Chronic Illness And Laughter

Posts Tagged ‘health’

Have you ever thought about the healing power of compassion?

It cannot be overestimated when it comes to long term illness and disease. Especially where, as often can be the case, inner self-judgement or outwardly directed  blame compounds the illness and often results in a resistance, conscious or not, to healing and being well.Self compassion is one of the main keys to healing

Having coached such people for the past five years, I’ve learned that many of them often feel inadequate, guilty, and beat themselves up because they can’t do all the things for the important people in their lives that they formerly could.

Or they have a long-standing issue from the past where they blame themselves or others and it hasn’t yet been resolved

A Case Study

For example, not too long ago, a woman with fibromyalgia, a painful and often debilitating condition, contacted me. Amy (not her real name) wanted to know how she could do the housework and the many other tasks she felt she needed to do to be a good wife.

It’s admirable that Amy wanted to do her housekeeping and other tasks better. However, from the way she stated her question, it was clear that because she couldn’t do them as well as she could before she became ill, Amy didn’t think she was a good wife.

Every time I hear a story like hers – and I’ve heard many of them, I’m reminded again how sad it is that people with long term illnesses feel inadequate as spouses, parents, partners, or friends because they can’t do all the things they could when they were well.

Or because they have past issues about feeling judged, criticised or rejected by others or by themeslves.

The Challenge of Living With Long-Term Illness

The challenge of living and dealing with its symptoms are hard enough. You certainly don’t need the additional burden of feeling inadequate because of your illness- imposed limitations. To help you get rid of that burden, I’m going to share with you two very effective methods for overcoming any feelings of inadequacy you may experience because of it.

The first method is this:

• Heed this slightly modified version of the well know Native American saying, "Don’t judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his moccasins."

That saying tells us to take into account all of a person’s present circumstances and challenges, as well as their past experiences and traumas, before passing judgment on them. My modified version of that saying is:

• "Don’t judge yourself until you’ve walked a mile in YOUR OWN MOCCASINS."

What I mean is to fully let in and acknowledge all the ways your life has become more difficult, compared to how it was before the onset of your particular condition.

Now I’m not saying you should hold your own pity party, or otherwise feel sorry for yourself. But I’ve observed that most people minimize the pain they live with and trivialize the difficult, illness-related challenges they face every day.

If you do that, I strongly encourage you to admit to yourself how tough it can be to live with it.

Be Compassionate With Yourself

Here’s why: If you minimize and trivialize your pain and challenges, then, when you feel exhausted or depressed, you are likely to view the exhaustion or depression as a sign of your inadequacy.

In contrast, when you admit to yourself how hard your challenges are to deal with, you will realize that anyone in your situation would probably feel as exhausted and depressed as you do, if not more so.

You are beginning to acknowledge and listen to yourself with love and respect

Once you do that, you will most likely stop being so critical and judgmental, and begin being much kinder and gentler to yourself. Also, when you fully acknowledge how hard your symptoms are to manage, you are likely to feel a justified sense of accomplishment for how well you manage them and get through each day!

So as I said above, don’t judge yourself until you’ve walked that mile in your own moccasins.

Before telling you the second method you can use to stop getting down on yourself and to stop feeling inadequate, I have a question:

Q:What would you do if you found a bird that was injured and couldn’t fly?

If you’re like me and all the others to whom I’ve posed this question, you would either unhesitatingly take care of the bird yourself or find someone who could. And if you decided to try to find someone else but weren’t able to do so, you would certainly take care of the bird rather than abandon it.

I believe the reason you would act in this way is because, as a human being, you have an innately compassionate nature – a real desire to lessen the suffering of others, whether they be animals or people. This point is very important, because when you have a serious condition, then in a way you’re like that injured bird that can no longer fly the way it once could.

This is your body. Your inner spirit on the other hand is not chronically ill. It is a resource you can tap into to sutain and nourish yourself with. This is the springwell of compassion, of love and laughter, of soft kind caring, the gentle heart that goes out to the bird, that feels uplifted by a beautiful flower. The more you tap into this healing source the more likely you are to become well

Just for 30 seconds, turn your attention to this ‘Healing Moments’ video and see what a difference it can make to this moment

 
The more ‘healing moments’ you experience the more you will be nurtured from the inside and the less room there will be for self criticism and blame. Your power is the power of choice, of choosing what to focus on

Here’s another question for you:

Q: Would you ever say to that bird "Get up, dammit, and fly, like all the other birds are doing"?

Yes, the question is ridiculous. Of course you wouldn’t tell the bird that. The way I see it, being critical and judgmental of yourself because of your particular related limitations, is a lot like criticizing that injured bird for not being able to fly. Wouldn’t you agree?

The Healing Power of Compassion

Given that you would give the bird the care it needed to heal as much as it possibly could, my second method for stopping getting down on yourself is to give yourself the same compassion and care that you would, without a moment’s hesitation, give to an injured bird.

By using these two methods, a high percentage of my clients have stopped beating themselves up for their limitations. They’ve started taking much better care of themselves and they’ve then gone on to make many other positive changes in their lives.

The Power of Positive Change

A good example is a client I’ll call Linda, who has Crohn’s disease. Previously, when Linda’s life became stressful she would very often experience a major flare up.

Stress compromises the body’s immune system causing it to have to fight harder to become well

The antidote to stress is relaxation. When you stop judging yourself you relax and when you relax, self judgement loses its hold

There are lots of ways to relax and most of them are enjoyable and fun!

Have a look through the checklist below for some ideas:

Managing Stress, Preventing Illness

• Actively participate in your own healing and health management

• Learn To Meditate and do it at odd moments in the day

• Talk to yourself positively and watch uplifting movies
  

• Eat well  balanced and nutritious diets 

• Learn to say NO with confidence, to things you cannot do.

• Laugh more often – it’s a medicine

• Learn to  exercise regularly  and get plenty of rest

As we worked together, she markedly improved her ability to care for herself as she would "an injured bird,’ and worked through her remaining self-judgment by "walking a mile in her own moccasins."

Linda’s mother recently died at the same time her best friend was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Linda shuttled between helping and supporting her friend, taking care of her mother’s affairs and putting on her memorial service. Doing those things involved a lot of flying, a lot of driving, a lot of work, and a lot of stress. Because of our sessions and the work Linda did between them, she was able to do all the things those two events called for without having a flare. Bravo, Linda!

I wish you the best as you start using these methods in your own life.

Author: Thomas W. Robinson

Chronic Illness Coach Tom Robinson works with those who are overstressed or overwhelmed by their condition and life challenges. Tom helps them meet those challenges, and then he helps them find–and keep–true happiness and joy.

His free report: How to Have a Better Life Than You Ever Thought Possible – Even When Nothing Else You’ve Tried Has Worked, is available at his website: ChronicIllnessCoach.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_W._Robinson

Here are some articles I have collected about compassion that may be worth investigating  …

Compassion

The next step, when one has stomped and subdued and ‘cast away’ one’s ‘enemies’ and ‘old programming’ and ‘inner demons,’ seems to be the further cultivation of Compassion as a Sadhana or spiritual practice

Compassion Practices

In Tibetan Buddhism, a Bodhisattva is anyone who is motivated by compassion and seeks enlightenment not only for him/herself but also for everyone

Changing Our Habit of Judgment to the Practice of Compassion 

How does judging our bodies mask our need for compassion?

Cultivating Compassion: Meditation

There are at least two components to one’s spiritual practice, Wisdom and Compassion, and associating with people, especially in difficult situations, helps us grow Compassion. 

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: challenge, compassion, compassionate, coping, healing, health, illness, living, long term, method, moments, power, stress, video, with

One of the silent illnesses that you don’t see on the outside but which is all the same, chronic and  life threatening, is high blood pressure

As the name implies, the chronic illness, hypertension is simply having a blood pressure higher than usual. When it is lower than usual, we call it hypotension. But this is not as common.

Stress related hyper-tension

In this fast paced, career-demanding world, who is not under stress? I bet everyone is! But have you ever considered that this can lead to hypertension? I have news for you – both good and bad. But I will start with the bad news.

The bad news

In our modern society, because of our lifestyles, demanding work schedules and the economic pressure, we all stand the risk of having a high blood pressure.

If you think you are not a target for hypertension, you are deceiving yourself. In fact, as long as there is an amount of pressure or stress on you, there is every chance that you can develop this life-threatening illness. If you have been ‘overwhelmed’, ‘anxious’, ‘irritable’, ‘depressed’, ‘burned out’, ‘on the verge of losing it’ before, then you know what stress is about. It is this condition of stress which can lead to increased hypertension risk. Even more unfortunate for those who have high blood pressure, the stress levels make their situation worse.

But do you know how these stress levels come about? You know them:

• Traffic jams, workload, financial pressures, strained relations
• Rejection, negative or pessimistic thinking, etc.

These are the usual causes of stress. Who doesn’t go through these these days?

The good news

Now the good news is that there are ways to manage these stress levels. Doing this will help us reduce our risk of hypertension. If your blood pressure is high, then you need to critically follow these suggestions too

Managing Stres, Preventing Illness

• Actively participate in your own healing and health management

• Learn To Meditate and do it at odd moments in the day

• Talk to a friend or close relative regularly – when you have a problem and when you don’t.

• Talk to yourself positively – constantly

• Set and develop realistic goals and expectations for yourself – so that you don’t feel you are under achieving.

• Organize and plan your days – so that you don’t get disorganized and overwhelmed

• Take regular breaks from busy schedules – it helps to release stress

• Eat well  balanced and nutritious diets

• Learn to say NO (politely but firmly) to things you cannot do.

• Get a regular hobby – play is as important as work!

• Laugh more often – it’s a medicine

• Learn to  exercise regularly and get plenty of rest

If you are looking for natural hypertension remedies – for yourself or to help someone else – you will need to consider the suggestions above seriously. They will help you. Drugs will not do and no amount of therapy programs will be of any use if you forgo the suggestions above.

The main problem has always been the discipline to follow through. If you think this is hard and a waste of time, consider the other side – stressing yourself out and ultimately having to deal with hypertension.

If you are also hypertensive, then you need to practice these suggestions too. You may not see results immediately – as it is with any natural remedy – but you will find out that in the long term, you will live longer and will be able to add 10 or 15 more years to your life.

Here are a few more posts about this very common stress related condition…

Revolutionary surgery may cure high blood pressure levels

LONDON – British medical scientists have demonstrated a revolutionary new operation that can effectively cure persistent high bp and takes under an hour to carry out.  

How to Manage and Control High Blood Pressure Naturally?

These days, it is a very common heart problem that has affected both old as well as young people. Unhealthy eating habits, lack of physical activities and poor lifestyle are the leading factors responsible for this

How the Mediterranean Diet Beats High Blood Pressure

How the Mediterranean Diet Beats High B P. The Mediterranean diet is not some new fad diet … dreamed up by a weight-loss “guru” or as a new health measure. It is thousands of years old. People living along the Mediterranean 

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: blood, diet, exercise, for, health, high, hypertension, hypertensive, hypotension, laugh, laughter, levels, manage, management, medicine, natural, pressure, remedies, stress, under

Hypothyroidism is often difficult to detect since it has signs and symptoms that could be attributed to any number of problems. However hopefully the following list of common symptoms can help to throw some light on the condition for a clearer diagnosis and treatment plan

Adults and Elderly

Some of the most common symptoms of hypothyroidism may include:

• Feeling sluggish or tired
• Weakness
• Thin or course hair
• Brittle nails
• Yellow tinted skin
• Memory problems
• Low tolerance to cold
• Cold skin
• Depression
• Difficulty concentrating
• Constipation
• Irregular or heavy menstrual periods

Some symptoms of hypothyroidism that may be present though less common are:

• Muscle cramps and aches
• Swelling of the extremities
• Puffiness around the eyes
• Enlargement of the thyroid gland or goiter
• Slight weight gain
• Hoarseness

Infants and Children

Symptoms of hypothyroidism in infants and children can often be so mild that they are difficult to detect, and are commonly mistaken for other illnesses.

These symptoms may include:

• Poor performance in school
• Lack of concentration
• Goiter or swelling at the front base of the neck
• Scaling of the skin
• Difficulty or inability swallowing food
• Lack of appetite
• Behavioral problems
• Weight gain
• Slow growth

It is important to note that left undiagnosed and untreated, the symptoms of hypothyroidism in infants and children can lead to a lifetime of health problems and stunt physical growth. If the symptoms of hypothyroidism are treated within the first month of life the child will be able to develop normally.

Long Term Effects

Although the symptoms of hypothyroidism can disappear on their own over time, it is most likely that they will lead to loss of thyroid function and a lifetime of other physical diseases. These diseases include:

• Sleep apnea
• Fluid around the heart
• Risk of coronary artery disease
• High cholesterol and triglycerides

Who is at Risk

There are many physical and environmental factors that may increase your risk of developing the symptoms of hypothyroidism these may include and are not limited to:

Family history: the symptoms of hypothyroidism may be genetic, it is important to discuss your family medical history with your physician.

Age: Symptoms of hypothyroidism are more likely to occur in the elderly.

Medications: Some medications can interfere with the thyroid gland.

Other factors: Diabetes or autoimmune disease may contribute to the onset of symptoms of hypothyroidism.

Call your Doctor

Call your doctor or emergency medical officials immediately if you experience any of these more severe symptoms of hypothyroidism:

• Slow or shallow breathing
• Confusion, psychosis, or rapid mental deterioration
• Extreme weakness
• Loss of consciousness

Author: Jane Jack Collins

Do you want to manage hypothyroidism more effectively? Learn More about hypothyroid diet and ways to manage hypothyroidism.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jane_Jack_Collins

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: common, diagnosis, health, hypothyroidism, problems, signs, symptoms, thyroid function, treat

Psychologists studying the science of happiness believe that laughter promotes both physical and psychological health

>>   Boost your health with simple laughter exercises. Click here to learn how

A managed care consultant dies and goes to Heaven. Frankly, he can’t believe his good fortune in being there, given the life he has led. But St. Peter checks the records and says, ‘There’s no mistake, you’re supposed to be here. See, it says right here that you are scheduled for Heaven…and you’re authorized for three days.’

There may be a lot to laugh about in the health care system these days, but as a patient, humor is probably the last thing on your mind. Getting a frightening diagnosis is stressful-emotionally as well as physiologically. However, humor could be just the thing you need to get you through this period. Of course, there’s nothing funny about the fact that one has cancer.

But learning to find the light side of things that happen as a result of your cancer gives you a powerful tool to help you cope on a day-to-day basis. When you can  poke fun at your stressors , you remove some of their emotional power over you. Humor helps you sustain an upbeat, optimistic frame of mind, even on the bad days. This more positive emotional state helps give you the resilience you need to cope with the next problem thrown your way. Your sense of humor also helps bring back some joy into your life.

There’s no rigorous evidence that humor and laughter add years to your life, but they certainly add life to your years. Cancer patients will often say: ‘If it hadn’t been for my sense of humor, I would never have gotten through the treatments, let alone the disease.’ They note that finding a light side of things was essential to maintaining hope and determination to fight the disease.

>>   Boost your health with simple laughter exercises. Click here to learn how

Humor provides a sense of control over the stress that goes along with battling cancer by giving you more control over your daily mood. A good belly laugh also boosts both your energy level and immune system on the days when you don’t want to even get out of bed. This is especially important, since most patients experience fatigue as a result of their cancer treatment. Finally, humor and laughter provide a means of ‘letting go’ of the anger and anxiety.

>>   Sign up for Free ‘Benefits of laughter’  E-Course   >>   — >>

Dr. Bernie Siegel has been reminding us for years that emotional factors can play an important role in battling disease. By sustaining a more positive mood, and reducing the amount of time spent in a state of anger, anxiety, or depression, you are playing an active role in mobilizing your body’s own health and healing resources. Your emotional state begins working for your health, rather than against it. Laughter is one of the most powerful and rapid means you have of replacing a negative with a positive mood.

Ian Gawler, author of Peace of Mind and an Australian doctor who has survived bone cancer for several decades, used the power of laughter to heal himself. There are many similar examples related in Cancer Free For Life where the author describes the amazing  power of positive thinking and positive living for rapid healing of cancer . Watching funny movies and cartoons seem to have a healing and effective impact on cancer patients. They lift the mood and help strengthen the immune system, which through the laughter receives a message of joy and hope. Most stress can be alleviated with laughter, and this again helps the immune system concentrates its resources toward healing and scavenging cancer cells as opposed to reducing the impact of stress on the body.

Dr Magne has been researching the origins and causes of disease and cancer for the past 25 years. Visit www.cancer-free-for-life.com to receive a FREE report on The 10 Ways to Cure Cancer Immediately. This article is available for reprint for your website and newsletter, provided that you maintain its copyright integrity and include the signature.

By: Dr Laurence Magne Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Doctors thees days recommend laughter as a complementary practice alongside traditional treatments for such illnesses since they are regarded as being highly supportive of recovery

What are your thoughts on laughter and health?

Share your ideas in the comments box below

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: and, benefits, chronic, effects, health, illness, laughter, laughter psychology, of, research, stress

Pain in Women: Chronic Pain Management

If you’re a computer user, or your work involves constant repetitive movements with your hands and arms, you may develop tendinitis.

Tendinitis is the inflammation of a tendon – the tough elastic fibers that connect muscles to bones. You can get tendinitis in any tendon, but it’s very common in the hands and arms.

Your first symptom may be pain, but it’s more likely to be swelling initially, and a sensation of numbness or pins and needles. Then your hands and arms become sore and painful, and you may be woken by pain at night.

Rest Is The First Solution To Hand And Arm Tendinitis

Since most hand and arm tendinitis develops from over-use, your first solution is to rest from the activities which are causing the tendinitis. Of course since we use our hands and arms constantly, this is not completely possible. But try to rest as much as possible. If you suspect that computer-use is the culprit, cut down on keyboarding as much as you can.

Whatever the case is, do not leave a neck pain to continue without treatment or it will become more complicated with the passage of time. The most important thing is to find a way to relieve the pain so as to go on with work as usual, even if the pain is not completely eradicated.

Techniques for alleviating it

For patients who have chronic pain, getting addicted to narcotic painkillers is the last resort. Natural remedies to help alleviate it are preferred. One of the best ways is to learn how to relax.

While this may sound easy, it can take a lot of practice to consciously relax. One way to go about this is with meditation and breathing exercises. The idea is to focus on the breathing or an object and chant a word such as "Om" until one gets into a trance.

Another meditative approach is called osteomyelitis. The goal is to focus all the attention on the pain in a relaxed way as possible. Don’t think about negative thoughts about the pain (such as cursing to yourself or pitying yourself or getting angry). Make the pain a focus of your meditation, observed dispassionately for what it is.

You could also try  EFT to dissolve pain within minutes 

One of the best and most fun ways is to relax through laughter 

Author Francisco Rodriguez H.Trabajar desde casa es f cil si sabes como
Todo sobre Juegos para gente que le gusta jugar Encontrar un Trabajo Empleo es f cil si sabe d nde buscar

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: arm, benefits of laughter, chronic, hand, health, Meditation, natural, pain, physical, relief, relieve, remedies, tendinitis, treatment

The Law of Attraction is a Universal Law  Law of Attraction Relationship Coach Nannette Geiger, writes…

A Universal Law is one that operates dependably under all situations. A Universal Law doesn’t treat people who utilize the Principle more preferentially. It doesn’t take more kindly to the rich and famous. In fact, the LoA is working universally 24/7 whether you are aware of it, or not!

Why not harness the power that creates worlds to create the world of your dreams? Law of Attraction Life Coaching does just that.

By now, perhaps you’ve seen or at least heard about the movie "The Secret. Or not. Many people thought the movie lacked depth with a primary focus on material objects. Is that all this Universal Law is all about?

All you have to do is say you want something, spend some time thinking and imagining it and then POOF, it becomes part of your life experience. Just like the genie in Alladin s lamp who says: Your wish is my command .

The Law of Attraction States that What You Place Your Attention on Becomes Part of Your Experience

In very basic terms, the Law of Attraction states in the words of one of the teachers in The Secret, ‘what you think about and thank about, you bring about’. Whatever you give our attention to, whether wanted or unwanted, attracts more along the lines of what you’re thinking. Your thoughts send out signals or vibrations like a transmitting tower to the Universe. This attracts more people, situations and things that are like those thoughts. You can attract wealth and attract love and health too.

You may be wondering, "How does this really work? I’ve been wanting more money for years. I’ve wanted to have a loving partner in my life, and that’s not happening either."

Attract good health into your life through laughter. Check out the benefits of laughter E-Course here  ====>

Your attention and energy has been focused on the lack of the better job, the lack of your ideal partner the lack of good health. Your thoughts and your deeply held beliefs are what is transmitting the energy to the Universe that says I m miserable, I want a better job, a life without pain, moan groan, poor me. Now you may get another job or a new lover, or an easing of pain but you took you and your miserable vibration with you you created another miserable job or relationship. Haven’t you ever noticed same boss, different head? Same guy, different name. The only common denominator is YOU!

This Is An Energy-based Universe

Quantum Physics tells us that what we observe we influence.. Your thoughts are the energetic impulses that communicate, not your words. Thoughts do create. Anything that has ever been created first evolved from the thought behind it.

Your Thoughts Are Creating Your Life

You are creating with your thoughts all day long. You may be re-creating more of the same, by thinking the same old thoughts so life doesn t appear to change much. You keep thinking thoughts along the same theme, therefore same stuff, different day. You have a programmed default setting in there somewhere that needs to be revised and refreshed. We all have them. We’ve learned most of this from our well-meaning parents and teachers. They didn t know any better. Now we do!

The Control of Your Thoughts Is Up To You

It doesn’t happen overnight. It took a while to have these programs installed, but sure enough we can override them. It is very simple process just not always easy.

That’s where working with a skilled Law of Attraction Coach comes in. You can transform your life as quickly as you can change your mind. For more information visit  http://www.nanettegeiger.com

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: attention, attract, focus, health, Law of Attraction, manifestation, secret, the law of attraction, the secret movie, universal law of attraction

Have you ever heard that there is a gift in adversity? One of my all time favourite quotes from a Sufi saying is:

“When the heart grieves over what it has lost,

the spirit rejoices over what it has left”

The following article talks about how illness can become the turning point for a  beautiful transformation.

Following the diagnosis of a chronic or life-threatening illness, many patients will share that the illness was a gift. What changed for them and why? Illness can be the portal to personal, emotional and spiritual transformation.

When diagnosed with a chronic or life-threatening illness transformation begin the moment the doctor gives you the news. Transformation is the cornerstone of what will become your ally as you take on the challenges associated with your illness. The choice is up to you how you use these transformative powers. We’ve all heard the person who has been diagnosed with some horrendous illness who says that it was a gift. It may be difficult to believe or understand, but it’s really punctuating the transformation process, not the illness.

The difficult situation for many of us is that it takes some huge force of energy to shift us out of a life of complacency.

An illness diagnosis is certainly a catapulting event that throws you into a universe filled with questions and possibility.

What most don’t realize is that transformation takes focus, concentration and energy. It is an intentional activity. Following the diagnosis it’s the choice you make about how you will take on this health challenge.

The process of transformation is similar to that of the pilgrims who set out on long journeys to shrines hoping for healing. These individuals are called to embark on this journey to prove their commitment to getting well.

At the time they embark on this journey they do so without knowing what will happen every step along the way. Following your diagnosis your choice to empower yourself and make mindful and informed judgments about care is your pilgrimage. You are called and if you choose to heed the call, you’ll experience challenges, setbacks and triumphs that will invigorate your journey to wellness.

One of the obstacles related to transformation is that it can often be short lived. Studies from Johns Hopkins University show that once heart disease patients pass through the stage of being critical, they begin to revert back to their old bad habits of poor nutrition and lack of exercise. The goal is to experience the transformation and fortify the new activities with a commitment and a vow to continue these changes in hopes of putting the disease behind you.

The areas that most people experience transformation are regarding stress, work/life balance and appreciation for family and friends. You may believe that you were scared into making these changes and at first that may have been the truth. When you are able to create a relationship with the changes is when you know transformation has taken place. It’s a shift in priorities. It’s the gift you give yourself to make better choices about how you spend your time and money. It sends a message to family and friends that you intend to be more present with them and intend on getting well to stay a part of their daily lives.

We hear the word transformation and feel it is mystical or magical. The truth is that when you decide to become informed about your health and your illness you have made a transformative shift. While going through treatment when you decide to leave the office on time and not take work home so you can spend time with your family; that’s a transformative action. Knowing what foods give you energy and build your immune system is a transformative experience. It’s not rocket science, but it must be a conscious decision on your part and it’s a commitment that needs to last a lifetime.

By Greg Katz

Surviving Strong
Mentoring those facing health challenges by inspiring, supporting and educating patients on personal health advocacy

Health Nutrition Supplements Deliver Your Best Possible Body

You need health nutrition supplements in your diet and exercise program for more than one reason. First of all, to burn off your fat stores you need these.

Womens health issues

A breakthrough in treating cardiovascular problems, osteoporosis and a wide variety of other health issues has recently been tied to a surprising source: vitamin K.  

Spa Sounds: How Music and Chants Contribute to Holistic Benefits

The voice also produces a waveform pattern that contains a great deal of frequency information that seems to relate to the physical and emotional health and balance of the speaker. Since every person’s voice is unique, the resulting …

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: chronic, emotional, health, illness, illnesses, questions, ways to wellness, wellness

No one on earth would love to visit a doctor in all his sanity. But no matter how much we hate to knock at the Doc’s door, something or the other takes us right there.

And the visits increase with age, as does the number of health problems.

Now while it is true that doctors, treatments and medicines cannot be totally done away with, you can at least keep things within the limits of reason just by a smile or a grin every now and then.

Go see the laugh doctor!

Helping your health shine with just a smile well, if that sounded funny you can laugh alright, but it was not a jest by any means. On the contrary, health is indeed directly proportional to laughter.

Transform pain into joy!

The reasons are not hard to guess.

Everyone likes to share humor, make merry or have fun. But what you might not know just as yet is that, the more you laugh and be happy, the less threat you pose to your health.

No kidding this fun, joy and humor are instrumental in uplifting the moral and physical health of a human being. Research says that the chances of a heart attack are reduced by huge degrees for those who laugh more than their fellows. Laughter therapists hold that laughter plays a huge role in today’s saga of survival. In the rat race of life, every little thing may lead to stress, anxiety, agitation or depression. The common antidote to all these is nothing but a hearty laugh.

One good thing about  the laughter therapy to health is that people never get tired of excess.

You can never possibly have enough of fun. If you love to laugh, you are all set to live a healthy stress-free life.

And this may hold fine testimony to all success stories of humor or humorous pieces of work, be it in books or over the Internet. Take for instance the funny columns in books, magazines or your daily. Or the funny stuff you get online to tickle your funny bone.

Didn’t you get hooked on to them for hours grinning ear to ear? And didn’t you manage to flip through them at least once even on a busy day? That is the where the ambrosia of survival lies.

Happiness and laughter relaxes you and  relaxation relieves pain .

Nowadays, the Internet is an endless source of humorous sites where people spend hours to do away with their boredom, or even when they are not bored.

Voraciously reading jokes, watching funny videos or playing fun games they all knowingly or unknowingly ensure that they see the doctor less. However, the doctor or no doctor, who would mind a few gags and giggles to keep the spirits high? So be it. Laugh your heart out to be at the happy end of health.

By: Wain Roy Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Wain Roy is an internet marketing professional expert in various industries like real estate, web design, finance, medical tourism, Canadian pharmacy drug and funny videos

Sense of Humor on Answerolgy

At Answerology.com, you can ask the opposite sex anything! Anonymously survey our global community of men and women. Get real answers to your most intimate relationship questions. Ask fun questions, get fun answers.  

Military humor – Rebreather World

Thank God They Can Still Maintain Their Sense Of Humor Over There!

Coffee and Viagra, Medical Jokes, Viagra Humor – Nurse Discussion

http://www.nursinghumor.com/ medical A mature woman goes to fef the doctor and asks his help to revive her husband’s sex drive. “Have you considered.  

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: benefits of, health, how to live with chronic illness, laughing helps your body, laughter, not coping with chronic illness, positive effects of laughter

The adage, ‘laughter is the best medicine’, proves to be true when it comes to keeping heart attacks at bay.

Recent studies conducted at a university in Baltimore show that people who always have a good laugh are less likely to have heart diseases. Further, people with heart diseases are found 40% less probable to laugh and become humorous compared to people to those without heart problems. If this is true, the very elixir that could solve a serious medical condition pertaining to the heart is found the very primordial act of laughing at really funny jokes.

Learn how to laugh for health here

A good belly laugh considered to be a form of exercise. It can serve as an ‘internal exercise because it provides a good cardiac stimulation and conditioning. This is especially important to those who don’t have the time to exercise or do physical activities. Laughing also prevents hypertension because it lessens the likeliness of stress. It relaxes muscles and lessens the supply of dopamine in he blood, a hormone known to induce the fight or flight response.

Learn how to be happy now for your good health

Knowing all these, how can you practice the habit of laughing to keep heart attack away?

Here are some ways that are not only useful in preventing heart problems but also act as an excellent pain reliever for current problems and helps to relieve the tedium of chronic illnesses, even leading to a cure.

1. Think of happy thoughts.

Keeping a light-hearted disposition is crucial in preventing heart attacks. Try to recall the things that you find funny. This may include a hilarious scene on TV, news or an event. Whenever stress starts keeping in, think about these situations can lower your stress and anxiety levels.

2. Engage in a healthy and entertaining conversation with close friends.

Doing this does not only produce some natural laughter, but also helps maintain good mental health. It gives a light feeling and relieves tension.

3. Watch funny movies and TV shows.

This is probably one of the easiest things to do to laugh. Immersing in the hilarity of others’ propensity for funny antics is the ultimate way to turn off sadness and stress. The heart benefits a lot from the laughter you give out.

4. Read some really funny jokes.

Fortunately, there are lots of good sites on the internet that feature jokes and pranks that people can laugh at. When the feeling of heaviness of heart creeps in, don’t wallow in misery. Taking care of the heart through laughing is very important.

5. Relax!

Don’t pretend to have fun, but let laughter come naturally. It is also not advisable to be so serious about life. If there’s a big hindrance on the road, don’t lash out and go berserk. Relax and respond humorously to everyday life’s situation. Think of positive things that could still induce some laughter amidst a stressful incident. Remember that most of the time, stress is only in the mind.

Find easy ways to relax such as listening to relaxation CDs

Learning to meditate destresses, lowers resistances and increases the ability to laugh which has many positive health effects

Nursing loneliness and anguish is the fastest way to a nasty and life-threatening heart attack. Don’t treat your heart like you have another one in the bank in case what you have fails to beat. Nurture a happy disposition, laugh at really funny jokes, and smile to ensure a healthy heart.

By: Joe Owens Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

A Computer Engineering student who loves to travel. Reading current news in the internet is one of his past times. Taking pictures of the things around him fully satisfies him. He loves to play badminton and his favorite pets are cats. For more information and queries, you may visit Really Funny Jokes

Clean jokes : clean jokes are the most funny

Are you looking for some short, funny and clean jokes that y fef ou can tell at the office? The web site: www.jokesclean.com has some greatones! You can find all of the classics on there; including funny things that kids have said! 

Playing the piano | best clean funny jokes | Animal Jokes

Best Clean Funny Jokes. Alltop, all the top stories. Playing the piano … The funniest jokes on the web – the best clean funny jokes. Most recent entries. Funny movie quotes from County Hospital, a short film by Laurel and Hardy 

Superman Dates | best clean funny jokes | Funny Videos

Courtesy of BlueFishTV and Tangle, a *very* funny video that looks at what it would like, if Superman was dating 

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: clean funny short jokes, health, jokes that will make you laugh, laughing, physical benefits of laughter, positive effects of

Can laughter be used as a stress reliever and coping strategy in difficult situations? It would appear so.

Learn how to reduce stress through laughter

During World War Two, the soldiers between their battles would laugh and have fun whenever and wherever possible, so that they would put the negative and unpleasant memories out of their minds.

Why? Because it is a known fact that you can’t be stressed, depressed, or plagued with anxiety when you are having fun. They needed this diversion to forget, if even just for a limited time, so that they could carry on the extremely difficult tasks and responsibilities that they were charged with.

It was the same on the home front. There were more songs, plays, movies created than at any other time in history. There were all kinds of social activities to cheer up and keep people positively charged. And it worked on both the battle front, as well as at home. This ultimately with winning strategies and skilled efforts combined to bring victory.

The resiliency of people is truly remarkable and when times are tough, as is the case to day, people can, and must cope with an optimistic view of the future.

This is more easily accomplished when  humor, laughter and playfulness are employed.

Humor and laughter help the person see a lighter and brighter side and help us focus on more creative and effective solutions.

People should also bear in mind that nothing is accomplished by adopting and maintaining a pessimistic perspective, as this only translates in negative thinking, attitude and action. Negative thinking can actually increase pain!

Life is short, live it to the fullest, love with all your heart, and laugh at every opportunity.

Learn how to transform pain into joy

Author: Gerry Hopman

For more information on how powerful humor, laughter are, visit Gerry’s web site at: http://www.humor-laughter.com

Gerry Hopman is Humorist, Humor Motivational Speaker and Author. He believes that humor is essential to balance in life and career.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerry_Hopman

Are Humor and Laughter Coping Strategies During Difficult Times?

Can humor and laughter help us in these difficult economic times. History tells us that this is indeed the case. 

The Importance Of Laughter

The importance of laughter in your life to keep you calm and happy makes perfect sense but is there really any evidence that this is true? Yes. And don’t take my word for it. This comes straight from the Mayo Clinic

Building Business Success: A Healthy Dose of Laughter

It can be used for coping, for saving face, for gaining status, for testing limits, for social control, and for bonding. Medical studies also show that laughter boosts levels of endorphins, the body’s natural pain killers 

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: affect, attitude, chronic, coping, does, health, how, humor, illness, laugh, laughter, negative, positive, strategy, stress, stressed, therapy, thinking, your

You should incorporate some humor in your life. What would it be like to go around in a serious state of mind all the time? You’ve got to laugh sometime.

Laughter is good medicine for you and you should prescribe it to yourself as much as possible. This is definitely stress buster material.

Check out some ways that you can laugh and release stress at the same time :

You must realize that having laughter in your life can increase your energy and take away any negative vibes that you may be feeling. When you laugh, you release the pent-up anger and frustration that has been bottled up inside you from being stressed. You can find some good comedy shows on television that are really funny.

Think of some situations where the outcome ended up being pretty humorous. You can think on those and get a kick out of them. Let go of the complaining and murmuring.

- Go take in a comedy club. Check out the up and coming comedians at local venues in your area.

- Smile more often. If you’re not used to doing this, then start now. Did you know that smiling can be contagious?

Learn to spread your laughter and joy to others who need it. Not only will it help them, it will also help you.

Meditation is also a good choice for beating stress. You could spend 30 minutes to 1 hour per day doing meditation.

Here are some further bits of information and interesting links that you may wish to follow:

Meditation and Mindfulness

Meditation and Mindfulness Applied to Chronic Illness. Kevin, 39, is a meditating friend of mine who has been handicapped with Reiter’s Syndrome and Multiple Schlerosis for many years. 

Complementary And Alternative Medicine

Through in-person interviews and dramatized video vignettes that document the stories of people who recovered from chronic illness – including a five-year-old boy born with cerebral palsy, an osteopathic doctor with a brain tumor, … More important, several forms of CAM that incorporate information-medicine principles – such as meditation, deep breathing, massage therapy, and yoga – showed the highest increase in use among Americans in the last five years. 

Meditate Your Pain Away – Benefits of Meditation

The difference between previous studies and the new one lies in that the former have shown that teaching chronic pain patients to meditate is beneficial. But, very few studies of these have looked at pain processing in healthy people.

Living With Mental Illness – Anxiety Problems – How To Treat Anxiety

Different meditation techniques such as Thai Chi and Yoga are proven to have significant effect on treatment of anxiety problems. Regular meditation brings relief from the anxiety and stress related to them. 

Tools For Dealing With A Chronic Illness Or Life In General

A chronic illness provides you with an opportunity for reflection and self realization. Feeding your soul is just as important as feeding your body. It is vitally important that you find ways to nourish and replenish your soul. 

Living With Mental Illness – Effective Use of Relaxation Methods

Meditate daily. Practicing meditation daily can help keep one calm. It is the oldest way of keeping the mind still and peaceful. It has the power to induce inner peace and control anxiety at odd times. Try Acupuncture.

Article By: Scott Wells Article Directory: http://www.articledashboard.com

Scott Wells suggests www.drugabusefocus.com/117/ for those battling a drug or alcohol addiction or for those who love someone who is. Compassion is virtuous. Share or read alcohol or drug abuse stories today.

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: anxiety, benefits, best, chronic, exercises, health, helps, illness, laughing, laughter, medicine, Meditation, physical, psychological, relaxation, relief, stress

You have one of the most powerful healing resources at your fingertips and it won’t cost you a penny. Yet it is priceless! What is it, you might say? It is the amazingly precious healing gift of laughter

Building a positive focus in your life which includes a regular dose of laughter can play a key role in supporting the body’s ability to cure illnesses through its own healing system.

Learn how to have a regular dose of laughter medicine daily for your pain

A man rushed into a veterinarian’s office carrying his limp, lifeless dog. The vet examined the animal and told the man the dog was dead. The man asked if there was any way the doctor could revive the dog. The doctor left the room and returned with a cat, who sniffed the dog from head to tail then looked up at the vet and meowed.

“Sorry,” said the doctor. “There’s nothing I can do.”
“Thanks for trying,” said the man with a sigh. “How much do I owe you?”
“Three hundred and fifty dollars,” replied the doctor.
“Three hundred and fifty dollars! Just to tell me my dog is dead?”
“Well,” said the doctor, “it was $50 for the office visit. The other $300 is for the CAT scan.”

Whether the above joke made you laugh or groan, it lightened your mood. And if you had been in pain, many scientists agree, it would have eased the hurt at least temporarily.

A fresh take on an old idea

The notion that  laughter is good for the body has been around for thousands of years, certainly as far back as the Old Testament. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.” Seventeenth century English physician Dr. Thomas Sydenham remarked, “The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than of twenty asses laden with drugs.” Or as Groucho Marx put it, “A clown is like aspirin, only he works twice as fast.”

How do you get a sweet 80-year-old lady to say the F word? Get another sweet little 80-year-old lady to yell *BINGO*!

The value of laughter in helping to relieve pain began to attract significant attention in the 1980s when Dr. Norman Cousins in his book Anatomy of an Illness described how watching Marx Brother movies and reading humorous books and articles helped him recover from a life-threatening tissue disease. Cousins made it a point to enjoy a hearty belly laugh several times a day. He claimed that a few minutes of laughter gave him an hour or more of pain-free sleep. As a result, many pain centers around the country began to use humor therapy to reduce the level of pain medication needed by patients. There was even a movie made about real-life doctor Patch Adams, a physician who was totally committed to making his patients laugh as an essential part of his treatment.

How does laughter reduce pain?

Clinical staff consistently note that the primary benefit of humor therapy is that it serves as a diversionary tactic, that is, it takes a patient’s mind off the pain. A study published in the Journal of Holistic Nursing reported that patients who were told one-liners after surgery and before painful medication was administered perceived less pain when compared to patients who didn’t get a dose of humor as part of their therapy.

Why don’t bunnies make noise when they have sex? Because they have cotton balls.

Another study, this one published in the Journal of Applied Behavioral Analysis, found that young girls with burns who were shown cartoons during very painful hydrotherapy said they felt less pain than similar patients who were not exposed to cartoons during the same procedure. A second theory of how laughter helps relieve pain is that it triggers the release of endorphins, the chemicals in the brain that can make us feel good.

Natural healing

Around the same time that the Cousins book appeared, the departing editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Franz Ingelfinger, noted that 85 percent of all human illnesses are curable by the body’s own healing system. Building a positive focus in your lifewhich includes a regular dose of laughter can play a key role in supporting the body’s ability to do just that. Laughing, in fact, has been shown to increase the body’s natural killer cells and T-cells, which are types of cells that attack foreign material in our bodies.

Laughter also keeps away negative emotions such as anxiety and depression, which tend to weaken the immune system.

Why are they called “hemorrhoids”. They should be called “asteroids”?

Research on stress-related hormones and humor has shown that laughter reduces at least four of the hormones associated with the stress response, including epinephrine, cortisol, dopac, and growth hormone. Some studies have indicated that laughter improves lung capacity and with improved lung capacity come improved oxygen levels in the blood, thereby alleviating ischemic pain or pain do to lack of oxygen-rich blood.

Internal jogging

According to Dr. William Fry from Stanford University, one minute of laughter is equal to 10 minutes on the rowing machine.  Laughter is a kind of “internal jogging” that exercises our heart and reduces blood pressure in the same way as does standard aerobic exercise. This kind of laughter exercise is well suited to sedentary people and those who are confined to a bed or wheelchair.

What did One saggy boob say to the other saggy boob? If we drop any lower people are gonna think we are nuts!

If you keep the Huh Huh Huh – going for long periods of time and increase the number of times you do it while at the same time shrugging your upper body you will keep the oxygen flowing to the cells that need it and you will be giving what you body need to begin to reduce your pain and speed healing.

And here’s a final fascinating fact: Researchers at St. Paul Ramsey Medical Center in Minnesota say that tears of laughter remove toxic substances that normally build up during periods of emotional stress…

So, whether you prefer Dirty jokes, Redneck jokes or Funny Photos the Internet has provide us with an unlimited number of resources not to mention the ton of emails that you get from your friends that they think are funny and they just have to send to you for some reason thinking that you have the time to read it and that you have nothing else to do. Maybe just read one a week and see how you feel.

If you do read a joke or see a funny photo and it does put a smile on your face learn to keep that smile going longer and feel how good you feel when you keep your head up and a smile on your face. Life will always be full of challenges but we should always be driven to seek those thing that give us Joy and Peace, so if a joke can give you 30 seconds of joy, read a joke and keep smiling.

If you enjoyed this article, and would like more information in alternative back pain treatments sign up for our Back Pain Advisory and you will join the nearly 1 million people that have received this life changing information. Please visit our new web site at http://www.losethebackpain.com/ for more free informative articles, videos and open forums.

By Steve Hefferon

Catastrophizing About Fibromyalgia & Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

When someone with a chronic illness like fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue syndrome catastrophizes, they’re essentially giving up all attempts at trying to manage their illness. It’s no surprise that catastrophizers don’t do as well 

If I Live to Be 100 or Coping with Chronic Illness

New to this edition are chapters on stress and coping, chronic sorrow, courage in chronic illness, and empowering people with AIDS. 

Coping With Chronic Illness

Coping with chronic illness life can seem difficult and frustrating. Not only are you dealing with your ailments, but often you are dealing with doubt from your loved ones.  

Jeanne’s Endo Blog

As I have blogged about extensively, music is a huge tool for me in coping with chronic illness and pain. So your blogging about relaxation music was interesting to me. 

Ill In A Day’s Work

Women are especially susceptible to certain kinds of chronic illness. For instance, they are four times more likely than men to be diagnosed with an autoimmune disease

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: benefits, body, chronic, coping, good, health, helps, illness, improve, jokes, laughing, laughter, relieve, stress

How Laughter Can Reduce Stress and Improve Your Health

A merry heart doeth good like a medicine; but a broken spirit drieth the bones. -Proverbs 17:22

Feeling stressed out, angry or sad? Dread going to work?

Try this: Open your mouth as wide as you can, bug out your eyes, stick out
your tongue, bring your hands up like the claws of a lion, then erupt in a
mighty roar of hearty laughter.

Or this: Sitting down, pretend you’re on a roller coaster approaching the
top of the hill. Slowly raise your arms higher and higher, bend back, lift your
feet off the ground, and in a rising tone of voice, exclaim: “Oooooohh.” Then, as the imaginary coaster races downhill, bring your arms crashing down with a big belly laugh that crescendos as you bend over at the waist.

Even if your laughter seems forced, don’t be surprised if you feel much better. Just as lifting weights and doing aerobic exercises can strengthen the body and invigorate the spirit, scientists today believe that the act of  laughter can be a physically and emotionally therapeutic force.

The lion and roller coaster laughs, together with about a dozen others, are now featured exercises in 1000 “laughter clubs” worldwide. A growing trend first reported on by ABC’s Peter Jennings in a l9981 World News Tonight report, laughter clubs (about 100 in the U.S.) are the absolute latest in stress-reduction therapy, easing tensions of modern life and enhancing one’s health. And laughter workouts are being effectively used in corporate settings, hospitals, nursing homes, and even grade schools.

Frame Your Mind To Mirth

Ever since the mid-l960’s, when the well-known Saturday Review writer Norman Cousins was diagnosed with a terminal disease and said he laughed himself to health by watching “Candid Camera” and funny Marx Brothers movies (and by ingesting megadoses of vitamin C), scientists have been tantalized by the possibilities of this mind-body connection.

Four centuries before this, Shakespeare was writing about the healing power of levity in The Taming of the Shrew: “And frame your mind to mirth and merriment, which bars a thousand harms and lengthens life.”

Today, Dr. William Fry, a psychiatrist, laughter researcher, and professor emeritus at Stanford University Medical School, agrees with Shakespeare: “When you’re laughing you discharge tension associated with the three primary negative emotions–anxiety, fear, and anger,” says the physician, who has devoted 30 years to laughter research. “Any of these emotions in excess can lead to diseases that shorten life.

If you can laugh at what you fear, the fear just vanishes .

“Mirthful laughter,” he continues, “is a total body activity that conditions the heart muscle, exercises the diaphragm, abdominal and thoracic muscles and augments our respiratory exchange, with more oxygen coming in and more carbon dioxide going out, improving lung capacity.” Moreover, the stimulation of laughter, he explains, improves circulation because it elevates the heart rate and blood pressure. “A day’s worth of hearty laughter,” Dr. Fry figures, “is about equal to ten minutes on the rowing machine.”

“Without question,  laughter has a healing and preventive effect on our health , much like moderate exercise, meditation, prayer, or yoga,” adds Dr. Lee Berk, associate professor of pathology and human anatomy at the School of Medicine of Loma Linda University, in southern California. “In fact, the parallels between laughter and exercise are uncanny,” says Berk, a laughter pioneer who reels off a list of health benefits that make laughter a virtual panacea:

“Laughter,” he reckons, “can relax the muscles, increase alertness and memory, reduce physical pain, lessen emotional stress, boost the immune system, lower blood pressure, improve circulation, increase vigor, defuse anger, and may even produce endorphins that provide a natural high.”

Such dazzling gains have not gone unnoticed by many U.S. hospitals, which offer humor rooms, humor wagons (filled with videos, oversized props like Groucho glasses and stick-on noses, and magic tricks), in-house humor TV channels, and clowns. Practitioners believe that any of these methods– through the laughter they produce– can improve respiratory ailments like asthma and chronic bronchitis (forcing air out of the lungs), and the outlook of patients.

Not to mention cardiac rehabilitation, where laughter may be key, notes Berk: “In a study of cardiac patients asked to watch humorous videos for 30 minutes daily for an entire year, there was an 8.3% recurrence of heart attacks as compared to 41.7% in the group treated by conventional methods. If I had come up with a medication that accomplished that–I’d be on my way to Sweden to get a Nobel Prize! Laughter is freely available which means we have the ability to heal ourselves and reduce stress. Isn’t that amazing?”

Taking Laughter To Work and School

Small wonder that some companies are now extending themselves beyond dress-down days, sports tournaments, and ice-cream parties to offering employees organized laughterfests, aided by more than 20 U.S. humor-consulting firms. One key player in the U.S. laughter business is psychologist Steve Wilson, a self-proclaimed “joyologist” who left behind his private practice in Gahanna, Ohio to co-found both the North American Laughter Club and World Laughter Tour Inc.,which certifies “laughter leaders.”

“When you double over and go limp with laughter and end up telling your friends– ‘Thanks I needed that!’–you really did need it,” exclaims Wilson. “A laughter burst in a corporate setting,” he observes, “gives employees a chance to discharge tension, it energizes them (better than a coffee break), and boosts their creativity. And creativity is essential for planning, problem-solving, and decision-making. Employees who are creative and energized are going to be more productive.”

Just ask Bobbe White, a business development officer at the State Street Bank and Trust Co. in Quincy, Illinois, who paces employees through giggles once a week: “When I first did this at a staff meeting, they thought I was nuts!” laughs White, who received laughter leader accreditation at Columbus State Community College, in Ohio, where she was trained by the World Laughter Tour Inc. “Employees,” she admits, “were apprehensive and reluctant. But a year later, they’re more relaxed, they laugh more easily, they deal with customer conflict with less strain–and our laughter club has created a feeling of overall camaraderie.”

Bank vice president Glennon Rost, 42, agrees: “At first, I couldn’t believe they were asking me to do this,” he chuckles, “but in no time I was laughing all over the place. Life’s too short to spend any of it mad at the world. And you can’t be mad or worry about a bad loan while you’re laughing. It’s also easier to approach a colleague later in the day if you’ve seen them break loose in laughter.” The irony is that humans laugh less and less as they mature, attempting to squelch their childlike giggles, an instinct contrary to their emotional and physical health.

“The average American pre-school child laughs about 400 times a day,3 marvels Steve Wilson, “while the average American adult is maybe laughing as little as 15 times! That’s because we’re bogged down by stress.” To prevent this happening to a new generation, some grade schools are addressing the problem head-on, using laughter clubs to reduce peer and parental pressures. “These kids,” says Wilson, “are getting a lifetime inoculation to protect them from losing their ability to laugh so they don’t lose 385 laughs by the time they’re grown up.

My philosophy of life is: don’t postpone joy . Mark Twain said ‘life is uncertain, so eat your dessert first.’”

Laugh For No Reason

The laughter club movement began in Bombay in l995, when an inventive Indian physician, Dr. Madan Kataria, a longtime student of humor and yoga, observed that patients who laughed frequently tended to recover more quickly from illness and stayed healthier longer. He discovered that a session of forced laughter in the morning could create a sense of well-being and leave behind an emotional glow. “The idea came to my mind in a flash,” says Kataria, in an interview from Bombay. “I had read so much research about the health benefits of laughter, yet nobody was laughing enough in our stressful, modern life.

“So one day,” he recalls, “I went to a public park at 7 a.m., stood on a corner, and started laughing at jokes with five people. But then I thought, why not laugh for no reason–because laugher is infectious.” So it was. Kataria founded a company, Laughter Clubs International, which has sprouted more than 400 affiliates in India with 50,000 members, most of whom meet in the early morning at public parks or apartment complexes before going to work.

Dr. Kataria, who has written a landmark book about his techniques, Laugh For No Reason [Madhuri International, l999], believes a laughter “prescription” is the best prevention: “More than 70% of illnesses–like high blood pressure, heart disease,
anxiety, depression, frequent coughs and colds, peptic ulcers, insomnia, allergies, asthma, menstrual difficulties, tension headaches, stomach upsets and even cancer–have some relation to stress,” he says. “A good laugh,” he concludes, “brings you instant relaxation and has been proven to reduce the blood levels of stress hormones like adrenalin, dopamine, and cortisol.”

Fake It Till You Make It

Whether in Bombay or Chicago, the format of laughter clubs is the same, consisting of a 20-minute blend of mirthful laughter, deep breathing and stretching exercises. No jokes or comedy are required! Certified laughter leader Margot Escott of Naples Florida, a psychotherapist and national speaker on humor and healing, prepares participants in the following way: “I always begin by saying: ‘Forced or simulated laughter might seem phony or fake to you, but the body doesn’t know the difference. You get the same benefits from laughter–whether it’s ‘real’ or not!’”

“Self-induced laughter,” adds Dr. Kataria, “is contagious–and very soon the voluntary laughter does get converted into genuine peals of giggles.”Steve Wilson, who was trained by Dr. Kataria, notes: “You don’t even have to be in the mood to laugh. Motion creates emotion,” he believes, “so fake it till you make it.”

At the start of every laughter session, members launch into a three-minute warm-up, repeating, “Ho-Ho,Ha-Ha-Ha”–a rhythmic chant spoken in unison with brisk clapping. “Doing this,” says Wilson, “stimulates acupressure points in the palms of the hands and oxygenates the blood.” Next is deep breathing, a core element borrowed from yoga that releases tension and relaxes participants. Then the real fun begins with a group of interactive laughs. The first is called the Greeting laugh: Look into the eyes of the person next to you. Exchange a hand-shake or high-five while laughing in a warm, inviting tone. Then keep changing partners, shaking hands, and laughing.

Any number of improvised laughs may follow, such as the roller coaster and lion, or the always popular Humming: Laugh with the lips closed, so the sound of the laugh has to come out of your nose. This makes a humming sound which resonates throughout the skull. “Fluttering your arms and hands like wings is optional,” says Wilson, “but it’s a sure fire way to augment laughs!”

Other staples includes:

Cocktail laugh: A parody of superficial party behavior. Pretend you’re holding a martini on one hand, shake hands daintily with the other, and then laugh in a “kiss-kiss,” phony, coy, sarcastic manner. Argument laugh, one of the most cathartic, is especially popular in schools: Two people face one another, both wagging an accusatory index finger at the other in an angry posture while vigorously laughing. This one’s a favorite of ten-year-old Nick White, son of laughter leader Bobbe White: “My older sister [Korey, 12] and I argue a lot and I like doing the pointing!” Nick reports in a gleeful telephone interview. “When we’re doing the argument laugh, we’re not really mad. Laughing makes kids feel better so you don’t worry about anything.”

Nick says he also likes the Crazy Dance: You dance any which way, arms and legs in motion, while you’re shaking with laughter. And don’t forget the Penguin: You keep your arms at your sides, your heels together, and just waddle around and laugh, circulating from member to member. Don’t participants feel a bit silly roaring like a lion or flapping hands around like a bird? “The word ‘silly’ comes from an old English word meaning a blessing or a gift,” says Escott, “so to be silly is to give someone a blessing.”

Interspersed between structured giggles are exercises–gentle neck and shoulder stretches and side-and waist bends, all meant to limber up and tone the muscles and promote flexibility and relaxation. Due to the sometimes intense physicality of a laughter workout, Dr. Kataria and his followers warn that pregnant women, those with uterovaginal prolapse (weakening of the ligaments supporting the uterus), heart patients, individuals with high blood pressure, anyone with eye complications (especially glaucoma), a hernia or hemorrhoids, or those recovering from recent abdominal surgery should not participate in a laughter session.

Laughter For Seniors and the Chronically Ill

Perhaps its most seductive effect, laughter (like chocolate) nearly always provides a potent euphoric benefit, reports Dr. Kataria, “because it increases the release of endorphins–the body’s own morphine, natural pain killers,” producing a “runner’s high.” Endorphins, he has proven, can lessen pain perception in those suffering from arthritis, tension headaches, and a myriad of other maladies faced by seniors or the chronically ill.

As Norman Cousins wrote in his bestselling book, Anatomy of an Illness,4 “ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep.” That’s why laughter clubs are becoming increasingly popular in nursing homes, says laughter leader Barb Templeton, activities director at the Heritage Health Care and Rehabilitation Center in Naples, Florida, a skilled nursing home with 97 residents.

“Laughter therapy is an elixir that can absolutely mask pain and cut through depression and boredom of being in a nursing home,” remarks Templeton, who says residents who are disabled can fully participate–whether lying down, or using walkers or wheelchairs.

Talk to Yvonne Cook, a resident of the home, age 62: “I had a stroke and can’t move my left side,” she says in a phone interview,“but the exercises help my strong side and I can laugh sitting down. After laughter club, there are lots of smiling faces in wheelchairs!” John DeBruyn, although only age 50, is also a resident at Heritage after suffering multiple strokes. “Laughter club,” he confides, “keeps me out of the dumps. I see what depression does to people…it’s a killer. So I always feel like laughing.”

Thomas White, age 83 and suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, attends laughter club every week at the urging of his wife Marguerite, a non-resident at Heritage: “I’ve noticed he’s less tense, more relaxed and happy. We’ve laughed all our lives- through 50 years of marriage–and we’re not stopping now!” Finally, for seniors living independently, like Dottie Wilson, age 89, of Naples, Florida, laughter clubs provide an emotional boost: “The first time I went to a laughter club, at my church, I was on a high until I went to bed! I could hardly sleep I was so stimulated,” she recalls. “I didn’t know any of the 50 people in the group and it was a great icebreaker. Seniors need this. It’s better than a visit to the doctor because it takes the focus away from age and ailments. You get in touch with your lighter side.”

Speaking of icebreakers, nothing works faster than the Ice-Cube Down The Back, says Steve Wilson: “This laugh was invented by women in their 80’s and 90’s–members of a laughter club in an assisted living facility in Canton, Ohio. They tried it out on the day they went on a picnic. You pretend someone just put an ice-cube down your back, wriggle around, and start giggling.”

The Spiritual Component of Laughter

The finale of each laugh workout arrives with three affirmative cheers: The leader delivers the first punch line by saying: ‘We are the happiest people in the world.’ Everyone raises their arms and says, ‘Y-e-ee-s!’ ‘We are the healthiest people in the world.’ ‘Y-e-s!’ ‘We are Laughter Club members! ‘Y-e-e-s!’” Then members stretch their arms out toward the sky, close their eyes and, in India, pray for world peace.“If we laughed more, we’d fight less and there would be more peace in the world,” exclaims Steve Wilson, who explains that laughter clubs always feature an underlying spiritual component:

“If you only derive the physical benefits of laughter, that’s good, but not good enough. We also have to get the spirit of laughter. So when we’re cooling down at the end of a session, the leader always mentions ‘emotional balancing,’” comprised of three practices: On Mondays, group members are encouraged to pay compliments; Wednesdays are reserved for practicing gratitude; Fridays are centered on forgiveness. The end result is no less than a spiritual makeover, promises Wilson: “With all this, in the face of a setback or disappointment, you can make an RMA–
rapid mental adjustment–and decide to be amazed and amused, rather than angry or hurt.

“Your anger,” he warns in parting, “is your worst enemy–for your heart and for your attitude. So laughter workouts turn out to be the ultimate cost- effective therapy.

Laughter is free, it’s easy to pass around, and it prevents hardening of the attitudes!!”

Tips for Putting More Laughter Into Your Life

1)Create your own Mirth-Aid Kit: Find humor videos, toys, and fun props like wind-up toys, Groucho glasses, a clown nose, a mechanical laugh bag, a horn, bubbles–anything that amuses you, and tuck them into your desk, glove compartment, or briefcase. The next time you’re stressed, take them out and amuse yourself and others.

2)Join or start a laughter club (for instructions log onto: www.worldlaughtertour.com)

3)Find a humor ally–a laughing buddy who makes you laugh and vice-versa. Trade funny stories and laughs. Or subscribe to Humor Pal@www.jesthealth.com.

4)Surround yourself with humor: At home, decorate the refrigerator with magnetized cartoons, humorous columns, and fun photos, or create a family humor bulletin board.

5)Tell stories on yourself:Take your bloopers, foibles, and shortcomings…and laugh about them.

6)Spend time with preschool children: Kids are natural laughers who don’t put a negative spin on setbacks. Let it rub off on you.

7)Loosen up unrelenting standards: Anything you can do to reduce perfectionism and create a casual atmosphere will increase potential for laughter in your life. Worry, anxiety and perfectionism kill laughter

8)Share the laughter wealth:When you read a newspaper or magazine, keep a pair of scissors handy, cut out cartoons or articles that strike you as funny, and pop them in the mail to friends and family

9)Exploit the contagious laugh effect: Laughter loves company– As Victor Borge said: “A smile is the shortest distance between two people.” So seek out cheerful, good-natured people and avoid crabby, grouchy, negative, or sarcastic people.

10)Bring your sense of humor to work: The funny line and bottom line can go hand-in-hand.

( based upon interviews with humor consultants: Steve Wilson of
WorldLaughterTour; Joel Goodman of The Humor Project Inc.; and Patti Wooten
of Just For The Health of It.)

For more information about laughter clubs: http://www.worldlaughtertour.com

Stress relief…

Stress relief When I am sad and stressed I just pick up my chin and grin and say…the sun will come out (SLAP! Not). Okay, where was I. Ah yes, being sad and stressed.

Dispensing Happiness: Peanutbutter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

Peanutbutter Chocolate Chunk Cookies as Stress Relief . Sometimes, all you can do is bake. One of the easiest cookie recipes I’ve come across, and so good. Soft, fragrantly peanut butter-y. They’re for a few friends of mine

Stress Relief Games

Peter Gitundu asked: In the game of life, we realize that stress is an enemy that needs to be eliminated and we come up with so many remedies which help relieve. 

Our Happy Happenings Stress Relief

Our Happy Happenings was established to share my day to day life with Family and Friends!  

Stress Relief Music

If you’re jittery, anxious or trying to learn something, try stress relief music. That’s excellent for relaxing and for students learning new material. Stress music is proven to build a better state of mind

Parents: Are You Depressed?

Major depression can be triggered by several life stresses including the death of a loved one, divorce, serious financial difficulty, chronic illness and chemical dependency, particularly on alcohol or cocaine.

Wellness

If you’re older than 65 or pregnant, or if you have a chronic illness or disease, get a flu and pneumonia vaccination. If you get sick: –Get plenty of rest, drink a lot of liquids and avoid using alcohol and tobacco. 

Stress Relief Simplified!

Breathing exercises are often recommended as a stress relief too for good reason: breathing exercises are convenient, simple and effective.

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: benefits, body, good, health, heart, helps, humor, improve, laugh, laughing, laughter, mirth, mirthful, pain, physical, reduce, stress, workplace

Disclaimer: The contents of this website are based upon the opinions of J.

Idries unless otherwise noted. Individual articles are based upon the opinions

of the respective author, who retains copyright as marked. The information on

this website is not intended to replace consultation with a qualified health

care professional and is not intended as authoritative medical advice. It is

intended only as a sharing of knowledge and information from collected

research and experience. I advise you to make your own health care decisions

based upon your own research, in partnership with a qualified health care

professional.

The products referred to on this site do not have any exclusive claim to

diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing,

taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before

using any of the mentioned products.

This site and any health-related information, advice or resources are not

intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice or for the care that

patients may receive from their healthcare providers.

We are not responsible or liable for any claim, loss, or damage that directly or

indirectly results from the use of this site. We are not responsible or liable

also for any claim, loss, or damage that directly or indirectly results from the

use of any information or the resources that are contained in or are accessible

through this site. 

This notice may be changed at any time

 Mail this post

Technorati Tags: disclaimer, health, notice