Paradoxical intention is to wish for that which is most feared. by pushing ones fear to exaggeration, usually in a humorous way, the wind is taken out of the sails of the fear.humor is one of those characteristics of the human spirit that, according to frankl, can be used as a source of health. of course, when using humor, one must be careful to understand that the humor is directed toward the symptom, not toward the person. that is, when using paradoxical intention, humor is used as a tool to defeat the symptom, not used to poke fun at a human being.