Laugh Until It Heals
Yesterday, I
had a call with a group of folks who plan a huge conference and training
session for the American Association of Critical Care Nursing. We worked hard,
brain storming ideas off of one another, and thinking of ways to be better than
we were last year.
We discussed
research implication and ideas behind the idea of what people will eventually
come to see as “something that looks easy.” I knew we were working hard because
my head was hurting.
In the midst of the hard work and
headache was a great deal of laughter.
At one
point, we laughed so hard that the pain from my head had joined the one in my
gut.
I love to
make others laugh, but ironically, I don’t laugh easily; most humorists don’t.
We are too busy analyzing the humor and why people find it funny. So when I get
the chance to laugh hard, I take it.
Laughter increases memory, lowers the
blood pressure, gives your muscles a work-out in your face, legs, back abdominals
and diaphragm. Laughter reduces stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline and does
even more.
So why don’t
we laugh more often? For the most part, I think we have not learned how and
when to laugh. The humor in the U.S. has moved from laughing at a bad situation to
laughing at the people in that situation. That move has also led to a movement
of political correctness which in some ways keeps us from laughing entirely.
Don’t get me
wrong, we need something that tells us when we have gone too far, but we still
need to laugh.
·
We
need to laugh at ourselves until we find a way out of our situation.
·
We
need to laugh at the ironies of life
·
We
need to laugh with one another
·
We
need to laugh through our pain.
Yesterday, I laughed and learned and felt what it means to laugh at
absolutely nothing and I was renewed.
Today, make yourself laugh. Seriously; get in front of a mirror and just
laugh until you feel your abs contract, then laugh some more.
Laughter heals.
Be you, be well, be a healer.
Bertice Berry, PhD.
yes, laughter makes healthy
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