Using Humor in Therapy to Reframe Your Story (Cambridge MA)

Every once in a while, the internet gifts us with something so perfect, so unexpectedly delightful, that it lodges itself deep into our psyches and refuses to leave. This week’s winner? A viral Instagram post that casually — and quite correctly, I might add — renamed peacocks as disco chickens.

Let that sink in: Disco. Chickens.

It’s not just a funny name. It’s a deeply accurate rebranding. Because what are peacocks if not glam-rock birds strutting their iridescent stuff like they’re part of an Elton John concert? Feathered divas with built-in glitter capes and a flair for dramatic entrances? Yes. Yes they are.

Why Disco Chickens Matter

It’s easy to forget that delight has a role in our survival. That playfulness is a coping mechanism. That laughter is sometimes the only way to make sense of a chaotic world.

When I saw the phrase “disco chickens,” I laughed — but I also felt. I felt joy. I felt the absurd, beautiful truth that sometimes life is just about shimmering for no good reason, fanning your tail feathers, and letting the world see you shine.

What if we all took a little inspiration from the disco chicken?

• Wear the thing you feel fabulous in — even if it’s wildly impractical.

• Walk into rooms like your entrance deserves theme music.

• Remember that beauty doesn’t have to be useful to be worth celebrating.
  

And Also: Let’s Talk About Reframing

On a deeper note, there’s something powerful about renaming. Calling a peacock a disco chicken is playful, yes — but it’s also an act of re-seeing. Of taking something familiar and giving it new light, new energy, new context.

In therapy, we do this all the time. We take the language of shame and rewrite it in the language of survival. We take awareness of thoughts, feelings, and urges and help people see themselves anew — not as broken, but as brilliantly adapted, creative, and still becoming. Like the part of you that binge-eats — not because it wants you to become obese or develop type II diabetes, but because it’s trying to keep you safe. It’s protecting you from feeling hurt, sad, or alone.

Or the part that feels disgusted — not because you're broken, but because of trauma. That disgust is a messenger. It’s showing you where your boundaries are.

So maybe that’s the magic of the disco chicken. It reminds us that renaming isn’t just silly — it’s sacred.

In Conclusion: Be the Disco Chicken

Whether you’re strutting through your day feeling fabulous or dragging your tired self to the next thing, may you channel just a little bit of disco chicken energy.

Embrace pizazz when you can. Make people laugh. And never underestimate the power of a good reframe.