When I was in high school I was the one who carried a Trapper Keeper. For those of you who don’t know what that is, it is a binder where you insert folders for each class you are taking. Within those folders were your papers from each class nicely nestled. One day my friend and I ran into the bathroom between classes and when I went to set my Trapper Keeper down, each and every paper that was shoved inside, yes shoved – my Trapper Keeper looked like a pack rats dream - cascaded out and under each and every bathroom stall. I was in high school, very awkward and completely mortified. My friend, on the other hand, absolutely fell into a fit of laughter. She was laughing so hard she started sliding down the wall. As I looked at her lost in this fit of laughter, seeing the pure joy on her face, I started to realize how absolutely funny it was and at the same time how I lived in a sitcom. I don’t joke with you when I tell you my husband calls me Lucy (after Lucille Ball) every time I have an “idea”. My life has been a never-ending pattern of these funny moments. To this day, in even the worst of times, I find the funny. What if you had the power in stepping back and finding the funny in the moment? What if you could put that humor and joy into your day to break the monotony?
When we start our life we find ourselves in a wash, rinse, repeat cycle day-to-day, it can dim your light and you find yourself just moving with no purpose, then the conveyor belt starts speeding up – you get married, have kids, take on more responsibility at work, get involved with your kids school, volunteer at the library….becoming more and more serious about LIFE. When was the last time you stopped and really looked back at your life to find the moments that made you laugh, the joy that lit inside and out or realizing something that seemed so mortifying at the time was actually hysterical?
When we truly laugh from deep within us, there are very real health benefits:
· Laughter reduces the level of stress hormones like cortisol, epinephrine (adrenaline), dopamine and growth hormones while at the same time increasing those feel-good hormones, endorphins
· Laughter increases the effectiveness of antibody-producing cells and enhances the effectiveness of T cells = can strengthen the immune system
· Laughter is both a physical and emotional release
· Laughter can exercise the diaphragm, contract the abs and work the shoulders leading to being more relaxed
· Laughter can distract you from anger, judgement, guilt, stress and fear
· Laughter can help you see challenges in a whole new light
· Laughter connects you with other people because it can be contagious
Some great first steps to putting humor back into your life is to start stepping back from situations and find the funny, watching something funny or being with people that make you laugh. We have been raised to be so serious that we are missing the opportunity for pure JOY in the moments. Take some time this month and find the funny. In the meantime, I am going to jump right back into my sitcom – because if you knew what was going on right now, you would be surprised I have still found the funny in life. That is for another story…
Sources:
1. Wellenzohn S, Proyer RT, Ruch W. Who Benefits From Humor-Based Positive Psychology Interventions? The Moderating Effects of Personality Traits and Sense of Humor. Front Psychol. 2018;9:821. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00821
2. Savage BM, Lujan HL, Thipparthi RR, Dicarlo SE. Humor, laughter, learning, and health! A brief review. Adv Physiol Educ. 2017;41(3):341-347. doi:10.1152/advan.00030.2017
3. Skinner N, Brewer N. The dynamics of threat and challenge appraisals prior to stressful achievement events. J Pers Soc Psychol. 2002;83(3):678-92. doi:10.1037//0022-3514.83.3.678