989; Freud, 1905; Martin, 1996; Vaillant, 1977). In extreme environments, especially those involving traumatic stressors, the role of humor can be covertly acknowledged while being overtly ignored. For emergency workers and helping professionals exposed to others’ trauma, there is a dual expectation about the role of humor. First, there is a general expectation that gallows humor is to be found in most emergency environments, an expectation reinforced by novels, television programs, and movies. Second, there is an expectation that workers in these environments will be sensitive to the suffering of others, hence laughter in the face of tragedy is viewed with suspicion.
