Dusti Rhodes has wondered who decides when its OK to laugh at a bad situation.

The Houston comedian and high school teacher said people dont always know when theyre allowed to chuckle at something, especially a collective hardship like COVID-19.

On a conference call with her fellow teachers, Rhodes was surprised when one co-worker announced she let herself watch a comedy. Rhodes said people feel an invisible social obligation to not laugh during this time.

But thats silly.

When the city went on an effective lockdown, Rhodes braced herself for terrible and cheap jokes. They came in every format internet memes mostly and many were cringe-worthy.

But they did make her laugh. And laughing makes her feel better. She realized everybody decides for themselves when theyre comfortable making light of a situation, and it almost always helps to just laugh it out.

When you choose to start making jokes, its how you deal with it; youre able to dismiss the sad feelings you have about it and it makes it a little easier, said Rhodes, 38. Youre not dismissing the terribleness of that news. But you have to laugh.

And laughing has both short-term and long-term benefits for our mental and physical health, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Short-term effects can include the stimulation of organs, like your lungs, heart and core muscles. Laughter can also trigger an endorphin release, which can lead to relief in our stress responses, muscle relaxation and lowered tension.

Studies have shown daily laughter can lead to an improved immune system and overall pain relief. Giggles big and small can help alleviate varying levels of depression, according to the clinic.

Rhodes type of comedy is personal. Its usually about me and the awkwardness of my life, but its not self-deprecation, she said.

Her style is telling a relatable story, from awkward dates to weird sex to growing up ugly. Her goal is for every night on stage to end in mutual laughs.

When the world isnt in a pandemic, she runs Rudyards Open Mic Comedy Night every Monday and has a regular show at The Secret Group in East Downtown, a venue she calls her home club.

Rhodes had plans to record her first comedy album for Sure Thing Records in Austin this month. She postponed the recording date for one reason: she needs an audience to tell jokes.

The strange thing about comedy that is different from being a singer or a band in a music studio is that (for them), it doesnt matter if theres not an audience there, she said. Its awkward if a comedian is telling jokes and theres not an audience there to laugh.

Kevin Cotter will host his Laughter Workout class on Zoom every Tuesday at 7 p.m.

Zoom details:https://us04web.zoom.us/j/738801156

Meeting ID: 738 801 156

Rebecca Fiszer, 54, considers herself a pretty well-adjusted loner. She has an 11-year-old miniature schnauzer named Harley and enjoys quiet time after a days work at a Houston law firm.

But since Fiszer began working from home last month, she realized she misses the sound of one of her co-workers buoyant laughter. Every time he laughed in his office, Fiszer would overhear it and begin laughing herself. She misses it so much that she asked him to record it and send it to her, so she could listen from home.

This is a different level of being alone, Fiszer said. When you go to a store, youre still forced into social interaction. But in this situation, all that is being cut out. Im struggling, too. I need to see somebody.

Last week, Fiszer joined Kevin Cotters Laughter Workout class via Zoom.

Cotter teaches laughter as a form of mental and physical fitness; its akin to laughter yoga, an exercise in laughing developed by Dr. Madan Kataria in India. Kataria found that our bodies dont differentiate between genuine laughter and fake laughter, and our brains release feel-good chemicals like serotonin and dopamine regardless.

Laughter exercises help oxygenate the body and brain due to deep breathing practices and spread contagious laughter and childlike playfulness, according to LaughterYoga.org. It also lowers the presence of cortisol, a hormone that causes stress in our bodies.

Cotter found laughter yoga early in his treatment for clinical depression six years ago. Knowing his background as a class clown, his therapist recommended he try it.

He began teaching in assisted-living facilities and nursing homes, and found that older people need an extra push to laugh again.

The class is broken down into a series of laughs, like the Yee-Haw and Santa Claus.

Were in Texas, so we dont say Aloha here; we say Yee-Haw. We say YEEEE-Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, Cotter said as he starts tall and bends down to holler the ha-has.

For the Santa Claus laugh, Cotter put his hand on his stomach and bellowed out Ho-ho-ho-ho-ho, much faster than a typical Santa.

Once he teaches students how to perform the laughs, they laugh in rapid succession, switching from one to the other.

Even though the laughs start artificially, they quickly become real, he said. People feel ridiculous at first, but then they lose the self-consciousness and feel good.

Sound far-fetched? He thought so, too. But he cant argue with the results.

Fiszer said she felt lighter at the end of class, a feeling she had forgotten in the past few weeks.

Watching or hearing anything funny just does make you feel better. It takes your mind off things, she said. I do think its contagious.

julie.garcia@chron.com

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Laugh it off. It might just be the best medicine to battle the coronavirus. - Houston Chronicle