Most people are pretty hard pressed to find something to feel cheerful about right now but it seems that we now more than ever need to find time to laugh.
Humour and laughter are just what we need as the world tackles the coronavirus outbreak, according to an expert.
So those joke video clips doing the rounds on social media actually could be having a seriously good impact.
Dr Tracey Platt, a principal lecturer in pyschology at the University of Sunderland, says that humour and laughter are playing key roles in overcoming the fear that people are feeling over the pandemic.
The likes of loo roll jokes as well as cartoons and video clips are currently rife on social media as our daily lives are turned upside down in a situation which is nothing like any we have experienced in our lifetime.
And Dr Platt says it is a psychological phenomenon that humour in a national crisis can make things easier to bear.
She said: "Even if you have not actively laughed about it over the past few days, you will certainly have been sent many corona cartoons by friends and relations who want to brighten up your day or help them remain connected."
They are, she said, a logical response to an unfamiliar situation like quarantine.
"One theory in humour research suggests that jokes only become interesting to us if the topic is of particular importance to us," she explained.
And in our shared uncertainty, humour helps reduce negative emotions and replace them with more positive ones.
Laughing at a situation also means that we become less afraid of it, she added.
"One cannot be scared and amused at the same time. Well, you can but this combination is generally pleasurable, as it becomes exciting and thrilling," she said.
Dr Platt added that another phenomenon shows our emotional state matches our body muscles so, if we're tense, fearful thoughts will match our flight or fight state. Relaxation and deep breathing can result in the opposite.
It seems that even if you're not the funny one yourself behind the making of those videos, simply sharing the humorous clips on social media with others is just as effective a tool in brightening up the day.
And we all need a little of that right now.
