How Does Norman Cousins Use Laughter?

1-Aside from improving our moods, laughter can reduce stress, help fight infection, and reduce pain.

In her essay “On Being a Cripple”, Nancy Mairs presents her audience with an honest inside view of her life and perspective as a cripple, a word she openly uses to define herself. She brings her world to us by discussing a wide variety of things including language, family, and humor, and how these all relate to her life. Through various stories and insights, she allows her readers to gain an understanding and acceptance of people with disabilities. She examines the public’s view of the disabled, as well as the views they have of themselves, and compares them to her own. She makes it clear that she is not to be defined solely by her disability. In discussing honestly her views, as well as

Norman Cousins said, “Laughter is a powerful way to tap positive emotions" (Moss 1). Humor is studied by many researchers in sociology, psychology, art, literature, and medicine. When people wonder whether humor aids in areas other than health, a treasure trove of possible benefits to the learning or educational community is opened up. Humor can be used as a tool to promote learning.Research speaks to the many benefits of humor in healing, to its benefits in the classroom or boardroom, from reducing stress of students or employees, to boosting self-esteem and feelings of camaraderie. Additionally, studies show that those who use humor to convey a message are often more favorably perceived. Humor helps deliver the presenter's message to

People with disabilities have not been treated fairly in the past. I believe that that those with disabilities have been treated worse than the elderly. They were not allowed to go to school with the normal kids; they were not allowed to work at most jobs. They were teased and made fun of, sometimes there were rejected by their own families. When they were in the mental hospitals they were treated very harsh, they sometimes had to go through shock therapy. Even though they are different types of disabilities, if was something that was noticeable you were treated different, as if you did not belong.

The book, Anatomy of an Illness, by Norman Cousins is a story of his self-prescribed treatment to his collagen illness; ankylosing spondylitis which causes the breakdown of the connective tissue in the spine. Norman was a member of the New York Evening Post, Current History, and a staff member of the Saturday Review of Literature. After suffering horrible reactions to the drugs he was given, Norman was determined to find an alternative to heal his body and took matters in his own hands upon approval from his physician. He did his research and found that when you have negative emotions in the body it produces negative chemical changes in the body. This lead Cousins to believe that positive emotions in the bodies would produce positive chemical changes in the body. After Cousins was told that he had little chance of surviving, he worked hard to develop a recovery program that incorporated mega doses of Vitamin C. Other than hope, love, and faith, he concluded that there should be laughter in his positive emotional therapy. He reported that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter has an anesthetic effect and would give him at least two hours of pain-free sleep. Watching the television show “Candid Camera,” viewing movies, and listening to books being read to him, would all lead to another pain-free interval by stimulating his laughter. With time, Norman experienced gradual improvements and the loss of some symptoms. He even began to regain most of his lost movement in his

Laughter also proves a vital role in helping the patients deal with their problems. Not only does it help them deal with problems but it also gave them the push toward progress on getting out of the institution.

Physical disabilities:- Depending on the nature of the disability this will have to be titrated according to the individual’s problems but could include speaking clearly and slowly, using closed questions, not patronising, only asking one question at a time and using specialised equipment.

Laughter is essential to our very existence. It can get you out of a bad day or out of a sad moment. Syvia is a primary example. Syvia’s family is in a situation where her mother has to give her portion of her meal to Syvia. Her Dad explains that “From pain your mother gave you life, through pain she continues to give (Doc A).”

Laughing in itself is therapeutic. People laugh for many different reasons. Some people even laugh when something horrible occurs, it is a method of escape from what horrors or mishaps are going on around you. "Many psychotherapists find humor a valuable tool in helping their patients to solve their social and emotional problems." (G. Samuel) Chief bromden was

People always say that laughter alleviates tension. If this is the case, then it makes sense that the use of humor when discussing uncomfortable topics can make the conversation easier and more light-hearted. One of Mark Twain’s most frequently used devices in works such as “Advice to Youth”, “To the Person Sitting in Darkness”, and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is satire, which can provide society a method to bond over uncomfortable topics, and facilitate the ability to sustain that bond through an easier way to create discussion.

Humor, it can bring light into a dark room, it can replace dark clouds and rain with sunlight. It’s applies to the best type of cure on this planet, laughter. We laugh because we enjoy ourselves and it more contagious then any virus. It changes the mood in every room, takes away from people’s negative fixed perspective, and it is also seen as an open door into someone’s personality. We aren’t all granted with this amazing gift of humor and the love to share it amongst those who need it.

My observations led me to study the effect that laughter has on two aspects of the healthcare field. I am specifically studying laughter’s role in improving patient outcomes and in the patient-practitioner relationship. Our research is beginning to show that laughter has the potential to play an important role in the health of the patient while also creating a strong foundation of trust in the patient-practitioner relationship. The research thus far has inspired me to be a physician who not only makes the patient feel safe and comfortable but also one who can make them

Disability has appeared frequently in recent films (Byrd & Elliot, 1988), a reflection of society’s interest in the subject. These films often misrepresent disability using stereotypes. These stereotypes reinforce negative and incorrect social perceptions of, and attitudes towards,

Imagine walking on a sidewalk, witnessing a group of people mimicking a homeless man with shaky hands and face, what would be the right thing to do? Individuals with disabilities get discriminated and labeled as stupid; they become a laughing stock to ignorant people. To make matters worse, many stand-up comedians and television directors find disability (particularly Parkinson’s disease) a very effective way to make the crowd laugh.

As humans, laughing and joking is something that comes natural. This is something that we have been doing even before we knew how to walk or talk. As we start to grow up, we all develop personality traits and our humor styles follow. Before taking this course, I have never consider identifying what my humor styles are until now. I took the Humor Style Questionnaire (Martin et al. 2003) and calculated that my top humor style is self-enhancing and closely following is affiliative. Throughout this paper I am going to reflect on my top humor styles with personal examples, and how it relates to my mental health, with several methods I can use to make myself healthier and happier. I will also be considering the other two styles and how then do not relate to my humor style and mental health.