Brad Montgomery, Motivational Speaker

What trips your trigger?

by Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Humor that is positive and doesn’t target others feels good when we experience it. It’s a pleasurable experience usually accompanied by a smile and a laugh. And yet experts find it elusive as to what humor really is and just what triggers that humor response within us.

There are numerous theories about what evokes a humorous response. One of those theories revolves around developmental stages. According to psychiatrist Christian Hageseth, author of A Laughing Place, there are 3 ways to elicit the humor response: Nov-verbal interactive; the stimulation of forbidden subjects; and verbal humor (jokes and word play).

Non-verbal interactive:

What is one of the very first things that evokes a smile in a young baby? Obviously his brain isn’t developed enough to understand the concept of absurdity or incongruity. The baby laughs at a smiling face, which in return smiles back, usually evoking even more smiles. Pure pleasure!

As we grow, such interaction generally continues to evoke a pleasurable response, until we are conditioned to think and respond otherwise. Even in the advanced Alzheimer’s patient, when she’s no longer able to remember faces, dress herself or even feed herself, a big smile accompanied by eye (Continue Reading…)

Mind if I laugh?

by Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Following the events of September 11, 2001 and the terrorism that’s ensued, I’ve continued traveling around the country, addressing groups about the healing power of humor and laughter. I’ve heard a variety of comments:

“I really want to laugh, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”

“I can’t bear to watch another news report-it’s sucking the life right out of me.”

“I feel like laughing, but I’m afraid other people will think I’m being inappropriate. Is it really okay to laugh yet?”

Abraham Lincoln may have said it best: “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.”

Now more than ever, we, as individuals and as a country, need the healing power of humor and laughter to deal with the tragedies we’ve experienced. Recent reports have shown that the country is in poorer health overall than it was prior to September 11th. Accompanying the levels of higher anxiety and stress are people suffering from a myriad of stress related illnesses and conditions: Headaches, stomachaches, general malaise, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, muscle aches, difficulty concentrating, depression, and the list goes on.

People find many ways to (Continue Reading…)

Is Your Humor a Safe Bet?

by Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Mike was meeting a new client over lunch. He wanted to make a great impression, so he planned is presentation carefully, wore his best suit, and practiced a couple jokes that were sure to win the client over.

The lunch was delicious. His pitch for the new product was perfect. The he wrapped it up by adding, “Oh, by the way, did you hear about the blonde who was so dumb. . . she thought Taco Bell was the Mexican phone company.”

The client laughed, shook hands, and said how much he appreciated the meeting. Mike calculated dollar signs all the way home. But he didn’t land the contract. And the client never told him how much the joke had offended him.

Humor: A must for any successful person in business. But it’s a double-edge sword. One of the great advantages of humor in regards to customer service and sales is its social function: It can establish, build and strengthen alliances. But use humor that turns your customer off or insults them and it can ruin a relationship.

Humor has too many advantages not to use it as part of your craft. Realistically, however, (Continue Reading…)

When Is It OK To Laugh?

The days following my seven year old nephew's death were a blur of activities. The busy-ness of making funeral arrangements, greeting friends and sharing memories kept us conveniently distracted so that our brains would not stumble into the pockets of grief scattered throughout our mind. We would spend enough time there over the months ahead so the distractions were welcomed.

After two viewings, a memorial service and a graveside service, our family gathered at my parents' home for a needed meal and some rest. We picked at our dinner, a generously donated gift of the usuals. Chicken Tetrazine, green bean casserole with the little canned onion rings on top, buttery homemade rolls and rich chocolate brownies made from scratch. Then we slumped into our seats in the living room and let out a collective sigh. We looked like warriors that had just returned from battle and our faces showed the fatigue of defeat. THEN, for the next two hours, we told jokes.

In retrospect, this seems crazy. It even hints of disrespect and yet no one protested. Was it disrespectful? Was it wrong? Were we teetering on the edge of sanity? Not at all. We were feeling (Continue Reading…)

10 Tips for Adding a Bolt of “Lighten”ing to the Healthcare Workplace

by Ron Culberson

1. Use HUMOR in communicating information through emails, memos and presentations, discharge instructions, etc.

2. Start all staff meetings, team meetings, nurse's reports and case presentations with a bit of HUMOR to create a relaxed atmosphere.

3. Create a FUN committee to help plan parties, celebrations and recognition events for staff.

4. Create a HUMOR Bulletin Board in the nurse's station or staff area where you can put funny cartoons, jokes and pictures to share with other staff.

5. Hold a LAUGH Lunch once each month where, over lunch, staff have a chance to share jokes, stories, embarrassing patient care moments and other funny things.

6. Collect HUMOROUS books, tapes, and magazines to be made available to patients and their families to relieve stress.

7. Create a FUN Stress Relief Area for staff that includes stress balls, candy, Koosh Balls, etc.

8. Cut out a famous person's picture from the newspaper and put it over the photo on your name badge.

9. Give a FUN prize each week to the staff person who had to deal with the most difficult patient, family or colleague.

10. Keep a copy of LIGHTENing Bolts at your nurse's station (Continue Reading…)

Seriously, The Joke Is Dead

by WARREN ST. JOHN

In case you missed its obituary, the joke died recently after a long illness, of, oh, 30 years. Its passing was barely noticed, drowned out, perhaps, by the din of ironic one-liners, snark and detached bons mots that pass for humor these days.

The joke died a lonely death. There was no next of kin to notify, the comedy skit, the hand-buzzer and Bob Newhart’s imaginary telephone monologues having passed on long before. But when people reminisce about it, they always say the same thing: the joke knew how to make an entrance. “Two guys walked into a bar”; “So this lady goes to the doctor”; “Did you hear the one about the talking parrot?” The new humor sneaks by on little cat feet, all punch line and no setup, and if it bombs, you barely notice. The joke insisted on everyone’s attention, and when it bombed – wow.

“A joke is a way to say, ‘I’m going to do something funny now,’ ” said Penn Jillette, the talking half of the comedy and magic duo Penn & Teller and a producer of “The Aristocrats,” a new documentary about an old dirty (Continue Reading…)

HOW TO BE STRESSED FOR SUCCESS!

Part of the Humor Hint Series

by Patt Schwab, Ph.D.

Humor is not a joke! When it comes to reducing stress, humor can help put our problems into perspective. Here are a couple quick ways to try it out:

1. Choose one time of the day to worry.

Day or night, when worrisome things come up, jot them down and save them for your “Worry Time.” (After lunch is good because it’s not a notoriously productive time anyway.)

Allow yourself 15 minutes (max!) to worry. Pace around, flail your arms, chew your fingernails, eat chocolate, cry, look serious, shuffle papers. Do whatever you need to do to express your worrying. If you don’t finish in 15 minutes, leave the rest for the next day – you may even want to add that you are worried about not fitting all your worries into the allotted time!

2. Look for an alternative to stress.

You and your family are in a restaurant. The service brings new meaning to the term “wait-person.” You have some choices: you can work on that coronary you’ve been postponing, you can grouse about the service loudly enough that the server hears you and long enough that you depress yourselves (Continue Reading…)

HUMOR'S ROLE IN TRAGEDY

by Patt Schwab, Ph.D.

You're sick! How can you laugh at that? The next time someone says that to you, tell them humor is part of your healing process. You will be right! Humor is a natural response to a tragedy or setback, and it develops in a predictable way. The process is the same whether the initial setback is a horrible accident, a layoff, a broken heart or a national tragedy. To some extent you can even monitor an individual or group's recovery from disaster by the stage of humor to which they respond. What happens to us in a disaster?

First there is a set back – a death, an injury, an important loss of some sort – and nothing is funny. In fact it is horribly inappropriate to laugh. What is most needed emotionally at this stage is a catharsis such as crying, cursing, expressions of grief, irrational promises, sweeping condemnations, physical outbursts or all of the above. Without this release of tension, it’s difficult for the individual to move on. This cathartic time varies from person to person, and with the degree of disaster, i.e. (Continue Reading…)