Humor and stress relief, laughter the best medicine.
How does humor relieve tension? What are the positive effects of laughter?
Worry and anxiety are the most widespread causes of stress and distress today. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the drugs prescribed most in America are tranquilizers, and the most widely used non-prescriptive drug is aspirin…
Too much negative stress! Too little humor!
A sense of humor and the ability to laugh have been scientifically proven to lessen the effects of stress on your health and reduce tension.
Laughter is Nature’s form of holistic medicine and stress relief. Scientists are not sure why we have a sense of humor but smiling and laughter are innate. We all have the ability to laugh and smile!
The latest research shows that humor also boosts the immune system’s ability to fight disease.
In fact, clowning in hospitals has become a growth industry…
But knowledge of the healing power of laughter was around even hundreds of years ago…
“The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than 20 donkeys laden with drugs.”
Thomas Sydenham, 17th century English physician
The effects of humor and stress relief are difficult to analyse in a laboratory, but the physical benefits of humor have a firm scientific basis. Norman Cousins is perhaps one of the best known cases of laughter being used to combat illness…
In his best selling book Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient: Reflections on Healing and Regeneration, Cousins details his remarkable recovery from a potentially fatal disease. He took control of his treatment, part of which consisted of humor therapy. Really worth reading!
Interestingly, humor (or lack of) can also be used to diagnose depression and can be used to shift a depressed state…
Are you getting the proper amount of laughter each day?
Explore the theory of laughter therapy and apply it to your life to boost your immune system and relieve tension in this Self-Healing Expressions email course.
- Examine how much you think daily and be guided toward a state of being versus a state of thinking. Learn to find the Tee Hee in the moment.
- Discover how laughter can help reduce symptoms of allergies, abdominal pain and digestive problems — to name a few. And help you manage anger and fear.
- Learn of the relationship between laughter and tears, and the role of both in healing grief.
- Link the spirit of laughter to your spiritual health.
- Finally, learn to embrace your uniqueness and share your laughing spirit with others for years to come.
I love a good laugh! And even if it were nothing more than sheer silliness and fun, it would still be a gift in my life…
But we now know that it is far more than that, that it is, in fact – an essential element in emotional health and has huge benefits for stress relief, pain management, reduction of muscle tension and promoting a positive attitude.
(Click here to see a photo of Margo and her sister, Gillian having a BIG laugh!)
I had a good laugh, and a serious think, when reading the Swami’s 10 New Commandments, an alternative look at life, and all life’s ‘stuff’…
If you enjoyed our page on Humor And Stress Relief, you might also enjoy:
- More about the positive effects of laughter for relieving tension.
- Quotes About Laughter
- Funny Thought for the Day.
Remember to through back your head and have a good laugh at least once a day and enjoy living better every day!
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