Feel Good With Laughter

by Diana Mccollum

Diana writes light paranormal. If you would like a free novelette join her newsletter on her website.

Feel good with laughter.

I’ve known for a very long time that laughter is a source of relief in times of stress. Laughter can do a lot to relieve tension in the mind and pain in the body of us humans. I’ve seen this with my husband who is in constant pain with back problems. We watch a funny tv show and laugh, and he forgets his pain for a while. 

Laughter releases endorphins which make us feel good and temporarily suppress mental and physical pain. My husband and I have watched a great deal of comedies during this year. Sometimes the thought of a thriller was too depressing. The pandemic was/is depressing enough.

Who can resist a baby or toddler laughing at being tickled? It’s an infectious laugh. One to hold and enjoy and participate in. My Dad used to say it takes more muscles to frown than to smile. The consensus on that statement from six internet sites is 12 muscles to smile and 11 to frown on average. If your smile is really big and involves the eyes, it can take upwards of 23 muscles to smile. So Dad was wrong, but he did get us to smile more! He told wonderful jokes and loved to see his kids smiling and happy. 

A full belly laugh can increase and then decrease your heart rate and blood pressure. Leaving you with a good, relaxed feeling. The oxygen-rich air you suck in to laugh, not only increases the number of endorphins in your brain, but stimulates many other organs such as heart, lungs and muscles. 

Do you laugh enough? 

There are ways to increase your sense of humor. Try putting funny cards, jokes, cartoons that have made you laugh on or near your work area and look at or read them often. Put up a funny poster that makes you laugh on the wall or the back of a door. Decorate the fridge with a cartoon each week from a magazine or newspaper. Keep movies on hand that you have found uplifting or funny. 

When the clubs open up, go to a comedy club or out with a group of friends that make you laugh. Buy a joke book and read two or three per day and laugh out loud even if you are by yourself! 

There are lots of novels that have humor in. One I just read is “The Billionaire in Boots”. I laughed out loud a lot while reading that book. 

Look at situations that come up in your own life or something you see on tv and try to find the humor in it. Go through each day with a positive attitude, be kind, be humble and LAUGH! A LOT!!! 

What have you laughed at lately? And what comment would you attach to the picture below? (see my comment below.)

Wait, am I going priority mail?