The Benefits of Humour in Managing Everyday Stress

The Benefits of Humour in Managing Everyday Stress
by Bruno Bégin

Most people like to laugh, don’t they? After laughing, we generally feel relaxed, and our muscles are not so tense. Most of us have paid money to see a funny show or movie.

As the years go by, the time we spend laughing and joking tends to decrease as stress factors rise in our everyday lives. How much time do you set aside for laughter in an average day? (By this I mean laughing so hard it hurts!) You may be surprised to learn that only a tiny part of the day (an average of two minutes) is spent laughing, even though laughter is the best antidote for stress!

Historically, it is interesting to see how laughter has been used for therapy over the years. In the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, it says “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.” Many doctors, including Hippocrates, used to prescribe laughter to their patients to cure illnesses of the heart and mind. Indian tribes used to have a funnyman sorcerer to make sick people laugh until they got better! (This would certainly make them want to get better… !). In 1964, an English journalist by the name of Normand Cousin succeeded in curing himself of a degenerative disease by locking himself in a hotel room for three months and watching comedy movies and asking his visitors to make him laugh.

What are the therapeutic powers of laughter?

First of all, laughter allows the brain to secrete cerebral endorphins (a pleasure hormone that has a relaxing effect). Several biochemical reactions are set in motion when we laugh. The lungs take in two to three times as much air and approximately 400 million pulmonary vesicles become dilated. Laughing before eating makes the digestive system secrete enzymes that make it easier to digest food while encouraging more complete intestinal elimination (you could save a lot of money on All Bran this way!). When we laugh, the spleen sends a flow of red blood through the body to strengthen it. The pancreas also increases the secretion of insulin. Laughing even has an impact on the immune system. After someone has laughed, the white blood cell level increases.

Laughing also causes the right hemisphere of the brain (the creative side) to be stimulated and allows the organism to secrete cerebral endorphins (pleasure hormone) to counterbalance the secretion of stress hormones (cortisol, adrenalin) which are controlled primarily by the left hemisphere of the brain (the rational hemisphere). By allowing yourself to have fun, and to be non-judgmental, everyday stress is managed better because you are promoting a better balance between the secretion of stress hormones and pleasure hormones. The best way of doing this is to appreciate every moment in the here and now. Guilt should be left in the past and anxiety can only be lived in the future! An interesting point, isn’t it?

The influence of thought

We are a reflection of our thoughts. What we are today is the result of our past choices, decisions and actions. Do we focus on our fears or desires? If we do, each fear becomes an opportunity to discover the hidden desire behind it. For example, if you are afraid of being sick, perhaps it’s because you want to be healthy. Reality as we describe it is merely a representation of what we have been able to obtain through our five senses: sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste.

Thus confused thoughts lead to a confused life; unhealthy thoughts make the organism ill; depressive thoughts lead to a depressive existence, etc. If life is not smiling upon you, get the upper hand and laugh at life! If happiness is not knocking on your door…change the door! Take control of your life through concrete action that is directly linked to what you want, rather than putting up with the life you have while waiting for happiness to come and find you.

Are you a potential patient? Are you in charge of your illnesses or health? What are you focusing on in your life? The results for you will depend on your thoughts...you have to believe it to see it... What will your decision be from now on?

N.B. When you have sunshine in your heart, you can handle any kind of climate!

Bruno Bégin, MEd. and PsEd, is a psychoeducator with Consultants en Ressources Psychologiques et Éducatives in La Sarre, Quebec. Contact Bruno at 280-A Principale, Suite 102, La Sarre, Quebec J9Z 1Y8. Phone (819) 333-2002; fax (819) 787-3773; email bruno.begin@sympatico.ca.

Interaction, Vol. 16, No. 3, Fall 2002, p. 28.