Laughter 😀 ... the best medicine?

[Guest8901]

Do you feel better after having a good laugh? It's scientifically proven that laughter is a really strong medicine, and results in significant health benefits. Did you know that laughter gives your mood a boost, helps to diminish pain, protects you from the many ill-effects of stress and aids your immune system?

Kids seem to laugh a lot, but as we reach adult status we tend to become more serious and laughter becomes less frequent. No doubt everyday stresses and adult responsibilities play a large part in this transition.

But wouldn't it be nice to find ways or opportunities to seek more humour and to be able to laugh more often? In doing so, you're (apparently) on track to improve emotional health, strengthen relationships, find greater happiness and possibly even add years to your life expectancy. And perhaps best of all, laughter - as an invaluable medicine - is fun, free, and user friendly.

When we're in the depths of depression and anxiety it often seems almost impossible to find anything to laugh about. So I've opened this thread in the hope of sharing the benefits of laughter, and to provide a place we can share what makes us laugh and to discover new ways of bringing laughter back into our lives.

If you'd like to share jokes or funny stories with others here, I'd love to read them, and hopefully others will too. Please keep jokes clean and respectful, in line with the community rules.

I'd also love to hear how you're able to add a bit of lightness and humour into your life, especially when times are tough. I'll post some ideas too, as I come across some. What makes you laugh - children, pets, movies? Do you have a favourite movie, one which you can be sure will give you a real belly laugh, or at least a giggle?

Please post anything to do with laughter here. Whether it's telling a personal funny story, recommending a funny movie, how you feel laughter has helped you feel better, ways you have found to bring laughter into your life.

Remember ... laughter is seriously good medicine for your health, both physical and mental. So let's all share ways we can have more of it. 😀

Amanda

[Birdy77]

Hi Amanda and all 😊

I once submitted ten puns to a competition, hoping that one would win.

No pun in ten did ...

[Guest8901]

Thanks so much Romantic. Yes .. I'm quite partial to the odd 'Dad Joke' too. 😊 And kids are a real joy, they are just so natural and spontaneous. I've never been to any stand up comedy live shows, but would be interested if any came my way. Though given I'm rural there really isnt much come our way. Pity.

Birdy - hi and thanks for your contribution. Love your pun and had a good giggle over it! 😊

Hey everyone - whether you're in a fit of side-splitting laughter at a sitcom on TV or quietly chuckling at a corny joke or pun, laughing really does do you good. Laughter is a fantastic and very real form of stress relief ... no joke. 😀 So try to set aside some time each day to pursue laughter and develop your own unique sense of humour.

Amanda 💜

[geoff]

Hi Amanda, it's a good thread by what's been said, and it still pleases me when I can get my ex to still laugh at the comments I make, no one else could find the humour except for her, I suppose I miss her, I love her, but we couldn't live together again.

Geoff.

[Guest8901]

How do we set about finding ways to bring laughter into our lives and thus help to increase our MH wellness? I'm going to make a few suggestions now, but please add any additional tips. We can all use as much help as we can get to add laughter and light into our lives. Our sense of humour is unique, so what works for some, will not for others. And what is funny to one, may not be to another. So, the more tips the better.

Laughter is a natural part of life. Infants smile during the first weeks of life and laugh within months of birth. Even if laughter is not common to you, you can still learn to laugh at any stage of life. Start by setting aside times to seek out humour and laughter, similar to an exercise regime, and build from there. In time, you’ll be incorporating humour and laughter into your life naturally in everything you do. Here are a few ways to help get started.

• Smile - it's the beginning of laughter and it too is contagious. Practice smiling, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, shopkeepers, or co-workers. You'll notice the effect this has on those benefiting from your smile.

• Count your blessings - make a list. The act of acknowledging good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts, which are a barrier to humour and laughter.
• When you hear laughter, gravitate towards it. People are generally very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humour you find in it.
• Spend time with fun, playful people, those who laugh easily both at themselves and at life’s absurdities. These are the people who easily find the humour in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don’t consider yourself a light hearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh.

• Bring humour into your conversations. Ask people what's the funniest thing they've seen or heard, or talk about a recent comedy show on TV.

Some suggestions to encourage laughter:

• Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video
• Invite friends or co-workers to go to comedy show
• Seek out funny people
• Share a good joke or a funny story
• Check out tje humour section in bookstores
• Play with a pet, or goof around with kids
• Do something 'silly'
• Make time for activities which are fun for you

Remember that the good feeling you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides.

Amanda 😀 💜

[Guest8901]

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. It works quickly and dependably in bringing your mind and body back into balance. Humour lightens our burdens, inspires hope, connects us to others. Its also very effective at keeping you grounded, focused and alert, plus it releases anger and makes us more forgiving of others and self.

The ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous way of helping to cope with problems, improve relationships and support physical and emotional health.

Laughter relaxes our whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress and leaves our muscles relaxed.

Laughter boosts the immune system by reducing stress hormones and increasing immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and temporarily relieves pain.

Laughter protects the heart by improving the function of blood vessels and increasing blood flow, which can help protect us against cardiovascular problems.

Laughter burns calories. Not exactly a substitute for a full gym workout, but still of benefit because losing weight is helpful to our self esteem.

Laughter reduces anger and conflict. It helps to put problems into perspective and enables us to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

Laughter may help you to live longer. Studies have found that people with a strong sense of humor outlive those who don't laugh as much, which was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

In summary, the mental health specific benefits of laughter are:

• It adds enjoyment to life
• It eases anxiety and tension
• It releases stress
• It improves our mood
• It strengthens our resilience

But overall, laughter just makes you feel good. That good feeling you get when you laugh remains with you long after the laughter subsides. Humour helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

But it's more than that. Laughter gives us the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope in our lives. Even in very difficult of times a laugh, or a simple smile, can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter is so contagious, because just hearing laughter primes our brain and readies us to smile and join in the fun.

Perhaps you could post about something which caused you to laugh today?

Amanda 😀

[Crazy_hyper_girl]

I have got a good idea.

Why don't you all listen to your favourite song and sing and dance out loud it works for me every time, its fun and it makes me feel less lonely. While your doing it you can laugh at how bad you sing unless your actually a good singer. Pretend your with 50 or so people and your having the greatest party of all time. It also erases all the bad thoughts in your head. Maybe even get a camera and film yourself dancing and singing crazily

[Guest8901]

Oh yeah, great idea there Crazy. Perhaps you can start us all off then? I must warn you that I am no singer, not at any stretch of the imagination. And my dancing ability leaves a little bit to be desired. Although I did used to do ballroom and latin dancing many years ago. Perhaps my current attempts at that could bring some hearty laughter to those watching? 😀 I need something to laugh at right now, anxiety and stress is getting to me today. Too much on my plate. A crazy dance sequence could be just what I need. Laughter and exercise all rolled into one. Thanks CHG.

Amanda 💜

[Crazy_hyper_girl]

You dont need to be a good singer, the worse the better it would be funnier if you were bad anyway. Maybe you should start dancing in a group if you have anyone or create a group on Facebook to the public that way you can meet new people and have a good laugh. Glad that you have tried out my suggestion tell me how it goes.

[Guest8901]

I watched a TV program tonight which was quite good. It was called "Little Big Shots" and was on the 7 network at 7.30pm. Its a show about talented kids, and hosted by a comedian. Kids can be so funny! I had a good laugh. Did anyone else see it? It will be on for several more weeks I think.

Amanda 😄

[Guest8901]

The ability to obtain stress relief through laughter is very real and scientifically proven. Naturally, having a good sense of humour is not going to cure all our problems, but there are definite positives to laughter as a therapy.

Short-term benefits

• When you start to laugh, not only does it lighten your load mentally, it also causes physical changes in your body. Laughter stimulates many of our internal organs. It increases our intake of oxygen-rich air, it stimulates our heart, lungs and muscles. And it increases endorphins released by our brain.
• Laughter activates and relieves our stress response. A good laugh fires up and then cools down our stress response, and can increase your heart rate and blood pressure. This results in a good, relaxed feeling.
• Laughter soothes built up tension. It stimulates our blood circulation and helps with muscle relaxation, which combined helps to reduce many physical symptoms of stress.

Long-term effects

Laughter is also good for you over the long term. Laughter is known to:

• Improve your immune system - Negative thoughts cause chemical reactions which affect our body by bringing more stress into your system and decreasing your immunity. Where as, positive thoughts releases peptides that help fight stress.
• Relieve pain - laughter has the ability to ease pain by causing our body to produce its own natural painkillers.
• Increase personal satisfaction - Laughter can make it easier to cope with difficult situations. It also helps us to connect with other people.
• Improve your mood - Many of us experience depression, and laughter can help lessen our depression and anxiety and will usually make you feel happier overall.

So please keep in mind that laughter really is the best medicine, and we all need to try our best to give it a try. Hopefully every day. Turn up the corners of your mouth into a smile and then have a laugh ... even if it feels a forced. Once you've had your chuckle, take stock of how you feel. Are your muscles less tense? Do you feel more relaxed, more buoyant, like a load has been taken off your shoulders? Well, that is the natural wonder of laughter at work. I hope it works for you.

Amanda