Psychology: Have a laugh and call me in the morning

Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, improving your resistance to disease.

By DR. MIKE GROPPER
Maybe you’re worried about financial problems, parental issues, succeeding at work, aging parents, a scheduled medical test for you or a loved one, finding a soul mate, or any personal reason that may trigger intense anxiety. Worry is a universal problem and for us Israelis we can easily find something to worry about. But, there is relief right at our fingertips. Laughter may just be what the doctor ordered. Scientific studies have shown that laughter, no matter how you get yourself to do so, helps you overcome the bad feelings that are associated with “worry” and does things biologically to improve both your physical and emotional health.
Consider the following: Laughter relaxes the whole body. A good, hearty laugh relieves physical tension and stress, leaving your muscles relaxed for up to 45 minutes after.
Laughter boosts the immune system.
Laughter decreases stress hormones and increases immune cells and infection-fighting antibodies, thus improving your resistance to disease.
Laughter triggers the release of endorphins, the body’s natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.
Laughter protects the heart.
Laughter improves the function of blood vessels and increases blood flow, which can help protect you against a heart attack and other cardiovascular problems.
In fact, it has been proven that laughter and doing things that make us smile actually enhance our general well-being and promote health and resiliency during times of crisis.
OVER 25 years ago, Norman Cousins in his book Anatomy of an Illness described how watching Marx Brothers movies helped him recover from a life-threatening tissue disease.
Cousins writes how he turned to holistic medicine, especially, doing whatever he could do to lift his spirit and hopefully strengthen his immune system enough to beat his illness.
Cousins made it a point to enjoy a hearty belly laugh several times a day. A few minutes of laughter gave him an hour or more of pain-free sleep. He got a hold of all of the humorous books and comedy movies he could read and see, and lo and behold, his illness actually disappeared.
His physicians were amazed, and to this day, residency training programs in medicine require their students to read this book to grasp the importance of our emotional states in countering disease.
More recently, the trend of using humor therapeutically was portrayed in the movie Patch Adams, starring Robin Williams. In fact, the movie is based on the true story of a physician who decided to humanize medicine and incorporate humor and laughing into therapeutic care he gave to patients. It works. Most people know firsthand that when they are told a funny joke or see a good comedian, or watch a funny sitcom on television and they laugh, they feel better.
In other words, helping people to laugh when they are ill or facing difficult emotional times is in fact a very powerful coping mechanism. Just as our immune system protects us from toxins from our environment that enter our bodies, humor strengthens both our physical and psychological immune systems, reduces stress hormones, aids in combating emotional distress, and improves people’s attitudes, and as in the case of Norman Cousins, actually may have helped him overcome his terminal illness.
There are many other cases like his reported in the medical journals. Simply put, trying to stay positive using humor and laughter is good for your health.
TAKING THIS one step further, mental health practitioners recommend doing fun things in general, anything that you enjoy and can put a smile on your face. Whether it is going to your favorite aerobic exercise, telling a good joke, playing games with the kids, taking a family trip, taking a walk on the beach, reading a good novel, getting together with friends, going to the movies, going out for dinner, or making love to your spouse, do it and don’t put it off.
All these positive experiences will make you feel better. So, remember to try each day to make yourself and those you love spend some time laughing.
As Groucho Marx once said: “From the moment I picked your book up until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Someday I intend reading it.”
Dr. Gropper is a marital, child and adult psychotherapist practicing in both Jerusalem and Ra’anana. drmikegropper@gmail.com