What's all this Buzz About Therapeutic Humor....

Who doesn’t enjoy laughing? But when you are sick, laughter can be the last thing you might think of to help you feel better. So what is therapeutic humor or humor therapy?  The definition from encyclopedia.com is: “Humor therapy is the art of using humor and laughter to help heal people with physical or mental illness.”  Believe it or not, there is research to support the use of humor in healing. I remember reading a book called “Anatomy of an Illness” by Norman Cousins years ago and being impressed by his healing journey. He was a political journalist, author, professor and peace advocate and developed the sudden onset of a severe crippling connective tissue disease and ankylosing spondylitis. His prognosis was poor for recovery and he decided to immerse himself in humor by watching episodes of Candid Camera and the Marx Brothers. When he had genuine belly laughter, he had pain free episodes that allowed him to sleep. He lived and thrived much longer than his doctor’s thought possible. 

Norman Cousin’s quotes: “Life is an adventure in forgiveness.”

“Laughter is inner jogging”

     “The capacity for hope is the most significant fact of life. It provides human beings with a sense of destination and the energy to get started.”

Other humor quotes:

Proverbs 17:22 “ A cheerful heart is a good medicine, but a downcast spirit dries up the bones.”

And way back in the fourteenth century a French surgeon named Henri de Mondeville wrote: “Let the surgeon take care to regulate the whole regimen of the patient’s life for joy and happiness, allowing his relatives and special friends to cheer him, and by having someone tell him jokes.” Do you have friends who tell you jokes?

Here’s an interesting observation: Children laugh 300 times/day. Adults laugh only 15 times per day! Where did our ability to laugh go once we got older? 

Personal reflection:

I am finally feeling better after 3 weeks of a very challenging virus and during my recovery I was sitting outside feeling sorry for myself when I saw a friend post something on Facebook that made me laugh out loud! It totally changed my mood and my attitude. Here is a sample of the autocorrect mishaps in that post:

Texting:
Jane: I know this may sound dumb but is placenta considered gluten? Was thinking of making that with chicken. For when you are here.

Mary: Placenta?? Like from a human? What?

Jane: OMG! Stupid spell check! I meant polenta!

And another one:

Mom: How is our pregnant little daughter?

Jane: Mom, how did you know?

Mom: I meant perfect! Wait, what???!

Here’s a couple one-liners that made me chuckle:

“My girlfriend left me because she couldn’t handle my OCD. I told her to close the door five times on her way out.”  (https://onelinefun.com/health)

“A cop just knocked on my door and told me that my dogs were chasing people on bikes. My dogs don’t even own bikes.”

Do you feel better yet? I love to laugh but when I don’t feel well, it is harder to find something that hits the spot for me. My funny bone changes when I’m sick and not everything is funny that used to make me laugh. 

I ended up in the ER twice in the last week. Once in TN for facial weakness that turned out to be mild Bell’s palsy and fortunately not a stroke. Then one day later in Oregon because of a rapid heart rate diagnosed as atrial fibrillation. Being sick is not for the faint hearted and I am not used to having health issues requiring ER visits! So I really needed some humor! When a volunteer came by to see if I needed anything, I said- “do you have any good jokes?” I think I caught him off guard and he said he would have to think about it. Then I told him one of my favorite jokes instead. He did come back later and shared this one: “What kind of shoes does a frog wear?  Open toad” (toed, get it?)

So I have decided I need more laughter in my life and decided to go to ComedySportz tonight to listen to some improv and have some good belly laughs with my sister and her husband. And I joined the Association for Applied Therapeutic Humor. I may even go to a humor conference next year! 

I hope you can add some laughter to your life, no matter where you are in your life and health journey. It boosts your mood, lowers blood pressure, decreases stress and just feels good!!