Family & relationships
Laughter
Is The Best Medicine
When was the last time you had a big
belly laugh, a laugh so hard that tears
came to your eyes? Laughter is healing. Laughter has the power to heal
our bodies, our emotions, our souls and
our relationships. Laughter is transformative. As e. e. cummings said,
“The most wasted of all days is one
without laughter.”
Laughter is Good Medicine
Laughter lowers our blood pressure
and our stress levels and is good for
our hearts. Norman Cousins claimed
in Anatomy of Illness that ten minutes
of belly rippling laughter would give
him two hours of pain-free sleep where
nothing - not even morphine - could
help. If you need more proof of laughter as good medicine, watch Patch
Adams, starring Robin Williams about
the real Patch Adams who brought
laughter and fun back into the hospital. Or just try a good dose of laughter
for yourself.
Laughter and Stress Don’t Mix
Years ago I had a very stressful job
and was going through a divorce. A
very insightful friend told me that
something had to change. I learned
first-hand that when we’re really
stressed, we stop laughing. I’ll take the
laughter over stress every time. Now,
you can even participate in laughter
therapy or laughter yoga. Healthy
laughter is well recognized as a cure
for stress.
What Good Laughter
Is Not
Laughter is not making
fun of another. Laughter
doesn’t put another
“You don
down or ridicule. It’s
’t stop lau
not sarcasm and never
ghing
you grow
hostile. Laughter is never
old. You g because
ro
because y
to be used to make fun of
ou stop la w old
another’s actions, race,
ughing.”
- Michael
religion, beliefs, ethnicPritchard
ity, sexual orientation, or values.
Laughter should never to be used
to control, hurt, shame or disrespect
What Makes You Laugh?
another. These actions are not funny.
They always destroy relationships.
Who makes you laugh?
They cause us to pull away and
disconnect.
Who do you make laugh?
Deal With The Big Issues First
Laughter is misused when we hide
behind big issues instead of dealing
with them. Just putting on a happy
face and pushing away or denying feelings of anger,