Self-deprecating jokes are more poisonous than you think. In our minds, we’re being funny, trying to beat someone else to the punch, or trying to lighten the mood by insulting ourselves. But what we don’t realize is that our brains don’t know the difference between a joke and a real insult.
When you make certain jokes, your sub-conscience mind believes that they are true even though your conscience mind knows it’s a joke.
Cassie, our Executive Vice President tells us that “For me, I would make self-deprecating jokes about my weight all the time because I would think it was the elephant in the room [pun intended]… but if you go ahead and address it, or if you get to the punch first, then nobody can say anything; but the thing is, your brain believes that stuff, and these kinds of negative thoughts, they create feedback loops in your brain… so if you go to make a negative, self-deprecating joke, kind of stop yourself…”