Last night, a friend and I were laughing about past relationships — the kind of deep, belly laughter that feels like freedom.

I was reminded of the day I left my husband of 28 years. I had my bags packed, ready to start a new chapter and move in with my daughter in Australia. As I walked down the path toward my car, he stood at the front door watching me go.

My friend asked, “So what did he say?
Was it ‘I love you, don’t go’?
Or ‘I’m so sorry, please stay’?
Or ‘I love you so much, I can’t live without you’?”

I smiled and said, “No, actually… none of those.”
What he said was:
‘What about me? What am I going to do?’

We laughed together for ages — not in cruelty, but in recognition. Because that one sentence said it all.

It wasn’t love. It was possession. It wasn’t “we,” it was “me.”
And that moment, years later, still reminds me how far I’ve come — from living under someone else’s needs to finally living my own life.

From a psychological perspective, this kind of self-centred response is common in emotionally immature or narcissistic dynamics. The person doesn’t see your pain or your choice — they only see the loss of control. It’s not empathy; it’s ego.

But here’s the beautiful part: when we can laugh about it, it means we’ve healed.
Laughter signals that the emotional charge has faded — that the amygdala (the brain’s fear and stress center) no longer controls the memory. Instead, the prefrontal cortex — the rational, wise, adult part of the brain — has taken over.

That’s the neuroscience of freedom: when the past no longer hurts, it just becomes a story that makes you laugh with a friend over a glass of wine.

And laughter, as science shows, releases endorphins and oxytocin — the chemistry of joy, connection, and safety. It’s proof that you’re not only surviving… you’re thriving.

So yes — we laughed for ages.
Because sometimes the best sign of healing is when the story that once broke you now just makes you laugh. 💛