Humor plays a very important role in coping with stressful and adverse life circumstances. Gross and Munoz (1995) stated that humor can be viewed as an important emotional regulation mechanism contributing to one’s mental health. According to Fredrickson (2001), the positive emotion of mirth accompanying humor alleviates the negative feelings of anxiety, anger and depression. It enables an individual to think in a broader and flexible manner and engage in creative problem solving. Humor also plays a very effective role among patients suffering from life-threatening illnesses. According to Martin (2007), patients suffering from cancer have been found to benefit from using humor in their lives. It helps them to take their disease in a lighter
1-Aside from improving our moods, laughter can reduce stress, help fight infection, and reduce pain.
"Successively, Selekman explains that fostering therapist-client cooperation is purposive use of self-disclosure, the use of humor, normalizing, demonstrating cultural and gender sensitivity, and therapeutic compliments. Mark Twain once said, 'Against the assault of laughter nothing can stand.' Humor can help generate a relaxed atmosphere, influence the client from his or her concerns, and heal those in pain. Madanes (1984) contend that what makes change possible is the therapist's ability to be confident and to see what is funny or desirable in a dire situation'. Laughter releases hormones from the
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
Based on Cancer Connect.com, a website on Mind-Body Interventions Complementary Alternative Medicine categories has stated that one research has published in Alternative Therapies in Health and Medicine, 2003 laughter could be a key factor in helping to boost the immune system which may reduce stress and increase natural killer cell levels, a type of white blood cell that attacks cancer cells.
Patch may have been on to something since science itself claims laughter is good for the human body. For one, decreasing the pain you feel and helping your blood vessels to function better; allowing them to expand which increases blood flow. All of which is good for the heart and brain. (Hara Estroff Marano,
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.
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.
Studies of the physiology of mirthful laughter, scientifically known as gelotology, are a fairly recent phenomenon. Descriptions of convalescence through positive emotional states have renewed interest in the healing potential of mirthful laughter. Norman Cousins' accounts of the therapeutic effects of laughter during his treatment and recovery from ankylosing spondylitis
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
There are some studies which show biological role of coping humor in health status. In one such study conducted by Lai et al. (2010), coping humor was found to exert effects on health. Coping humor was found to have a significant effect on the overall cortisol level in the awakening period of participants. Participants scoring high on coping humor exhibited lower levels of cortisol in the awakening period as compared to those scoring low on coping humor. The loss of hormone, cortisol, has been found to result in progressive decline in the ability to fight with diseases. Therefore, these findings suggest coping humor to have significant effects on
Most often as people age, life happens, and their social world changes; therefore, so do their sources for humor. Thankfully researchers observed that less humor led to a less enjoyable life. One particular study of “laughter therapy” done by Kuru and Kublay showed positive outcomes in nursing home residents. The National Cancer Institute defines laughter therapy as one that “uses humor to relieve pain and improve well-being. It may include laughter exercises, clowns, and comedy movies, books, games, and puzzles.” Kuru and Kublay concluded that “[a]fter the laughter therapy intervention, general and subscales (physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional and spiritual health) quality-of-life scores of residents in the experimental group significantly increased in comparison with the pretest.” If nothing else, this conclusion should motivate nursing home administrators to incorporate some type of laughter or humor therapy into the daily schedule of their
When times are difficult and people feel as if there is no possible way they could ever be happy again, one of the best ways to overcome that feeling of uselessness is by doing something you love to do. One way some individuals believe is the best way to overcome difficult times is through comedy. One person who believes making people laugh can help ease her pain is Ellen Degeneres. In her talk show “Ellen” when she was upset about her dog being taken away from another family, she said, “I’m a human being and I have bad days and I have sad days but when I walk out here and when ya’ll cheer and when you’re here to dance and here to laugh and I know I make people happy, it changes my mood. I come out here and I can do anything because of the
Wood et al. (2007) was of the view that adaptive humor styles would be positively related to psychological well-being, whereas maladaptive humor styles would be negatively related to psychological well-being. It was found that individuals expressing maladaptive humor styles reported higher levels of anxiety, depression and negative self-judgments and lower levels of self-esteem. Individuals expressing adaptive humor styles reported lower levels of anxiety, burnout and exhaustion and higher levels of self-esteem. According to Blau et al. (2010), adaptive humor seems to function as an emotion regulation mechanism that can facilitate well-being (Romero & Pescosolido, 2008).
2. Sub-subpoint Studies show that our response to stressful events can increase by whether we view something as a threat or a challenge. Humor can give us a more lighthearted perspective and help us view events as challenges, which makes them less threatening and seem more positive.