Laughter Is the Best Medicine

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

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

Laughter relates to positive thinking. The positive thinking helps us to improve our immune system and become healthier. It helps in removing the negative thoughts from our mind and not letting our immune system become worse further.

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.

You can see that laughter can pull people out of a negative moment. Another instance that laughter brightened the situation is when the Hubermann had an extravagant time with Max. The Hubermann had a nice, fun moment with Max when they all were throwing snowballs at each other. That moment brightened up the negativity around them (Doc

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

Maintaining a sense of humour – the job that we do within school is obviously very important, however sometimes it helps to see the funny side of some situations as laughter can be a good way to break the ice and is also a great way of relaxing and relieving stress.

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 is viewed by some people as an important part of life. Most people enjoy amusement, and some turn to humorists as a source for that amusement. Some further view humorists as holding an important position in society because society allows humorists to say things that others can and will not say. Due to their unique position in society, humorists serve a role that is certainly unique and can be important, but not vital. Furthermore, humor can very well have a dangerous side, whether intentional or unintentional, so humorists should try to be careful with their powerful position.

Humor and entertainment can be found in everyday life. It’s crucial to our lifestyles. In fact, many doctors have found that humor and entertainment is part of keeping ourselves healthy. It can be found if we are controlled by the government or if we are self-reliant. Being self-reliant is appropriate in most cases. You have to vote, you have to manage your own money and you have to make sure you are healthy. These are all examples of the appropriate time to be self-reliant.

To laugh is defined as: “to express certain emotions, especially mirth or delight, by a series of spontaneous, usually unarticulated sounds often accompanied by corresponding facial and bodily movements” (Dictionary, 2013). This simple act has been suggested to boost immunity, lower stress hormone, decrease pain, relax muscles, and prevent heart disease (Smith & Segal, 2012), and those are just the physical health benefits. Other studies have suggested that laughter is a great way to ease anxiety and fear, relieve stress, improve mood, and even enhance resilience (Bennett et al., 2003). Not to mention that sharing a good laugh with friends and family can bring these relationships closer (Bennett et al., 2003).

In a study conducted by Kuiper & Harris (2009), the extent to which humor styles can predict different components of physical health was examined. A sample of 105 undergraduate students within the age range of 17-34 years was selected for the study. The different components of physical health included physical symptoms, attitudes about physical health issues, and coping strategies for dealing with a variety of common physical health ailments and complaints. Adaptive and maladaptive humor styles were expected to show differential relationships with the components of physical health. It was found that humor styles were unrelated to the number of physical symptoms experienced by the participants. The results also showed that higher levels of adaptive

Another example of using humor includes my significant other. Two years into the relationship my boyfriend professed his love for me and I told him that he was crazy for loving me. He was being serious and I turned it into a joke. I have a hard time seeing myself as others perceive me and my self-image does not equate to how the world views me. Additionally, I have a hard time accepting compliments and issues with

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.

I was the “funny guy” in my clique of high school friends. Ever since I learned to read English, I enjoyed reading and collecting joke books. I exhausted every single joke book from the small community library in town. Riddles, jokes about animals and wildlife, reasons why I didn’t do my homework, lawyer jokes, and later on, ethnic jokes. I knew they were funny, but I wanted more. Perhaps it was my lack of physical achievements that made me obsess with a need to entertain my peers.