laugh it off

 

"The most wasted of all days is one without laughter."

  

e.e. cummings, author of that quote, would have been proud of me yesterday. I laughed. A lot. Last night a few of my friends and I went to see Chelsea Handler perform stand up. Whether you're a fan of her show on E! or not, most would have found her pretty hilarious. I laughed. And laughed. And laughed some more. And you know what? It felt pretty awesome. Every time I go to a comedy show (probably once or twice a year), I ask myself, Why don't I do that more often? I always have a great time and leave feeling so relaxed and refreshed. I don't know if it's the best (depends on what ails you!), but laughter is pretty great medicine. It medicates whatever pain or emotional distress you're feeling and makes everything seem a little bit better.

 

About Laughter

Laughter is such an amazing force. It is positive and, because we are focused on whatever it is that made us laugh, it reminds us to keep our attention the present moment. According to Wikipedia (a very trusted source indeed!), "laughter is an audible expression or appearance of happiness, or an inward feeling of joy and orgasmic stimulation." So laughter is happiness? joy? orgasmic? Sign me up!

According to the site, "laughter is a human behavior regulated by the brain, helping humans clarify their intentions in social interaction and providing emotional context for conversations. Laughter is also a signal for being part of a group [which I was last night -- a huge group of hysterically laughing women and gay men]...It signals acceptance and positive interaction with others. Laughter is sometimes seemingly contagious, and the laughter of one person can itself provoke laughter from others [which is why they have laugh tracks on TV shows]." Laughter is clearly a very positive, social activity that we could all benefit from doing a lot more of.

Of course, Wikipedia always leads me to find some very interesting and obscure facts. Apparently in 1962 there was an incident called the "Tanganyika laughter epidemic". According to Wiki, an outbreak of mass hysteria occurred near the village of Kashasha on western coast of Lake Victoria in Tanzania. It is rumored that the incident started because a joke was told in a boarding school, triggering laughter. The laughter perpetuated itself and apparently thousands of people were laughing for months. (Some say it was just random "attacks" of laughter throughout the village.) Interesting, huh? Can you imagine laughing for months? Just think about what an ab workout that would be!

 

The Benefits of Laughter

Obviously I love laughing. Most people do, right? This morning I decided to do a little Googling and see what the real benefits (other than my general analysis of "it feels good") of laughing are. Here's what I found:

• Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones in our bodies
• Laughter provides both a physical and emotional release.
• Laughter can be a good workout for your abs, diaphragm, and shoulders.
• Laughter leaves you feeling more relaxed.
• Laughter brings the focus away from negative emotions.
• Laughter can give us a more positive outlook on a situation.
• Laughter connects us with others.

Seems like laughing is pretty great, doesn't it? With all of these obvious benefits, we should all be laughing more often. Here's a list of suggestions I thought up for getting your laugh on:

• Turn on a funny movie or TV show.
• Look in the mirror and make silly faces (yes, this works).
• Spend a night (or two!) at your local comedy club.
• Flip the channel to Comedy Central  (not always funny but you never know!)
• Take a look at the comics in the newspaper. It's funnier than the news.
• Peruse the internet for funny websites like FunnyOrDie or someecards.
• Ask yourself, "How is this situation funny?" when you're upset.
• Hang out with funny friends. You know who they are.
• Read a funny book (I would highly recommend Handler's 2 bestsellers).
• Fake it. Apparently fake laughter has the same benefits!
• Check out some funny quotes from TV shows and movies here.

 

Laugh It Off

In life, it's not always easy to laugh. It's not always easy to just "laugh it off" when you're going through a really hard time or something tragic happens. It's even all that easy to laugh when you're in a bad mood or having a not-so-hot day. But, honestly, it makes you feel so much better. Next time you're feeling down (or, hell, even when you're not feeling down!), try out some of the laughter tips I've posted. Positivity is just a chuckle away! Go on, give it a try. Just take a deep breath and laugh it off.

Comments

[Albert]

Thanks for this post. I've read one quote about spiritual teachers somewhere once. It said the only real test is to see if one is genuine or not is how much they laugh. I think there's a lot of wisdom in there :)

[kirwin]

Great post. I'll try to "fit" a lot of laughter in today. Get it? Get it? LOL Sorry, that pun was painful.

[Shannon (The Daily Balance)]

great post. i certainly fit enough laughter in my days -- it's my favorite thing to do!!!

[Liara Covert]

Laughter therapy is a widely accepted practice. Positive energy is shared in different forms and and reveals deep healing power.

[Alik Levin]

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA HA HA!!! ;) - LOL!
Loved it!

What lately got me serious [?] laughter was Mark Twain's quotes. Here is my favorite: "Don't go around saying the world owes you a living. The world owes you nothing. It was here first."

HAHAHA :)

[Nadia - Happy Lotus]

I love to laugh. I like to laugh so much that my neighbor complained about my laughing. Laughter is one of the best things you can do because how can you not feel good after having a good laugh? :)

[Giovanna Garcia]

Laughter is good for the soul and spirit :-)
Thank you for the reminder.
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action

[positively present]

Albert - That's a great quote and the idea behind it is so true. Happy people, genuinely happy people, laugh a lot. They see the silliness, the joy, in life.

Kirwin - Hahaha. You made me laugh with that so it was worth it to post a painful pun! :)

Shannon - Laughing is the best! I'm so glad to hear that you do it a lot.

Liara - I've heard of laughter therapy but I've never tried it. It sounds like it would be a lot of fun and I definitely think it would have a great healing power.

Alik - Haha, I'm glad to see all of the "HAHA"s. :) They make me smile! And thanks for sharing the Twain quote. So true. The world doesn't owe us shit.

Nadia - Sounds like your neighbor is lame. But that's AWESOME that you are laughing that much that someone has to complain about it. :) And I'm glad this post finally worked for you! Sorry about the trouble before.

Giovanna - You're welcome! :) It really is good for both soul and spirit and, apparently, it's good for your body too!

[Dawn]

Yes yes yes...Nothing feels better than a really good laugh...or a really good hug...Thanks!!

[Karen]

Such great info on laughter! And I love the tidbit about Tanganyika. I know I love to laugh, and now I know some of the reasons why. : )

[positively present]

Karen - Isn't that such an interesting story? Of course I'd never heard of it before, but I guess that just goes to show what you can find out on Wikipedia!

Dawn - Good point about the hug! It's such a good feeling to get and receive them. :)