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How do you get over the feeling that people are laughing at you?

241 Answers
Last Updated: 06/14/2022 at 1:34am
1 Tip to Feel Better
United States
Moderated by

Polly Letsch, LCSW

Clinical Social Work/Therapist

I provide non-judgmental, person-centered, objective therapeutic treatment for individuals of all ages to improve social, emotional, mental and other areas of functioning.

Top Rated Answers
recoveryNpeace
June 21st, 2020 9:27pm
By telling myself that their actions shouldn't affect me. What I feel is within me, what they do is outside so They don't have the power to affect me. If I am feeling bad it's me who is in a illusion that they hold the power to affect the way I feel with their actions, and I end up hurting myself feeling lost in this illusion. it's your life and yours only, it is possible for others to affect you physically (pain or pleasure), but when it comes to feeling or emotions, it all is within you, they can't reach there, so it's you and only you who can affect it. Once you realise this, you virtually become invulnerable, to almost everything.
enjoyiableJoy1553
June 27th, 2020 4:09pm
Just remind myself that im a strong women and it just keeps them from bothering others. A smile can change the balance of a room. Smile and Walk on without any worries. I like to ignore childish things people seem to try and bring others down. My mommy always told me to laugh with them and show i had no problem with others thoughts and opinions. Always helped me and still does. NOone can bring you down but yourself. You control your thoughts and feelings. So it never fails when you throw that big smile and let the haters know you still rocking it...
Keepyourmindcalm
June 27th, 2020 11:40pm
There are some people who judge without knowing. There are some people who stay idle. There are some people who help others. Don’t focus on the people who judge without knowing! First of all, focus on YOU. YOURSELF. If you feel comfortable with who you are becoming, you don’t need to prove anything to anyone and you have the constant feeling of being laughed at. In order to get over this feeling, you could try change the way you see yourself. If you think that other people will laugh at you before it happens, it’s like you prove them right. It means that you believe that you deserve to be laughed at. And that’s not the case! Discover what YOU like, how do YOU want your life to be, who YOU want to be! GROW! BE STRONGER! Good luck! :)
Anonymous
July 6th, 2020 5:05pm
What works for me is the simple rule that if I'm not sure someone is laughing at me, I don't get to assume they are. They are most likely too busily focused on their own existence to notice me anyway. Maybe I am ridiculous, in which case they are rude for laughing instead of politely bringing it up and that is on them. Most likely I'm doing just fine and nobody is laughing at me, so the doubtful side of me doesn't get to assume anything is wrong. If in doubt, assume all is well. If something is truly wrong, either it will be brought up more politely, or it does not matter.
PositivitySpring68
July 11th, 2020 10:49am
It comes with accepting the fact that some people will not appreciate that you are different and unique. Due to that, they may give negative attention to what makes you unique. Then, you must accept yourself as you are so you can get over it. It takes courage, patience and some mental and emotional stamina. Above all, what is important in this journey is to accept that it will not happen over night or instantaneously, but rather that it will be a gradual process that you live through in order to fully blossom. all beautiful things take time and this is one of them. Patience is key.
lauren2023
July 23rd, 2020 12:55am
It sounds really cliché, but what really helps me most when I feel like someone is laughing at me is knowing that it's never personal. Every person on Earth has their own life and things to do, and it's extremely unlikely they'd spend all or even some of their time laughing at me. Besides, we're all humans, and even though none of us can read each others minds, we trust that there's still thoughts inside everyones head. And a lot of those thoughts are anxious. So in most cases, they're probably worried about the same things and you. Maybe they think that someone else is laughing at them?
sweetlife101
July 24th, 2020 9:24am
People normally laugh for different things in life. If someone is laughing at you, just know that it isn't the end of the world. we can all encourage ourselves and let ourselves know that we have tried our best in that situation and that't the only thing we can do. You just have to ignore the people who laughs at you as the people who laughs at someone have also been laughed at before, therefore creating a cycle of life. You are not alone in this as everyone gets laughed at in one point or another in life and that is okay!
Anonymous
August 22nd, 2020 9:54am
Sometimes you feel like people are laughing at you all the time, and it's a really uncomfortable feeling. My way of dealing with it might sound a bit depressing, but it's not really. I just think about the fact that everyone has their own life, and most people will be too busy thinking about themselves to worry about you or what you are doing. When i get the feeling people are laughing at me I just try to put things into perspective and not worry about what others think. It really helps me a lot to think this way about this situation.
Anonymous
September 24th, 2020 9:25pm
I get over it by trying not to think about it. By ignoring the problem you can temporarily solve it by waiting until you are ready to deal with it head on. If I can't ignore it for long then I try to find other ways to preoccupy me so I don't get distracted by them. Finding hobbies that I like or am good at is a good way to distract myself from others laughing at me. I can never truly stop them, but I can suppress them allowing them to never be able to get to me and hurt me with their words.
Anonymous
September 27th, 2020 2:23am
Remember that everyone feels the same way and that everyone is in their own head as much as you. Feeling this way is definitely normal, it is very much ok to feel this way. Laughing at yourself instead of getting down after mistakes are made is also a great way to help yourself. Having a supportive and reassuring community around yourself during times when you feel embarrassed or like you are being laughed at is another great way to get over this feeling. In short, others are just as worried about this feeling as you and a good support system will help you laugh at yourself.
Effy2020
October 9th, 2020 9:18am
I used to smile awkwardly and hoped for this thing to end. But now I try to detach myself from that moment. Try not to take it personally. Asking myself, do they really want to hurt me? are they really that mean and toxic? if the answer is yes, then I should reduce my time spending with them. If the answer is no, then that's alright. I sometimes may laugh at them too. I will try to recall the last time I do the same to somebody, and do I actually take it personally? Most of the time, it's just light-hearted moment, just like laughing at a meme. It doesn't linger on my mind for more than 5 minutes. So are they.
HaveFaith0808
October 14th, 2020 12:13pm
Feeling judged or laughed at by others can make you feel very anxious when talking to people, yet these fears of judgment may not be what they seem. Many people who struggle with these fears often have underlying anxiety about meeting new people or talking to crowds, so it is common for them to feel like they are behind judged behind their back or laughed at. To get over this feeling, you have to be confident in yourself and your ability to distinguish your negative and intrusive thoughts, from your positive ones. If you think people are laughing at you, simply ask yourself why; why would they be laughing at you? What reason do they have? Are you just minding your own business but you feel you are being judged? These thoughts are intrusive and make you feel small and powerless. But you can take the power back by diminishing these thoughts, and thinking that they bring nothing positive to your life, they're just bringing you down. Try to look around you the next time you're in a situation where you're feeling judged. Is anyone even looking at you, or do you just feel the thoughts are only in your head? Take back the power, and maybe talk to friends or family about how you are feeling and if they notice if people are laughing at you too.
Anonymous
October 25th, 2020 10:02pm
When I was certain that people were laughing at me, it made me feel small and sad. It made me feel very lonely. But I learned to not focus on the laughter, perceived or real. Instead, I focused on the things that I could do well. I built up my own confidence in the things I enjoyed and then the laughter did not matter much anymore. They were laughing at the small, insignificant me, not the powerful, confident, awesome me. I like that me much better, and there is not anything more to laugh at.
Sunshine4691
November 21st, 2020 9:38pm
When one experiences the feeling or thoughts that others are laughing at them, its time to take an inventory as to whether or not there is validity to these concerns. No one likes to be the brunt of other's jokes. It's important to ensure that we are seeing value in ourselves as much as being valued by others. This contributes directly to our overall mental health. Once this baseline has been established, its time to start analyzing! Start off with making a chart that has 5 columns. Label the columns as follows: 1. What's happening; 2. Thoughts/Feelings; 3. Evaluate thoughts/feelings; 4. Alternate thoughts/feelings;5. Re-evaluate thoughts/feelings. In the first column you're going to describe the event that led to the unpleasant thoughts or feelings. In column 2, record your thoughts or feeling and rate your belief in them from 0% to 100%. In the third column evaluate the accuracy of the thoughts and feelings. In the fourth column generate an alternative response/thought to the situation and in the fifth column, re-rate the emotion and your belief in the thought from 0% to 100%. This exercise might need the guidance or input of a secondary perspective to begin. The possibility exists of managing these things independently and without the use of the chart. In time, the re-evaluation process can begin to take just moments, before our thoughts and feelings are aligned with a healthy valuing of ourselves and others.
Anonymous
November 26th, 2020 4:58pm
First thing look all around yourself, there are a lot of things to think about. And now look at those people , they also think about other things, according to fact a person have more than 50000 thoughts in a day and if they think about you that much still it's just around 2% of their thoughts. Exactly that Instagram posts , on which 70% posts doesn't even exist, so now you can say let them laugh untill they hurt you physically. Why to care about others when you even not exist. They are laughing but it will disappear with time. You can't go in past, nor in future things which happened in past can't appear again. All things depend on brain command it eventually you will find something great.
Anonymous
March 26th, 2021 10:49pm
I would say that you should try and ignore what is going around you and focus on yourself. People sometimes don't even pay attention to you because they are too busy thinking about their own problems. Also, try and get to the root of WHY you feel as if you are being laughed at. Is there really something that makes you feel as if someone is judging you? Are they looking/making fun of you or just talking amongst themselves/about someone else? Remember that at the end of the day everyone has their own issues and people that bully/make fun of /laugh at other people are going through tough issues in their own life and this is being done as a coping mechanism.
Anonymous
April 18th, 2021 6:19pm
We can't control the things people do around us, even if that mean's they're laughing at us. Remember that the only reason you feel bad about it is because you care what they think. It only makes sense to care what people think because we were born into a society that places a premium on peer validation but really, the only person you ever have to report to is yourself. The sooner you stop giving a damn what they think of you, the sooner you'll feel less unsettled when they laugh. Dont' mind what they end up doing because at the end it isn't worth your time.
cuddlySunshine
May 26th, 2021 10:28am
Block them from your mind. If you know them, act like you don't even know who they are. If you do not know them,try to think like how ridiculous would it be for people who don't even know you in the slightest to laugh at you like they know who you are. Or just Laugh with them. Be able to joke about yourself before they do. I'm not saying you should try to be their friend, because they sound like a bunch of assholes, just let them know you won't be their target.They're only wasting their only life being stupid, don't bother wasting yours worrying about meaningless opinions.
dandelionsintheair
June 10th, 2021 11:13am
I know for a fact, that I am never really paying attention to anything that's not happening to me. So its easy to assume, everybody feels the same way. Nobody cares about anybody else. We only see our own flaws. We criticize ourselves too much. We don't even remember something that happened to someone few minutes ago. Why would anyone else care about what I'm doing or notice anything? There is no reason of laughing. And if something is bothering you about yourself, you need to find out what and why? Is there a valid reason to feel that way? If yes then deal with it, if no then there you have your answer.
MindRoots
July 22nd, 2021 4:16pm
People laugh for many reasons, including fear and sadness. When a person thinks that laughter is criticism or judgment, it can affect self-esteem. The term for this experience is 'taking it personally.' Getting over the feeling is a matter of getting over the thinking that produces the feeling first. The easiest way to overcome self-consciousness is a shift in consciousness itself. While I could list several examples, insight has a way of clearing the illusions of self-imposed personalizing better than any advisement or suggestions. suffice to state, you can shift thinking completely once you realize the state is unrealistically inclined. It means that you determine which feelings are considered real or realistic or false and unhelpful to your well-being.
BridgetB
November 3rd, 2021 12:38am
I usually have to remind myself of whether or not my thoughts are based in fact, and then think about how if I'm happy, it shouldn't matter what others think. It's a lot easier said than done, but with practice it does get a bit easier. Sometimes it helps if I think about laughing along with them; sometimes I'm really funny and if I'm making other people laugh, then I'm okay with them having a little bit more joy in their lives, even if it's while laughing at me. Usually this thought process works if I'm feeling more confident in myself.
HopefulBrite123
November 5th, 2021 4:38am
Realize you are your own worst critic. We criticize ourselves more than anyone else does. Think about this: 1st -how often are you laughing at other people, particularly a single person? 2nd- how much of the day do you spend thinking about other things other than that person? The answer is that people are so engrossed with their own lives and things going on. If they aren't outwardly and opening picking on you, they probably aren't thinking about you as much as you may think. Lastly, even if they were: a lot of the time, what people think and say about you is actually a reflection and projection of what they think of themselves. They feel they have to be a certain way and so should you. That is an insecurity on their end, not yours for being you.
ParisBee
December 4th, 2021 7:10am
Honestly, it’s not something you can get over easily. Sometimes it’s a very long process. Try this- when you walk in a room, walk in with your shoulders back, head up. Talk to people, make jokes— and learn to laugh at yourself. You can’t stop other people from laughing at you, but you can learn to laugh with them. In time, people will learn to respect you for it, and perhaps their mindset will change too. Often times people laugh at their own insecurities perceived through others to make themselves feel better. So change that- show them that it’s okay to laugh. Show them that everyone is human, and no one is perfect. That’s what makes all of us individually beautiful. You can laugh at yourself, and maybe they’ll begin to heal their own insecurities as well, by your example. Just remember— it’s okay to be human. If we were perfect, we wouldnt be.
melodictelepathy
December 18th, 2021 3:58am
It's usually social anxiety or some form of paranoia. It's normal but remember that people are mostly living their lives and won't laugh at anything that's not funny or entertaining. You're just being a normal person. Just try to imagine that the people aren't there at all or keep reminding yourself that you're not here to entertain them. Cut these thoughts out by other better thoughts - this is one of the ways which can be helpful.
em522
January 5th, 2022 5:02am
When I feel like people might be laughing at me, I like to remind myself that there are many reasons people may be laughing. Also, it’s very unlikely that they noticed a minor thing that I feel embarrassed about. Also I often notice that when others do things I would be embarrassed about, nobody laughs or seems to notice! If people are definitely laughing at me, I like remind myself that I will likely never see or interact with these people ever again and it would be silly to waste my time and energy on people that do not know me.
stellaglaze
January 5th, 2022 8:42pm
I think about the fact that most times that bullying occurs, it is simply a product of the bully’s own insecurities/ issues and they are trying to project that onto others. There will always be people that want to upset others for no reason or to try to make them feel better about themselves, so i try to keep that in mind and let it roll off my back and not affect me. I live my life for myself, so I express myself how I want and I don’t let bullies affect my personality or change who I am!
Anonymous
February 4th, 2022 1:08am
A lot of the time, it is difficult to cope with social anxiety. Thank you for reaching out, it is very brave! I tend to ask myself whether I care about the opinions of the people around me. It helps to boost my confidence. I also try to listen to music on earbuds to tune out the laughing. You should try methods of distracting yourself like maybe playing a game on your phone to ground you from your anxiety, or maybe counting down from 100 in your head. It is important to never let anxiety control you, and if it does that's fine, that is why we use coping mechanisms!
DashaB56
February 24th, 2022 1:27am
To get over that feeling is to remember that not everyone is FOCUSED ON YOU. It's hundreds of things they could be laughing at.. Look at it that way.. Instead of a negative perspective.i personally know how this feels and I know that it's nor a good feeling. Feeling like people are always worrying about you and focused on you can literally drive you insane and cause you to change something about you , you felt was perfect. It could also be some inner healing you have to do with yourself as well.. Exercise, change some things up if you feel you have to. 😚 Hoped this helped.
Anonymous
March 2nd, 2022 3:56am
I would say to get away from that feeling is to realize when you look around they aren’t laughing at you. Sometimes it is best to look around you and see what others are doing or who they are around and see that they are not laughing at you but maybe their friends. Maybe you can talk to your friends, get your focus off of it. Or maybe telling someone about how you feel, maybe a friend or parent or a teacher- someone you are comfortable talking to about things like this. If you feel the need to talk to anyone we are always here and welcoming.
listeningmatters
April 27th, 2022 10:27am
Yes, I make mistakes, I am ignorant, I may act silly or stupid, and that would be a source of joy for others to ridicule me. But hey, for me it is a good sign that they will not be the right people to be around with, then I won't waste my time and energy trying to win their friendship. My time and energy are precious. It hurts, but it's a good lesson. I don't need a large circle. Small but beautiful works for me. I will make sure I don't do such thing to others. Time to move on!