Laughter has been called the best medicine. It relieves stress. Laughter helps us to heal. Did you know that laughter has healing properties? It relaxes your body, releases pain-relieving endorphins, and relieves and rids the body of stress and excess cortisol. Lower stress leads to a more resilient immune system, and it releases health-enhancing endorphins into your system, which help block and relieve pain and to slow the growth of cancer cells.
Stress hormones, such as cortisol can get in the way of healing, but a good round of laughter can reduce their presence in the body and leave you feeling relaxed. Lower stress is also good for increased blood flow, and it also helps your heart.
A good laugh is also important psychologically, lifting your mood. Medical professionals will tell you that a positive attitude is important to healing, and a good laugh is a great way to create positive feelings. It’s all about the healing power of the human spirit. Wisdom is in laughter. It releases resistance; which is so important in feeling happy. Try getting out of your own way by: Watching funny movies, playing with pets, being around the laughter of children, recall something funny from your past that made you laugh. I’m sure you can think of many more ways specific to you that can bring laughter your way.
Laughter can also benefit the people around you. As laughter lifts your mood, it also lifts the spirits of the people around you, and can attract others to you. Psychologically, people respond to smiles and are attracted to laughter. Humor is also important as a coping mechanism for stress and dire situations. We know how important a positive outlook is for your health, and laughter is a great way to keep things in a positive direction.
If someone has an illness then I suggest you look into “The Anatomy of an Illness”, as perceived by the patient, by author Norman Cousins. It’s about combating life-threatening illness through humor and patient participation in care. But you don’t have to have a disease to start laughing yourself into feeling better. This is a good preventative measure to depression.
It’s true you can laugh yourself out of feeling down and depressed if done consistently. At the moments when you are laughing it’s hard to feel sad at the same time.
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Laugh On, Blessings,
Linda Crane