Post  # 19 – Laughter is the Best medicine

Dear Family and Friends,

Hey, guess what? I had a happening today that reminded me that -you just have to laugh sometimes – to keep from crying. But I think that sometimes the best laughter is the one that causes you to laugh so hard that you do cry. I mean really, have you ever thought about laughing your way through some really difficult stuff? Or even the simply embarrassing stuff? Don’t get me wrong, you still need to have your support systems in place – medical, emotional, physical, and especially spiritual!! 

So, I had my eyeglasses and my phone sitting together on a pillow beside my chair and lo and behold, they slipped down to the floor. When my granddaughter picked them both up – the phone was fine, but my glasses were in two pieces. As near as I can figure it, the phone must have fell of just right and landed on my glasses at the right angle to snap them in two pieces. When she handed them to me, she said: ‘Grandma, did you know that your glasses were broken?”  I told her that they weren’t broken when I set them down a few minutes before she came into the room. She asked me what I was going to do?  

I have been meaning to call and make an appointment to get my eyes checked, but I keep forgetting --- until 10 o’clock at night! Of course, that doesn’t happen to ay of you --- right? You don’t ever do that, do you? I mean – you need to make an appointment, it’s important, but you still forget!  You don’t forget on purpose, you just forget. Well, that is me most days!

So, now I have to get in to see the eye doctor and get some new glasses because I don’t think these can be fixed – snapped right in two. I could have gotten upset because of the things that I won’t be able to do until I have new glasses, but I chose to take the two pieces and proceed to put them on and tell her that I thought that I could make them work😊 She began to laugh and laugh! It was really good to see her laugh, and not just a little laugh but a strong healthy laugh. So, when was the last time you had a good laugh??

I remember reading years ago that ‘laughter is the best medicine’. 

  

 So, what are other situations you’ve been in when you feel like you need to laugh to keep from crying or you laugh so hard you cry?? You’ve heard the phrase -- ‘don’t cry over spillled milk,’ right? It’s kind of the same thing sometimes… especially f the milk gets spilled on a new dress or a new couch, or new carpet… you want to cry, or yell and scream, but sometimes its best just to laugh about it. I have found that it is a good thing to find things to laugh about each day. Laughing just makes you feel good! And from what I have been reading there are good benefits from laughing.

I remember many years ago, when we had adopted a boy and his social worker had not given us all the information about him that we needed to make good informed decisions about his education, and well, we made the wrong decision for him. He should have been in a self-contained classroom, but we made the best decision based on the information that we had about him at the time and it did not work out well at all for any of us.  He ended up running away from school and burning down a home which cost many thousands of dollars.

Well, one the day they sent us the bill for the home, it was like one hundred and eighty-seven thousand dollars. When I read the letter asking us to pay in full -- I went into hysterical laughing. At first, I could not get in control of myself at all as my laughter was so hard. Finally, I was somewhat in control of myself, I told my husband: “Shoot, we will just pay it twice, since they think we had so much money!” We had been so stressed since everything had happened with our son, that it felt good to laugh about something! 

I found this article at:

https://www.helpguide.org/articles/mental-health/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.htm

Laughter is the Best Medicine

The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter

Sure, it’s fun to share a good laugh. But did you know it can actually improve your health? It’s true: laughter is strong medicine. It draws people together in ways that trigger healthy physical and emotional changes in the body. Laughter strengthens your immune system, boosts mood, diminishes pain, and protects you from the damaging effects of stress. As children, we used to laugh hundreds of times a day, but as adults life tends to be more serious and laughter more infrequent. By seeking out more opportunities for humor and laughter, though, you can improve your emotional health, strengthen your relationships, find greater happiness—and even add years to your life

 

Why is laughter the sweetest medicine for mind and body?

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring your mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Humor lightens your burdens, inspires hopes, connects you to others, and keeps you grounded, focused, and alert. It also helps you to release anger and be more forgiving.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Best of all, this priceless medicine is fun, free, and easy to use.

Laughter is good for your health

Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.

Laughter boosts the immune system. Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.

Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Laughter protects the heart. Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.

Laughter burns calories. OK, so it’s no replacement for going to the gym, but one study found that laughing for 10 to 15 minutes a day can burn about 40 calories—which could be enough to lose three or four pounds over the course of a year.

Laughter lightens anger’s heavy load. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster than a shared laugh. Looking at the funny side can put problems into perspective and enable you to move on from confrontations without holding onto bitterness or resentment.

Laughter may even help you to live longer. A study in Norway found that people with a strong sense of humor outlived those who don't laugh as much. The difference was particularly notable for those battling cancer.

Physical health benefits of laughter

• Boosts immunity
• Lowers stress hormones
• Decreases pain
• Relaxes your muscles
• Prevents heart disease

Mental health benefits of laughter

• Adds joy and zest to life
• Eases anxiety and tension
• Relieves stress
• Improves mood
• Strengthens resilience

Social benefits of laughter

• Strengthens relationships
• Attracts others to us
• Enhances teamwork
• Helps defuse conflict
• Promotes group bonding

Don’t you just love this article? And these quotes? They are amazing and so are all of you!!! To keep this from being too lengthy, I am going to continue with this article on my next post…. So, look for it soon and keep reading😊 and don’t forget to laugh a lot!!!