Controlling laughter

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It can't be stopped.

I pretty much laugh at my husband's bad feet and everything he says. Even if I am pissed off at him like when he told me he is going to toss out my coat in a dumpster I won't know about.

When I was in the Marines people thought I was some kind of serial killer because I'd be walking alone and suddenly start laughing or crack a smile. I'd just be thinking about something funny to say in certain situations, basically day-dreaming humor. I got called that in High school but for different reasons. I must've heard people call me a serial killer a thousand times by now. I'm not bothered by it though as it keeps people off my back.

I also laugh inappropriately but not out of nervousness. The most inappropriate is when something sad has happened (even for instance when I hear someone has died, sometimes something will make me start laughing). Sometimes also when I get really upset or am arguing with someone, they will say something that strikes me as funny and I laugh (even while crying) and then I am mad because a) they think I am not mad anymore, but I'm still mad and b) now they are not taking me seriously. I also laugh because I am re-playing amusing things in my head. For instance if something funny happens, I will keep running it over and laugh after the fact again. Or someone will be talking about something, and I am picturing things in my head and a funny scenario happens triggered by something they said (which was not funny), I'll crack up about what I saw in my imaginings. I also have a problem at laughing at my own jokes, especially if nobody else has done so. If somebody says something that strikes me as funny and nobody else sees any humor (example: in a business meeting) and I try to suppress laughing, it usually ends up even worse because I will laugh after the fact when I can't hold it any more, and it will come out as a honk or a snort (or a lot of snot, if it's allergy season) because I am trying to suppress it. I try not to think about what people are thinking of me in these scenarios

I seem to have the opposite affliction. Laughing does not come naturally to me. Even when I find something funny, a slight smirk is the most you will see.

When I think about it, I laugh more than anyone else does at some jokes. For example, I would laugh at the F(u) "joke" that sgrannel mentioned. I laughed hard at anything I found funny in elementary school and middle school. I would also laugh when I was nervous. It was uncontrollable.

I purposely laugh as much as I do, and I can control it now. I think that it's part of my honesty; I try not to hide my reactions/opinions (e.g., laughter) the best that I can. I do, however, smile uncontrollably when I am nervous and/or lying. I blame my honesty for that, and I don't want to minimize smiling. I like to obviously lie.

For me, an uncontrollable smile is useful:
"Did you eat all the Oreos?" - A friend
"No... (smiling.)" - Me, obviously lying. Anyone who knows me well is aware when I'm lying. Others would think that I'm demented.

Anyway, I would like to agree with the person who said it gets less and less as you get older, but I don't know for sure. I had never heard of "laughing when nervous" before, but on my own, I realized I was laughing too hard, in comparison to other people. I decided to take action. I took about a year or so, devoting time to practice a serious face and to shut my mouth whenever I'd accidentally laugh. I tried so hard to be more serious. It was difficult to practice, but it ended up working for me. Later on, it was my therapist that determined I "laugh when nervous."

Hopefully there is an easier method to learn how to control laughter. I still just think that mine (currently) is part of my honesty -- I speak my mind and I laugh at what I think is funny. Normal people do not.

Good luck!