The six amazing powers of laughter

By Dan Gascon

Laughter is the medicine of the soul and the sound of its healing. Laughter is a gift with no cultural, social or spiritual exemptions. No matter how people laugh, it is an illustration of joy, happiness, personality, character, mood and situation. It is pure human expression.

1. Can transcend any situation.

2. Provides us with self-protection, control and peace of mind.

3. Makes everyone more fluid and flexible.

4. Stimulates immune systems; combats illness and stress.

5. Gives aerobic workouts; boosts energy levels; lowers blood pressure, and gives internal massages.

6. IS PURE PLEASURE AND LIFTS OUR SPIRITS TO PLAY!

“Among those whom I like or admire, I can find no common denominator,

but among those I love I can; all of them make me laugh.”

W.H. Auden

Copyright 2005 by Dan Gascon. Founder of Humor for your health. Reprinted with permission. Reach Dan at www.humorforyourhealth.com

5 Facts of Humor’s Balancing Act

By Dan Gascon

Your sense of humor allows you to constantly create new realities to enrich and bring balance to your life. Along with laughter, it provides you with greater physical health, helps you cope with perspective and gives you more happiness. Here are the facts to humor’s balancing act:

1. RELIEVES YOU OF TENSION AND STRESS. Humor and laughter combat and create opposite effects. When you laugh, you are cheerful, upbeat, playful, light-hearted, you let go, vent, relax and unwind.

2. GIVES YOU AN AEROBIC AND INTERNAL WORKOUT. The diaphragm is the large muscle which separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity and gets a great workout when we laugh heartily. Our respiration is enhanced, blood pressure is lowered and the amount of oxygen in the blood stream increases. Ever laughed so much it hurt? The movement of the diaphragm also stimulates surrounding organs, such as (Continue Reading…)

When is a joke not a joke?

by Karyn Buxman, RN, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Two students were shot and killed and 13 others injured when a 15-year-old boy, Andy Williams, went on a shooting rampage at school in San Diego, CA. Several people report hearing the boy threaten to go on a killing spree at school but thought he was joking.

When is a joke not a joke? There are three recognized functions of humor. One of the three functions of humor is that of communication.

“Many times people will communicate a desire or fear in the guise of a joke. If the ‘joke’ elicits the response they secretly want, then they have achieved their objective. If it does not elicit the desired response, then they have still saved face; they can say, “I was only joking.”

What to do?

Listen beyond the laughter: Usually a joke is just a joke, but does the humor cause (Continue Reading…)

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 (Continue Reading…)

Today’s Nursing Crisis: A Laughing Matter?

by Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

Did you hear the one about…? According to a recent study, one of every three U.S. nurses surveyed under age 30 plans to leave their jobs within the next year. One in five nurses plans to leave the profession within five years because of unsatisfactory working conditions. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 450,000 additional registered nurses will be needed to fill the present demand through the year 2008. Experts worry about the year 2020, when the registered nurse shortage is projected to reach 500,000 positions, coinciding with the increasing needs of healthcare in an aging U.S. population.

It is obvious that the state of health care today is no joke. But it may be a laughing matter, if one understands the premise that humor oftentimes is generated by painful circumstances. There is nothing funny about unlimited resources, job security (Continue Reading…)

Tap those creative juices

by Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

“I’m brain dead,” Sheila moaned over her coffee at break. “I wouldn’t recognize a fresh idea if it jumped in my face and wiggled. I’m just not creative. Am I too left-brained? Where do you get all your ideas?”

What is creativity? Like humor, it seems to be a mindset, a process, a way of looking at things. Researchers once believed that creativity was found primarily in the right hemisphere of the brain; they believed “right-brained” people were more creative. Now researchers speculate that creativity involves both hemispheres, that it’s a combination of both analytic and intuitive thought.

Are you a creative person? Even if you don’t think of yourself as creative now, chances are at one time you were. Studies have shown that 90% of all 5 year olds are creative. However, researchers found only 10% of all 7 year olds to be (Continue Reading…)

Some day we’ll laugh about this

by Karyn Buxman, MSN, CSP, CPAE

The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow. H.G. Wells

Have you ever been in a situation that at the time was so awful… so humiliating… so embarrassing… that you thought you would never live it down– and then a week later you were telling it to someone and laughing hysterically? If you find yourself saying, “Someday we’ll laugh about this,” maybe you ought to try shortening the time span and laugh a little sooner. Of course, some time does have to elapse. At the peak of a crisis, humor falls flat. But if you can develop the talent for seeing the humor in adversity, you’ll save a lot of wear and tear on yourself both emotionally and physically.

Recently a woman shared with me that nothing funny ever happened to her. Instead she had one crisis after another. She wanted (Continue Reading…)

The perspective of humor

by Allen Klein

In the humor programs I present nationwide, I frequently share a letter I once saw in the newspaper. It went something like this:

Dear Mom and Dad,

I am sorry that I have not written, but all my stationery was destroyed when the dorm burned down. I am now out of the hospital and the doctor said that I will recover soon. I have also moved in with the boy who rescued me, since most of my things were destroyed in the fire.

Oh yes, I know that you have always wanted a grandchild, so you will be pleased to know that I am pregnant and you will have one soon.

Love,

Mary

Then there was a postscript:

P.S. There was no fire, my health is perfectly fine and I am not pregnant. In fact, I don’t even have a boyfriend. But I did get a D in French and a C (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 (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 (Continue Reading…)