Laughter is the best medicine?
How many times have you heard that expression?
To be honest, laughter has helped me get through the most difficult times, the darkest hours, and stepped back from the precipice of suicide. It doesn’t mean laughter will take away the pain, suffering, or sadness. No, merely saying laughter helps us have resilience in life so that we can bounce back and have a life. Research has shown how laughter releases those feel-good hormones and has other benefits for our mental and physical health.
“Short-term benefits
A good laugh has great short-term effects. When you start to laugh, it doesn’t just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in your body. Laughter can:
- Stimulate many organs. Laughter enhances your intake of oxygen-rich air, stimulates your heart, lungs, and muscles, and increases the endorphins that are released by your brain.
- Activate and relieve your stress response. A rollicking laugh fires up and then cools down your stress response, and it can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. The result? A good, relaxed feeling.
- Soothe tension. Laughter can also stimulate circulation and aid muscle relaxation, both of which can help reduce some of the physical symptoms of stress.
Long-term effects
Laughter isn’t just a quick pick-me-up, though. It’s also good for you over the long term. Laughter may:
- Improve your immune system. Negative thoughts manifest into chemical reactions that can affect your body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. By contrast, positive thoughts can actually release neuropeptides that help fight stress and potentially more-serious illnesses.
- Relieve pain. Laughter may ease pain by causing the body to produce its own natural painkillers.
- Increase personal satisfaction. Laughter can also make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps you connect with other people.
- Improve your mood. Many people experience depression, sometimes due to chronic illnesses. Laughter can help lessen your depression and anxiety and may make you feel happier.”
Remember what it was like to have a good old fashion belly laugh? Where your ribs hurt from laughing? It is a powerful experience. I love to laugh. Yes, we are all different. Things that make me happy things that I find funny you may not. The idea is to be creative with your own funny bone what works for you and in making you laugh, feel joy, and like life! It is never too late to learn to have a sense of humor.
Laughter is number two in my self-care tool kit.
Anytime I’m feeling stressed, sad, overwhelmed, and off my game, I reached into my self-care tool kit. Exercise is the first thing I think to do and then if that does not work, or part of me is still anxious, stressed, annoyed, depressed, then the second is finding something to laugh about today and each day. Remember fitness may not work for you for a variety of reasons.
To be honest, sometimes you can just use the internet, Google, or YouTube to find funny animal videos. Looking at anything funny or gives you a sense of joy and happiness. This looks and feels different for each of you. I like looking at Carol Burnett and bloopers from other shows, sharks, and laughing goats. Yes, laughing goats. You could spend hours and hours watching and listening to funny stories, seeing funny pictures, and enjoying the humor of others.
The good thing about humor is that there is no one-size-fits-all.
Let’s face it my husband and I at times, have a dark and silly sense of humor that we share only with each other. Based on our life experiences and work we have our own way to find the funny. However, there are lots of things in my life I find funny that other people would not enjoy all. Folks that’s fine! Find and create your own ways to see the ‘haha’ of life. To find humor in life. To find, see and feel the joy in your life.
Each day my friends, we have a choice. We could be miserable and overwhelmed with all the distractions and sadness in the world, or we can choose to find the goodness and the fun.
It’s easy to jump on the slippery slope of gloom and doom it’s more challenging to make that choice to push those negative sticky thoughts out of your head and find the fun, find the funny.
I don’t know when my last day will be but I’ll tell you today I’m going to find something funny to laugh about and lift the inner spirit of love of life.
In our world, our life, and our home the one thing we have complete control over is our attitude.
Yes, life can bloody suck at times, we can be in unhappy relationships and workplaces, there are sadness and trauma. But remember you have control, the empowering ability to find the funny. Seek out positive happy folks who can bring you up in spirits. Set firm boundaries on those who like to be part of the pity parade or the moan groan society.
Life is a gift, be willing to get out of your comfort zone to find the ‘haha’ in your life.
“Laughter is the best medicine
Go ahead and give it a try. Turn the corners of your mouth up into a smile and then give a laugh, even if it feels a little forced. Once you’ve had your chuckle, take stock of how you’re feeling. Are your muscles a little less tense? Do you feel more relaxed or buoyant? That’s the natural wonder of laughing at work.”
