“If you don’t learn how to laugh at troubles, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you grow old.” –Edward W. Howe
The value of humor in staying healthy and coping with problems is underrated. Laughter is a natural healer. It doesn’t simply make us feel good temporarily; it reduces tension and has beneficial physiological effects. Laughter and an active sense of humor may even reduce your risk for heart disease.
People love to laugh; the average adult laughs 17 times a day. In fact, we love to laugh so much that there are entire industries built around it. Jokes, sitcoms and comedians are all designed to get us laughing. Laughing makes us feel good.
The ability to laugh is helpful to those coping with major illness and stress. Researchers say that laughter can enhance the immune system and help us fight disease. It has been proven that laughter reduces levels of stress hormones.
In this time of constant stress due to the pandemic and the way it has negatively impacted out lives, humor is more necessary to our well-being than ever.
The psychological benefits of humor are quite amazing. People often suppress negative emotions such as anger, sadness and fear, rather than expressing them. Laughter provides a harmless release for these negative emotions. Have you noticed that you feel better after watching a funny movie when you’re upset? Mental health professionals are suggesting laughter therapy (also known as humor therapy or therapeutic humor).
Norman Cousins, esteemed journalist and author of Anatomy of an Illness, spent months in the hospital and believed that his sense of humor was his first line of defense against defeating his illness. www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/wellness/1986/10/21/norman-cousins-still-laughing/e17f23cb-3e8c-4f58-b907-2dcd00326e22/
One morning his breakfast tray was delivered at the same time an aide brought him a cup for a urine sample. He decided to have a little fun with his nurse. He poured his apple juice into the urine cup. When the nurse came in to get the sample, she commented on how cloudy it looked. He took the cup, looked at it, and said, “Well, let’s run it through again,” and drank it!
My father had Alzheimer’s disease. All his life he loved to fish: fresh water, salt water, from a pier or on a boat—he loved it all. As his disease progressed, he was no longer able to drive to fishing areas. Instead, he went through my mother’s magazines and clipped out cartoons related to fishing, and “the one that got away.” It was a wonderful way of keeping him connected to his hobby, it gave him something to do to keep him out of mother’s hair for a few minutes, and later it gave us something to laugh together about.
I keep humor in my life by keeping an album of things that make me laugh. When I am upset, I pull out my humor notebook and look at the cartoons or the humor that is in every Caregiver eLetter. I start smiling and begin to relax. Your brain is one-tracked: you can only focus on one thing at a time. When you are laughing, you cannot be fearful, or worrying, or anxious. I encourage you to make a humor book for yourself. I bet you it will make a difference.
Call me and let’s talk about ways to make your relationships with your favorite older adults happier. 972-839-0065
Kay Paggi, NCGC, LPC, CMC
Kay Paggi's Blog 