Laughter the Best Medicine

Your attitude affects your health.

For example, a negative attitude adversely affect your health. In fact, it’s been reported that people with negative attitude have a 19 percent greater chance of premature death!

Whereas when your attitude is optimistic, you positively affect your health. Have you ever noticed that when you’re upbeat you feel more energetic? When you think positive, uplifting thoughts which put a sparkle in your eye, a smile on your face, a spring in your step, you’re happy. How could that be anything good for you?

Laughter comes easily for most. Even so most people don’t laugh for their own good health. Illness is generally not considered a laughing matter, but perhaps it would help us to poke fun at ourselves if we’re not as well as we could be.
Laughter is a form of mental jogging. It moves our internal organ, is energizing, stress reducing, life affirming, and helps you deal with challenges. Lightness supports us; heaviness weighs us down—so let’s be lighthearted as much possible.
Is it just a coincidence that most comedians live a long life? Consider the longevity of Al Jolson, Jimmy Durante, Bob Hope, George Burns, Red Skelton, and Milton Berle, to name a few.

Why is this?

While they make others laugh – they laugh (at least inwardly), and that helps them and other people relax and have fun. Laughter and positive feelings release endorphins into the body. These are proteins that occur naturally in the brain and have potent pain relieving properties that can work wonders to heal an illness. Endorphins are natural pain killers and mood elevators.

Laughter allows us at least temporarily, to forget our ills and troubles. It increases our pulse rate and gives our respiratory system a good workout.

Two soldiers were being held in prison for two different reasons. The first soldier said to the other one,
"I'm being detained for two weeks for going AWOL (Absence Without Leave). What are you in here for and for how long?"
"Oh, I'm here for one day for killing the General" The other soldier replied.
"What?" The first soldier exclaimed. "I went AWOL and got 2 weeks and you killed the General and just got 1 day?"
"Yup…The other soldier replied. "But I'm getting executed tomorrow"

In his book Anatomy of an Illness, Norman Cousins relates that he had a serious life threatening life disease. His prognosis was poor. Knowing that, he realized that his only hope for recovery lay within himself. He was convinced that along with his doctor’s guidance, a cheerful, fun loving attitude, hope, and faith would help him recover.

He would not allow a negative statement or thought to invade his conscious mind. He rented a motel room, borrowed a movie projector, and viewed old Marx Brothers comedies and Candid Camera TV show to help him laugh and feel happy. Endorphins were released and, to his amazement of his doctors, his disease went into remission. Cousins lived many more productive years and continued his research on how our state of mind affects our bodies.

When you are well, laughter can help you stay well; if you aren’t well, it can help you get well. It has a curative effect on emotions, body, and mind. It’s contagious, allowing your family, friends, and associates to catch it, helping them fight their health and emotional problems as well. Laughter can be used daily as a delightful cost-free therapy.
Keep your life as much fun as possible. Learn to laugh easily and don’t take yourself so seriously. A lot of the things you may be worried about, in the long run, probably don’t really matter. You’re not alone-we all need to remember this! So do your best to put things into perspective. It’ll help you be healthier and happier. Ask yourself, “Will this matter in five years?” Oftentimes, situations are not worthy of thought –even next week-let alone in five years!

We can, with practice, become better and better at taking the challenges of life in stride. We can learn not to over analyze them and better control our attitude and emotional response. As a result, we’ll have more energy to work through the situations, others will enjoy being around us more, and we’ll be happier and more successful. It’s definitely not worth the effort!

Adapted from “If it is up to be It’s up to me” by Thomas B. Smith