Humour Keeps Me Alive. How About You?
Monday, October 20, 2008 @ 7:11 PM
Do you know those hospital clowns? I was always sooo scared of them. I guess the whole thing started when I watched a horror movie about toys becoming alive, grabbing knives, and killing people. But no worries, I don't intend to rant about my childish fears! (Not yet.) So, I guess the clows there help a lot for ill people. They distract their attention from their illnesses, and bring some happiness and hope to their troubled lives. I think that's awesome. Anyway, I bet many of you know that
laughter is good for your health!
How exactly?
"Humor and laughter can cause a domino effect of joy and amusement, as well as set off a number of positive physical effects. Humor and laughter strengthen our immune systems and help us recover from illness, as well as bring joy into our lives."Laughter activates the chemistry of the will to live and increases our capacity to fight disease. Laughing relaxes the body and reduces problems associated with high blood pressure, strokes, arthritis, and ulcers. Some research suggests that laughter may also reduce the risk of heart disease. Historically, research has shown that distressing emotions (depression, anger, anxiety, and stress) are all related to heart disease. A study done at the University of Maryland Medical Center suggests that a good sense of humor and the ability to laugh at stressful situations helps mitigate the damaging physical effects of distressing emotions." -
HelpGuideHumour keeps me alive during these tiresome weekdays, when I'm fanatically looking forward to my autumn break, hoping that I can get some rest and regain my strength. Luckily my classmates have got a good sense of humour, and there is a guy, who is always cheerful (unless he's being called to the principal's office) and tells us jokes every day.
I think these kind of people are seriously needed in the world. We should look up to them.
There are some funny conversations we have during class (this one was during German lesson).
Teacher: So, would you want to wear a uniform?
Guy in Class: Well, maybe. We should make a T-shirt, with the letters "DNG", so Deutsches Nationalitäten Gefängnis (Gefängnis means Prison), instead of Gymnasium.
Teacher: Why? Is this school like a prison?
*Big silence, everyone looking out the windows*
Guy in Class: Well... can we go out?
Teacher: *wondering what to say, while everyone is laughing* Well, during breaks, you can.
Guy in Class: That's how it goes in prison, as well, right?
Girl in Class: And the food is the same, too...
Teacher: ...that's right.
This may not sound so great written down, but whatever. I think you get it.
(In case you wondered if I'm from Germany, I'm not. I just go to a German bilingual school, where I learn 60% of the subjects in German. Yup.)
Dou you know what are the mental benefits of laughter? (I didn't know there were so many!)
- Humor enhances our ability to affiliate or connect with others.
- Humor helps us replace distressing emotions with pleasurable feelings. You cannot feel angry, depressed, anxious, guilty, or resentful and experience humor at the same time.
- Lacking humor will cause one's thought processes to stagnate leading to increased distress.
- Humor changes behavior – when we experience humor we talk more, make more eye contact with others, touch others, etc.
- Humor increases energy, and with increased energy we may perform activities that we might otherwise avoid.
- Finally, humor is good for mental health because it makes us feel good!
And finally, some ways to
lighten up, in case you take yourself too seriously.
- View your life in context. Even world leaders realize they have limited ability to affect others’ lives. While we might think taking the weight of the world on our shoulders is admirable, in the long run it’s unrealistic, unproductive, unhealthy and even egotistical.
- Be less serious. Realize that while your ambitions may be noble, being overly serious about them weighs you down and lessens your chances for achieving them.
- Deal with your stress. Stress is a major impediment to humor and laughter.
- Dress less seriously.
- Keep a toy on your desk or in your car.
- Laugh at yourself. Share your embarrassing moments. The best way to take ourselves less seriously is talk about times when we took ourselves too seriously.
- Pay attention to children and emulate them. They are the experts on playing, taking life lightly, and laughing.
Let's all thank
HelpGuide once again.
Labels: health, humour, laughter
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