Laughter Heals!
“I love people who make me laugh. I honestly think it is the thing I like most, to laugh. It cures a multitude of ills. It’s probably the most important thing in a person.” (Audrey Hepburn)
Want to live longer?
Have better health?
Deal more effectively with a long-term or critical illness?
Address stressors of being isolated or in quarantine with family or friends (such as during CV-19 Stay-at-Home times)?
Laugh for a healthier life (even if you don’t feel like laughing)
Let’s talk about laughter’s healing power!
Norman Cousins, author of “Anatomy of an Illness”, had an incurable, progressive, connective tissue disease and was told he would only live a few months. Cousins decided that rather than wait for death, he would become proactive in his health care management and attitude.
He obtained movies he'd always enjoyed, including infamous Marx Brothers films and Allen Funt's "Candid Camera" episodes. Cousins read humorous books and reported 10 minutes of 'genuine belly' laughter would relieve his intense pain for hours.
While hospitalized, he began a routine of watching movies, laughing, sleeping, re-watching the movies to relieve pain...over and over. Eventually, he was moved out of the hospital because his laughter was disturbing other patients. He continued his 'treatment' with astounding results.
WHY DOES LAUGHTER WORK TO HEAL?
Laughter is defined (Merriam Webster Dictionary) as “show emotion (such as mirth, joy, or scorn) with a chuckle or explosive vocal sound; to find amusement or pleasure in something”
Nervous laughter comes from anxiety or discomfort (such as when someone makes a comment, curses or says something that makes us uncomfortable, or says something that is sarcastic), whereas true laughter is a release that
You are more likely to laugh in a crowd or with a group than when in private. But laughing in private may be one of the most effective ways to heal.
•Laughter doesn't allow you to be caught in a cycle of despair, depression or pain.
“Always laugh when you can…it’s cheap medicine.” (Lord Byron)
•Laughter releases 'endorphins' in the brain, which act as a natural medication for both the body and mind.
•Laughter, even for the very ill, causes the muscles of your body to work and exercise! Remember the phrase, "I laughed till I hurt?" Didn't your stomach & side muscles feel like you'd been weightlifting?
•Laughter is contagious! (Much like a yawn is contagious). When we are depressed, sad, feel isolated or feel down in the dumps, we don't feel like laughing. In times like these, we may have to 'jump-start' the process. This is basically the role clowns play at a rodeo or circus. Not only do they redirect a panicked or angry animal's attention, but their irreverent, seemingly foolish behaviors also effectively redirect the crowd's attention and relieve tensions.
Here are several ways to engage in laughter even if we don't really feel like laughing initially:
Watch a movie that always caused you to laugh in the past. We're talking about full-bodied ‘belly laugh’ laughter, not just giggles. Laugh out loud! It’s ok! This type of laughter is also the most ‘honest’ type of laughter because it makes you laugh with your entire body and mind.
Read comics in the newspaper
Read humorous books or your favorite collections of cartoons
Go to a bookstore and read only material in the humor sections
Watch television sitcoms
Watch tapes of stand-up comedians
Rent a video of sports 'bloopers'
Visit that old friend who was the proverbial 'class clown' or jokester
Sign up on the internet for jokes which can be emailed or texted to you
Share funny stories & jokes at home, via mail, phone, online or internet with friends and family…to help you laugh.
Hang out with, or keep in touch with, others who enjoy laughing and lift your spirits.
“I live to laugh…
and I laugh to live!”
(Milton Berle)
Norman Cousins speaks of families who competed to find the funniest jokes to share with ill family members. As a patient and the family began to focus on this activity rather than on the depressing prognosis of the illness, there was an improvement in the health issues and a marked improvement in the family's relationship. Where despair had been, laughter was the highlight of the day.
A ten-year U.S. Grant research study by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, the Building Family Strengths study, indicated one of the six major indicators consistently found in strong families was their shared humor. And those who didn't initially have laughter as a part of their family, but developed shared humor, would became stronger...and happier. The power of family or group involvement in humor may have a greater impact on 'community' than society tends to acknowledge.
"Laughter in the Basement" tells the story of a group of behavioral scientists who designed, constructed, and tested a 'humor center', where jokes, costumes, humorous material, and expressive creative outlets were utilized at participant's own choice. Participant’s actions were recorded through one-way mirrors. Standardized psychological tests (before and after they entered the area) revealed the environment elevated moods of each participant.
Scientists concluded, 'mirth promotes social harmony'. ("It's a Funny Thing, Humor") "Laugher provides the outlet for otherwise unacceptable feelings, behaviors and impulses by facilitating talking about or acting out conflicts or emotions in a safe, non-threatening way." (Dr. Laurence Peter, The Laughter Prescription).
In his book, Dr. Peter emphasized the powerful impact one person's laughter may have on another.
"Make others laugh. By creating happiness for others, you will experience a special joy of accomplishment that only a lively, generous sense of humor can bring."
Dr. Peter also states that humor serves an important role in easing tensions, in both the individual and in relationships with others. "...although each ethnic group has a unique humor style, humor itself is universal....a unifying force...it is hoped that mirth will be developed as one of the new ways of easing international tensions and communicating similarities among peoples of all nations".
“The human race has one really effective weapon—laughter.“
(Mark Twain)
“Laughter is, and will always be, the best form of therapy.” (Du Viore)
There is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good humor.” (Charles Dickens)
Comedian Jimmy Durante (of the humongous nose!) once said, "It dawned on me then that as long as I could laugh, I was safe from the world; and I have learned since that laughter keeps me safe from myself, too. All of us have schnozzles--are ridiculous in one way or another, if not in our faces, then in our characters, minds, or habits. When we admit our schnozzles, instead of defending them, we begin to laugh, and the world laughs with us."
Ethel Barrymore shares similar sentiments, "You grow up the day you have your first real laugh--at yourself."
USE HUMOR AS MEDICINE
Humor is used to break tension. Some individuals or groups use alcohol to create a 'relaxed' environment; however, alcohol is a depressant, whereas humor or laughter utilizes the body's natural chemicals to heal or relax. Following or during times of crisis, trauma, or loss, never be afraid of offending others or feeling guilty about trying to make attempts to naturally ‘get back to normal’.
Laughter creates so many positive physical and mental health advantages!
Laughter improves your health, just as exercise and good nutrition does.
Laughter relaxes the body. That causes increased and improved blood flow to all parts of your body and brain, improving circulation. Yeah! It makes our brains work better! Who knew our brains would work better if we laughed more often?!
Laughter lowers blood sugar levels.
Laughter strengthens the immune system.
Laughter serves as a distraction, which can relieve, or help relieve pain.
Laughter can help you sleep better.
Laughter reduces stress chemicals in the brain, which improves mental health and mood.
Laughter may help you make friends, as laughter is contagious! Who would you rather be with…a fussy baby or one who is smiling and laughing? An grumpy old man or one who loves to laugh? A passive aggressive adolescent or who is laughing and enjoying life?
Laughter spreads positivity, increases good feelings, and relaxes those who share in its participation.
TV Host and comedian, Steve Allen, realized that, no matter how innocent the intent, someone would always be offended by any joke he told. He said, "Tragedy plus time equals comedy." He recognized there's a time and place for everything and we must evaluate the circumstances as best we can. If a crowd isn't yet ready for humor or laughter, make certain you personally, possibly even privately, take steps to manage your mental and physical health by engaging in laughter.
Humor helps put life back into perspective, no matter what burden one may carry. It's good to get your mind off troubles and turn away from images or thoughts which are painful.
Everyone has a ‘sense of humor’, which means there are things they find that are funny. If you tell a joke, and it doesn’t ‘go over well’, it means that the people you are with do not share your same sense of humor.
A person who laughs readily at a variety of situations, has what we call a ‘good sense of humor’. Some people are funny, which means they are skilled at making other people laugh, even though they may never laugh much themselves.
Know what’s humorous to your audience and the location. Why?
There are appropriate times for laughter and times when it is not appropriate. (Ecclesiastes 3:4 says there is “a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance…”). A funeral is such a time to mourn. Laughter may come later, but it will come when we have healed from our specific loss, so we must find other things to bring us joy, especially during those times.
Humor may be regional, which means that jokes that are funny to people who live in New York may not be funny to people living in Iowa, or people telling a joke about a cowboy in Texas may not be humorous to someone in New Jersey.
There are people who laugh readily and could not tell a good joke if their life depended upon it. You don’t call these people funny, but they do live a much more pleasant life than others if they are able to enjoy laughter and humor as part of their personality and life.
You don’t have to be funny to have a wonderful sense of humor!
Laughter can be cruel or derisive (such as angry sarcasm or ‘dirty positives’ that people may laugh at out of discomfort, as a nervous release, or laughter at the humiliation or expense of another). As a member of the Fuller family, we used sarcasm as a way to create laughter, as our lives weren’t all that funny. We actually tried to out-do each other with our sarcastic quips. Yet as an adults, I’ve grown to recognize that, “Sarcasm is humor’s angry cousin.” Even though sarcasm may be humorous, may have a history in a family & create shared memories of laughter, or cause us to laugh at times, it does not have the healing power of true humor. It also often alienates and causes harm to others to whom it may be directed.
True laughter that heals releases tensions rather than creating tension.
Biblical Proverbs state, "He that is of a merry heart has a continual feast" and "A merry heart is a good medicine".
Following loss, tragedy, or depression, returning to normal will take time. Joy and laughter greatly speed the process toward recovery, both physically and mentally.
Make time for laughter today! Better yet, make time to laugh with family and friends!
“There are times in my clients’ lives when there isn’t much that is humorous, and some clients are not experiencing joy or happiness when they begin therapy. As they begin to address their difficult life issues, humor sometimes helps put things into perspective. One of the signs I will see as clients’ mental health improves is that they are able to laugh more freely. I see them smiling more frequently; sometimes they even begin to share funny jokes or stories that we laugh at together. Laughter does heal…and it is also a sign of someone who is managing life more positively and to a more effective degree.” - Clifton Fuller, LCSW, LMFT, LPC
