Royal's Ramblings

Post# 20 – Laugh On!!!

Dear Family and Friends,

Laughter is the Best Medicine The Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter

Laughter helps you stay mentally healthy

Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Humor helps you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

Now what do you really think? Do you think that laughter makes you feel good? Then why don’t you use it more often, huh?

I am living proof that humor does help you to keep a positive , optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and losses.

More than just a respite from sadness and pain, laughter gives you the courage and strength to find new sources of meaning and hope. Even in the most difficult of times, a laugh–or even simply a smile–can go a long way toward making you feel better. And laughter really is contagious—just hearing laughter primes your brain and readies you to smile and join in the fun

I remember a neighbor of ours who lived next door to us while I was going to junior and high school. I would wave to this man every morning on my way to the bus stop. He would just ignore me. I never gave up, every morning on my way t0 the bus, I would wave to him and smile at home and tell him to have a nice day. After a few years he began to mumble a gruff morning as I was heading way from his house off to catch the bus. After a while longer it was hi that began initiating the morning greeting and I reciprocated and wished him a wonderful day! So even a weak smile can go a long way towards softening someones heart. And it is a beginning to laughter, don't you think?

The link between laughter and mental health

Laughter stops distressing emotions. You can’t feel anxious, angry, or sad when you’re laughing. Have you ever tries this? It is very true you know!!

Laughter helps you relax and recharge. It reduces stress and increases energy, enabling you to stay focused and accomplish more. it does do this as well, if you embrace it.

Laughter shifts perspective, allowing you to see situations in a more realistic, less threatening light. A humorous perspective creates psychological distance, which can help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and diffuse conflict. if you can look at things with a humorous perspective it will help you from becoming too overwhelmed about your stresses. Sister Sharon G. Samuelson was giving a talk to the students at BYU in 2014 and she said:
I remember a saying that I heard once: “A good laugh a day keeps the blues away.” I believe that humor in life can enable you to cope with the challenges and trials that come your way. You can be buoyed up through laughter and mirthful experiences and stories. There is strength in laughter that can give you the means to overcome difficulties and enable you to keep life’s ups and downs in perspective and balance.

Last summer my husband and I went on a cruise with his siblings and their spouses. There were ten of us, and we had a wonderful time. On our last evening together, eight of us were sitting at a round table chatting, and a soft drink was requested by a sister-in-law. The waiter brought a tall glass filled to the brim. As he reached out to give it to her, he dropped it in the middle of the table. Its contents went everywhere, and we all went into panic mode and started trying to clean it up. I had it all over my face and started wiping it away. The distraught waiter grabbed towels and tried to soak up the liquid in them. Then we all heard a voice from one of our group, speaking loudly: “Hey, anybody got a straw?” Laughter took over. Any tension was dissipated. This witty remark had given ease to an uncomfortable situation—especially for the young man who had accidentally created it. Laughter has a way of doing that. Finding jocularity and amusement in an embarrassing or uneasy circumstance can be a great means of communicating that it’s all right, we understand, or we’re here to help.

In Proverbs 17:22 we learn that “a merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” If you are merry and joyful and demonstrate these attributes in daily actions, you will be happy and create an atmosphere of cheerfulness that can bless the lives of your associates, friends, and especially family. Our Savior, Jesus Christ, counseled that whatever comes your way, “be of good cheer” (John 16:33). What enables you to be of good cheer? It is your knowledge of His Atonement and all the blessings that are available for you as a result of it.

Each of you is given the choice to be an optimist and smile or be a pessimist and frown. Striving to develop a sense of humor in facing daily tasks is a work in progress. It isn’t always an easy or simple trait to acquire. Sometimes it may appear to be impossible. You will face some obstacles in your studies, employment, church callings, interpersonal relationships, and many other undertakings. These are times when you will have the choice of whether to laugh or cry, smile or frown. Sometimes life’s circumstances may seem to be in turmoil, and you may have so much on your so-called “plate” that you don’t know where to begin or what to do. This is when I believe humor and the ability to be optimistic can enhance the quality of your life. Elder Hugh B. Brown said, “One must have a sense of humor to be an optimist in times like these” (The Abundant Life [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1965], 50).

Listen to the words of Sister Hinckley as she gave advice on the way to get through life:

Another thing that we tried to do is not take ourselves too seriously. You get into a lot of trouble when you do that. I tried to laugh instead of cry when you felt like crying. It was always better to laugh,[like] the day I took a beautiful casserole from the oven and my six-year-old boy said, “Mom, how come you baked the garbage?” Children are like that. There are days when it is hard to laugh.[Marjorie Pay Hinckley, BYU Women’s Conference, 2 May 1996; see also Marjorie Hinckley in Glimpses into the Life and Heart of Marjorie Pay Hinckley, ed. Virginia H. Pearce (Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1999), 61]

This is insightful advice from a witty, cheerful, and gentle woman that we would be wise to follow.

In another instance of speaking concerning laughter, Sister Hinckley added, “The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache” (Marjorie Pay Hinckley, Small and Simple Things [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 2003], 126; also Glimpses, 107).

Laughter draws you closer to others, which can have a profound effect on all aspects of your mental and emotional health. I believe tat laughter can draw us together even in the most trying situations.

Laughter brings people together and strengthens relationships

There’s a good reason why TV sitcoms use laugh tracks: laughter is contagious. You’re many times more likely to laugh around other people than when you’re alone. And the more laughter you bring into your own life, the happier you and those around you will feel.

Sharing humor is half the fun—in fact, most laughter doesn’t come from hearing jokes, but rather simply from spending time with friends and family. And it’s this social aspect that plays such an important role in the health benefits of laughter. You can’t enjoy a laugh with other people unless you take the time to really engage with them. When you care about someone enough to switch off your phone and really connect face to face, you’re engaging in a process that rebalances the nervous system and puts the brakes on defensive stress responses like “fight or flight.” And if you share a laugh as well, you’ll both feel happier, more positive, and more relaxed—even if you’re unable to alter the stressful situation itself.

“The only way to get through life is to laugh your way through it. You either have to laugh or cry. I prefer to laugh. Crying gives me a headache.” —Marjorie Pay Hinckley

I so agree with Sister Hinckley on this one. and besides, who wants to get a headache? Having had migraine headaches all of my life -- not me:)

How laughing together can strengthen relationships

Shared laughter is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. All emotional sharing builds strong and lasting relationship bonds, but sharing laughter also adds joy, vitality, and resilience. And humor is a powerful and effective way to heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Laughter unites people during difficult times.

Humor and playful communication strengthen our relationships by triggering positive feelings and fostering emotional connection. When we laugh with one another, a positive bond is created. This bond acts as a strong buffer against stress, disagreements, and disappointment. Using humor and laughter in relationships allows you to:

Be more spontaneous. Humor gets you out of your head and away from your troubles.

Let go of defensiveness. Laughter helps you forget resentments, judgments, criticisms, and doubts.

Release inhibitions. Your fear of holding back and holding on are set aside.

Express your true feelings. Deeply felt emotions are allowed to rise to the surface.

Use humor to resolve disagreements and tension in your relationship

Laughter is an especially powerful tool for managing conflict and reducing tension when emotions are running high. Whether with romantic partners, friends and family, or co-workers, you can learn to use humor to smooth over disagreements, lower everyone's stress level, and communicate in a way that builds up your relationships rather than breaking them down.

How to bring more laughter into your life

Laughter is your birthright, a natural part of life that is innate and inborn. Infants begin smiling during the first weeks of life and laugh out loud within months of being born. Even if you did not grow up in a household where laughter was a common sound, you can learn to laugh at any stage of life.

Begin by setting aside special times to seek out humor and laughter, as you might with working out, and build from there. Eventually, you’ll want to incorporate humor and laughter into the fabric of your life, finding it naturally in everything you do.

Here are some ways to start:

Smile. Smiling is the beginning of laughter and like laughter, it’s contagious. When you look at someone or see something even mildly pleasing, practice smiling. Instead of looking down at your phone, look up and smile at people you pass in the street, the person serving you a morning coffee, or the co-workers you share an elevator with. Notice the effect this has on others.

Count your blessings. Literally make a list. The simple act of considering the good things in your life will distance you from negative thoughts that are a barrier to humor and laughter. When you’re in a state of sadness, you have further to travel to get to humor and laughter.

So, whenever I am having a rough day, I just look upon my poster of Poppy and smiling to myself I say and get back up again😊I do this more often since my diagnosis with cancer, but I have always tried to say at least a prayer of thanks once in a while, just to thank my Heavenly Father for all of the blessing that He has set and those that He is continually sending my way. I also write at the top of random pages of my journals when I very first get them the question “How have I seen the hand of the Lord in my life or in the lives of those around me today”? this helps me to refocus every few pages as I write in my journal. Something else I have tried is simple making a gratitude journal – writing down everything that I am thankful for each day or at least once a week – I have found that for me, Sundays are good days for journal writing if I am not able to manage writing every day. You should try if, if you have not taken the opportunity to do so. What you have to say may be of great importance to someone in your family someday – you may never know.

He looks a little nit like my grandson :)

When you hear laughter, move toward it. Sometimes humor and laughter are private, a shared joke among a small group, but usually not. More often, people are very happy to share something funny because it gives them an opportunity to laugh again and feed off the humor you find in it. When you hear laughter, seek it out and ask, “What’s funny?”

Spend time with fun, playful people. These are people who laugh easily–both at themselves and at life’s absurdities–and who routinely find the humor in everyday events. Their playful point of view and laughter are contagious. Even if you don’t consider yourself a lighthearted, humorous person, you can still seek out people who like to laugh and make others laugh. Every comedian appreciates an audience.

Bring humor into conversations. Ask people, “What’s the funniest thing that happened to you today? This week? In your life?”

Simulated laughter

So, what do you do if you really can’t “find the funny”? Believe it or not, it’s possible to laugh without experiencing a funny event—and simulated laughter can be just as good for you as the real thing. It can even make exercise more fun and more productive. A Georgia State University study found that incorporating bouts of simulated laughter into an exercise program helped improve older adults’ mental health as well as their aerobic endurance. Plus, hearing others laugh, even for no apparent reason, can often trigger genuine laughter.

To add simulated laughter into your own life, search for laugh yoga or laugh therapy groups. Or you can start simply by laughing at other people’s jokes, even if you don’t find them funny. It will make both you and the other person feel good, draw you closer together, and who knows, may even lead to some spontaneous laughter.

Creating opportunities to laugh

Watch a funny movie, TV show, or YouTube video
Invite friends or co-workers to go to a comedy club
Read the funny pages
Seek out funny people
Share a good joke or a funny story
Check out your bookstore’s humor section
Host game night with friends
Play with a pet
Go to a “laughter yoga” class
Goof around with children
Do something silly
Make time for fun activities (e.g. bowling, miniature golfing, karaoke)

Tips for developing your sense of humor

An essential ingredient for developing your sense of humor is to learn to not take yourself too seriously and laugh at your own mistakes and foibles. As much as we’d like to believe otherwise, we all do foolish things from time to time. Instead of feeling embarrassed or defensive, embrace your imperfections. While some events in life are clearly sad and not opportunities for laughter, most don’t carry an overwhelming sense of either sadness or delight. They fall into the gray zone of ordinary life—giving you the choice to laugh or not. So choose to laugh whenever you can.

How to develop your sense of humor

Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take yourself less seriously is to talk about times when you took yourself too seriously.

Attempt to laugh at situations rather than bemoan them. Look for the humor in a bad situation, and uncover the irony and absurdity of life. When something negative happens, try to find a way to make it a humorous anecdote that will make others laugh.

Surround yourself with reminders to lighten up. Keep a toy on your desk or in your car. Put up a funny poster in your office. Choose a computer screensaver that makes you laugh. Frame photos of you and your family or friends having fun. I have a dear friend at work who made me up a poster of Poppy from the Trolls movie, it say “get back up again!”

And that is what we need to remember each time we fall – that with the Lord’s help we can each get back up again and keep smiling, because we are never alone. Isn’t that a wonderful truth to keep in the front of our minds?

So, whenever I am having a rough day, I just look upon my poster of Poppy and smiling to myself I say and get back up again😊 -

Remember funny things that happen. If something amusing happens or you hear a joke or funny story you really like, write it down or tell it to someone else to help you remember it.Write the funny things down, so you can share them with others.

Don’t dwell on the negative. Try to avoid negative people and don’t dwell on news stories, entertainment, or conversations that make you sad or unhappy. Many things in life are beyond your control—particularly the behavior of other people. While you might think taking the weight of the world on your shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic and unhealthy.

Find your inner child. Pay attention to children and try to emulate them—after all, they are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing at ordinary things.

Deal with stress. Stress can be a major impediment to humor and laughter, so it's important to get your stress levels in check. One great technique to relieve stress in the moment is to draw upon a favorite memory that always makes you smile—something your kids did, for example, or something funny a friend told you.

Don’t go a day without laughing. Think of it like exercise or breakfast and make a conscious effort to find something each day that makes you laugh. Set aside 10 to 15 minutes and do something that amuses you. The more you get used to laughing each day, the less effort you’ll have to make.

Using humor to overcome challenges and enhance your life

The ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps you solve problems, connect with others, and be more creative. People who incorporate humor and play into their daily lives find that it renews them and all of their relationships.

Life brings challenges that can either get the best of you or become playthings for your imagination. When you “become the problem” and take yourself too seriously, it can be hard to think outside the box and find new solutions. But when you play with the problem, you can often transform it into an opportunity for creative learning.

Playing with problems seems to come naturally to children. When they are confused or afraid, they make their problems into a game, giving them a sense of control and an opportunity to experiment with new solutions. Interacting with others in playful ways helps you retain this creative ability.

Here are two examples of people who took everyday problems and turned them around through laughter and play:

Roy, a semi-retired businessman, was excited to finally have time to devote to golf, his favorite sport. But the more he played, the less he enjoyed himself. Although his game had improved dramatically, he got angry with himself over every mistake. Roy wisely realized that his golfing buddies affected his attitude, so he stopped playing with people who took the game too seriously. When he played with friends who focused more on having fun than on their scores, he was less critical of himself. Now golfing was as enjoyable as Roy hoped it would be. He scored better without working harder. And the brighter outlook he was getting from his companions and the game spread to other parts of his life.

Jane worked at home designing greeting cards, a job she used to love but now felt had become routine. Two little girls who loved to draw and paint lived next door. Eventually, Jane invited the girls in to play with all the art supplies she had. At first, she just watched, but in time she joined in. Laughing, coloring, and playing pretend with the little girls transformed Jane’s life. Not only did playing with them end her loneliness and boredom, it sparked her imagination and helped her artwork flourish. Best of all, it rekindled the playfulness and spark in Jane’s relationship with her husband.

As laughter, humor, and play become an integrated part of your life, your creativity will flourish and new opportunities for laughing with friends, coworkers, acquaintances, and loved ones will occur to you daily. Laughter takes you to a higher place where you can view the world from a more relaxed, positive, and joyful perspective.

So what do you think about laughter now? Do you think you can begin to use it, if you have not already been doing so? i saw one image that said "Laughter is the best medicine unless you have CanCer" well, I do have cancer and I think laughter is one of the best medicines, it sure helps me get through some tough days and it has no calories and no side effects -- unless you want to count sore muscles for a while if you laugh hard enough:)

Well, I guess that's enough about laughter for today, i hope you found something to laugh about today... keep smiling, and do indulge in some good laughter every day!