When we consider our favorite sitcom characters, people like Chandler on "Friends," Barney on "How I Met Your Mother," or George on "Seinfeld" to name a few, we can't help but laugh.

We feel we know these characters and understand their personalities. In fact, we can sometimes tell when the moment is just right for a certain character to interject with a one-liner to make us laugh. We know their mannerisms, catchphrases, and quirks, and you can be sure that at one time or another, a character did something — or worse, appeared as though they were about to do something — that made us throw our heads into our hands and think, "Oh no, oh stop, please don't do that," as we cringe.

Nonetheless, whether we know every line that comes out of a character's mouth, have a friend who is our Chandler or our George, or identify with a character ourselves, we laugh at them because we’re supposed to laugh and because they're entertaining.

"How I Met Your Mother" has always been a personal favorite, not only because of the humor but also because of the serious moments. I'll always be biased, but as far as I'm concerned, the amount of sincerity and truth in that show far extends that of any other sitcom. Despite the ridiculous shenanigans of the characters, there is always a legendary lesson to be learned, as Ted Mosby tells his two children the story of how he met their mom.

To preface my point here, I need to introduce my uncle — an avid "How I Met Your Mother" fan, who has seen every episode several times and has analyzed both its superficial and deeper meanings.

One day he mentioned something that I had never considered. He said that oftentimes what we're laughing at, or what serves as the context for what we're laughing at, is a lot of pain and hardship. We, very literally, laugh at the characters' pain, something that is disregarded because, of course, the characters are not actually real.

Would we really laugh if our friends were in these situations? Ehh — probably sometimes. As a devoted fan and binge-watcher of many of these shows, I have no intention of criticizing their satire. But I think it's almost paradoxical that we forget what we're laughing at.

A couple examples that come to mind are of Chandler and Monica on "Friends."

Chandler sometimes jokes about his estranged father who stars in drag shows. When he was a kid, his parents announced their divorce on Thanksgiving and soon after, his father ran off with the houseboy. The show makes a mockery of it, when in fact, it not only causes Chandler to despise the holiday but also have a very strained relationship with his dad. He has trust and commitment issues, about which he usually resorts to humor. Furthermore, his friends joke that he will be the last of the group to get married. Thus, what serves as the premise for humor is, in fact, Chandler's broken home.

Similarly, Monica dealt with obesity as a child, something the characters often joke about and flash back to. Her teen years were very uncomfortable for her, having struggled so much socially. In one episode, after watching an old home video of herself, Monica says that the camera "adds ten pounds," to which Chandler replies, "So how many cameras were actually on you?" Furthermore, her brother Ross jokes that she could beat him up as a kid because of her size, despite him being the older brother, and that she was always the one who would eat the family leftovers. We laugh, of course, as is fitting with these scenes, but how interesting that we overlook what's really being said. Of course, obesity is a serious physical health problem and it can take a real emotional toll on a person growing up.

Another good example is Barney on "How I Met Your Mother." When he was young, he asked his mother who his father was. She pointed, rather carelessly, to the TV and said, "That guy." That guy turned out to be Bob Barker, the host of "The Price is Right." As an adult, Barney convinces his friends on several occasions that he truly believes Bob Barker is his father. In one episode, he even becomes a contestant on "The Price is Right" and acts very anxious and shy while in Barker’s presence, as though he truly is an estranged son trying not to make a bad impression. When Barney comes home to his friends after starring on the show, they ask him — though joking — why he didn't mention his “identity” to Barker. He responds — also joking — that it might upset him. The audience is meant to laugh as Barney looks rather disappointed and the scene fades out. In a later episode, Barney explains that he knows Bob Barker isn't his real father but that it was important for him to have a father figure, however fake, to hold onto, and so he allowed himself to believe it. Barney never truly had to come to terms with his real father's absence.

In "Seinfeld" George lives with his parents. When his friend Jerry says that his girlfriend lives with her parents, George suggests that perhaps “living with parents” will become popular. Jerry responds sarcastically by saying that maybe baldness will become popular too, as George is also balding.

As an analyst and sitcom addict, I guess I just think it’s funny what we find funny. The humor is often in the context and the context is often far more complicated than it appears at first.

In our reality, there is a line that we cannot cross. Not everything in our lives can be turned into a joke. Our Chandler probably wouldn’t want us to make jokes about his commitment issues, and our George definitely doesn’t find it funny that he’s still living with his parents.

As I continue to laugh when I watch these shows, my uncle asks me, “Would you really be friends with these people?”

As I already said, I don’t intend to criticize these sitcoms. Their writing is unparalleled and their humor is undeniably in good fun. They keep us entertained and even give us an alternate group of friends to laugh with for twenty-two minutes, a few hours, or a binge session.

Perhaps, if anything, they teach us that it’s okay to laugh and joke about our lives’ imperfections. Maybe we laugh because we can relate, because we’ve been there because we’ve experienced those difficult times and awkward moments, or maybe just because we can always depend on our favorite characters to cross a certain line and make our days a little funnier.