Laugh yourself calm

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Laugh Yourself Calm

How humor Can Help You

By <A HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/library/weekly/#copyright " >Cathleen

Henning</A>

If you're looking for more coping tools to add to your recovery kit, don't

forget about the healing powers of laughter. Laughter reduces stress; it's as

simple as that. It might not be a cure for your disorder, but it certainly

can't hurt to experiment with a chuckle or two.

<A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.jest\

health.com/artantistress.html " >Humor: An Antidote for Stress</A> is an article

written for nurses (but helpful

to all) by Patty Wooten, RN BSN. Wooten calls upon medical research to

support the theory that laughter can reduce stress. Detailing laughter's

effects on the body, Wooten <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.jest\

health.com/artantistress.html " >concludes</A> that " positive emotions can create

neurochemical changes that will buffer the immunosuppressive effects of

stress. " Additionally, some initial studies <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.jest\

health.com/artantistress.html " >have shown</A> that laughter actually

can increase our sense of control, a benefit to people with anxiety disorders

who often feel so out of control. Wooten's main premise is that laughter can

help reduce the high stress of those in the nursing field; those benefits can

be transferred easily to others in need of stress reduction.

" Illness is certainly not a laughing matter, " points out neurologist Dr.

Barry Bittman in his article <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.well\

ness%2Dresources.com/integrating.html " >Integrating Humor into Health Care</A>.

He's right,

and an anxiety disorder is no laughing matter, either. However, as Bittman <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.well\

ness%2Dresources.com/integrating.html " >

points out</A>, humor can can be a " therapeutic strategy " and a " powerful and

effective tool for coping. " Although the main purpose of Bittman's article is

to advise health professionals on how to use humor in their doctor-patient

relationships, the layperson can see how laughter is a benefit to the healing

process. Most particularly, Bittman <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.well\

ness%2Dresources.com/integrating.html " >cites</A> research which found that

laughter

can diminish " levels of cortisol and stress hormones that are responsible for

triggering elevated blood pressure, heart rate and a host of other

stress-related responses. "

Whether or not your health and mental health providers are using humor in

your treatment, you can begin to incorporate humor and laughter into your

daily life. If you haven't found yourself laughing in a while, begin at the

beginning. Think back to when you did laugh more, and try to remember what

you made you laugh. The most basic of humor tools are probably <A

HREF= " http://tvschedules.about.com/mbody.htm " >television</A> and

movies. <A HREF= " http://homevideo.about.com/mbody.htm " >Rent</A> some old

favorites or watch some syndicated re-runs to get those

laughing muscles back in shape.

If you feel up to it, you can take a look at some mental health humor

available online. <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pend\

ulum.org/final%5Fword/30waysto.htm " >30 Ways to Handle Stress</A> invites you to

take an

unconventional approach to stress relief. If you're concerned about whether

or not you're normal, Pendulum Resources can help with <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pend\

ulum.org/final%5Fword/are%5Fyou%5Fnormal.htm " >Are You Normal???</A> and <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pend\

ulum.org/final%5Fword/normal.htm " >

What is Normal?</A> Pendulum Resources can also help you determine whether or

not

you have any <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.pend\

ulum.org/final%5Fword/cyber%5Fdisorder.htm " >Cyber Disorders</A>, such as

" Lurking Disorder " or " Chronic Posting

Disorder. " Would you rather hang on to all your stress than work to diminish

it? The De Anza Health Office offers some helpful advice in <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www%2Dps\

ych.stanford.edu/%7Epinto/stress.html " >How to Stay

Stressed</A>.

If you're looking for more general humor, take a peek at About's <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://about.co\

m/arts/index.htm " >Comedy</A>

sites. Mike Durrett's <A HREF= " http://humor.about.com/mbody.htm " >Humor</A> site

can help you find humor of all kinds on the

Internet and off. A particularly interesting feature on Mike's site is <A

HREF= " http://humor.about.com/library/blghumor.htm " >

GuideHumor</A>, a collection of links to other About humor pages featuring jokes

related to specific topics.

Start with a smile, add a little chuckle, and soon you'll be laughing the

stress away. It's OK to laugh. Be good to yourself.

Copyright © 1999 <A

HREF= " http://panicdisorder.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.copi\

ngwithanxiety.com " >Cathleen Henning</A>. All rights reserved.