Is fake humor as beneficial as real humor?

Can humor that has been mustered up, but not necessarily felt, have the same disengaging effects as true humor? Morreall has established that humor is a way for us to experience our environments in a less emotional way; instead of feeling the “fight or flight” emotions in a surprising or incongruous situation, humor is a mindset that allows us to assess our situations and respond rationally instead of emotionally. As he phrases it in Comic Relief, “Humor is an excellent way to disengage ourselves from negative emotions” (Morreall 67). But what if we do not find our particular situation amusing? What if we are hurting, angry, depressed, or forlorn? Do we have the ability to fake humor to the extent that we can achieve the disengaged state that accompanies it? In psychological terms, can humor, just like denial or rationalization, be a defense mechanism? I believe it can. In my experience, choosing fake humor is much easier than expressing suppressed emotions. Consider my recent/current situation: I have had five orthopedic surgeries in the last 4 years, each with a lengthy recovery and an even more extensive list of “do-not-do’s.” Being an active person, this one injury after another situation has been frustrating to say the least. But feeling anger and frustration is exhausting, so instead, I fake humor. I joke about the size of my file at the doctor’s office, and tell people things such as, “I am done hoping there are no more surgeries; I am just waiting until the next one comes along,” or “If I didn’t have bad luck, I wouldn’t have any luck at all.” I do not usually actually find my situation amusing or humorous, but by expressing this humorous attitude, I am able to continue to repress the negative emotions and disengage from them. Whether this artificial humor is the cause of the disengagement from negative emotions or whether it is the human instinct to avoid pain, I do not know. What I do know is this: humor, even if it is fake, is easier than feeling emotions.