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Role of humor
Positive effects of laughter on emotional and physical health essay
Positive effects of laughter on emotional and physical health essay
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Humans are the most intelligent and innovated creatures on Earth. This can be proved by the way we live, dress, and significantly is our human emotions. We laugh when we are happy; we cry when we are sad. We can fall in love, we can feel the pain, we can get angry or scared. But no matter how our life is meaningless without the smile. The smile is an indispensable spiritual food in life, making life more meaningful, a smile makes us happier. Almost everyone likes to laugh and see the smiles from others, whether that laughter appears at the corners of the lips or with relaxed brows, whether that could be a joyful laughter or the smile choked back the tears, laughter has the power to bring everyone closer.
Laughter has many meanings depending
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When parents play in front of the children, they will generate laughter in the unconscious. Laughter can encourage children to explore the world through the feelings of everyone around them.
According to Province, laughing while communicating with others is the "lubricant" in social activities. It can create excitement in the people, relieve the stress, soothe the atmosphere of the conversation. Laughter has the ability to help people recognize the pressures with a softer way or facing difficulties more comfortable. Psychologists at the University of Georgia - Michael Aoun said: "You can adopt a smile to influence other people 's behavior." In the work environment, laughter can "mobilize" the mood of small group members, raise their morale and make collaboration between people easier.
Scientific research has shown that the occurrence of laughter associated with the process of human evolution. 30 years ago, the society did not appreciate the humor or the jokes as it does today. The human world itself has changed in the direction of making people 's lives more cheerful and happier. In the 17th century, the play talked about the racism in the forms of tragedy, drama was quite common, later, the comedy began to attract more viewers, simply because it brings laughter and joy to the audience. That is what human life
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It was bad because we apparently feel the pressure is increasing but nobody thinks that they need to laugh more.
4. Is laughter a panacea?
"To see a rainbow, you must endure the rain” - this statement indeed encourages people to face difficulties and challenges. Then, a panacea dose of laughter can alleviate the pressure and creates health benefits? Professor Lee Berk of the University of Loma Linda agrees with this perspective.
To assess the benefits that laughter brings to the body, Berk did an experiment that allowed 14 volunteers to watch the 20-minute comedy. He at the same time checked the blood pressure and cholesterol levels before and after the movie in them. The results showed that: after the "advocacy laugh," blood pressure and cholesterol in those people have fallen. Later, he added a reverse experiment, when they see the sad movie, the result was completely unable to achieve on. This suggests that seemingly simple laughter helps you improve everyday health issues that you may not
This book is about so many things, it is hard to stay on one topic for any length of time. In order to focus on the laugh and laughing as a healing agent, I would like to look towards other influential writers and thinkers to tie together laughing and healing. First, let’s see what laughter is according to Meriam Webster: laughter- n. a cause of merriment. Using this simple definition, we can assume that laughter can come from any form of merriment or emotion like triumph, contempt, relief, and almost any other emotion there is. It is easy to picture in your head different underlying emotions in laughter; the sinister laughs of witches and ghosts, the insincere, fake laughs you hear after pointless, humorless attempts at jokes on the six o’clock news, to the silent laughs of mimes and clowns that fill the people around them with a happy feeling. These are all examples of what laughter is and how it is used. But why do we do it? What in nature created the laugh and made it so successful?
The therapeutic use of humor can be loosely defined as any activities that use the positive emotional responses associated with humor, smiling and laughter to specifically benefit one or more clients’ social, emotional, physical, cognitive or wellness domains. Using humor, therapeutically, involves establishing specific desired outcomes for a client which are facilitated by the use of humor and related techniques. Dattilo & McKenney, (2011) define the therapeutic use of humor when “specialists and others use humor in practice, they play for it to lead to specific therapeutic outcomes”. They emphasize the use of evidence based practice and a goal oriented approach as essential in using humor for therapeutic purposes. Similar to other techniques used, Therapeutic Recreation is using humor to achieve client-established goals requires a systematic approach that harnesses the medicinal benefits of the involved and evoked behaviors.
Although modern science has allowed us to develop many complex medicines, laughter is still the strongest one available in the real world and in the book. Laughter proves to be a strong medicine in more ways than one and is completely free, allowing anyone to use it at anytime. It allows us to connect socially with people, it can be used as a way of overthrowing power, and it is good for your health. As Randle McMurphy showed in the novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, laughter can lighten the mood in the darkest situations.
Ever heard the saying laughter is the best medicine? In an article discussing research findings on the release of feel-good brain chemicals authors write, "When laughter is elicited, pain thresholds are significantly increased, whereas when subjects watched something that does not naturally elicit laughter, pain thresholds do not change and are often lower. These results can best be explained by the action of endorphins released by laughter" (Welsh).
Laughter is an interesting topic. Mainly because of the lack of thought that goes with it as to why we laugh. In an article titled Laughter: An Essay on the Meaning of the Comic by Henri Bergson, the theory behind why things are funny is explored. He mentions many different things in his article pertaining to the comic, however, there are a few that stand out more than others. He talks directly about the fact that things are only funny if they relate to humans. Then he touches on the idea that accidents are funnier than planned events. Finally, he speaks on laughter being directly related to social setting. The 1992 film Noises Off is a perfect demonstration of everything that Bergson writes about. Henri Bergson’s essay on laughter is perfectly supported by the film Noises Off.
The spectrum of therapeutic techniques available within the health care continuum is very complex and varied. From traditional medicine, to holistic remedies, and anything in between, nurses have a rather large arsenal at their disposal when it comes to treating the patients that are under their care. Humor as an alternative therapy has long been understood as a proven means to aid in the recovery process. “With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health” (Smith & Segal, 2015). The purpose of this paper is to discuss situations in which humor would be a viable alternative therapy
Laughing is resorted to in times where we need to laugh. It’s an escape from reality, its comfort, its fear. Laughing subdues any emotion that is too high strung in our system. It lets it vapor out in a melancholy form that helps us cope with problems that no one else can really understand and help us with. In One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest it allowed emotional tension escape from the patients and made nurse Ratched lose her ward.
Laughter is often said to reduce stress and produce pain reliving hormones. It is the ‘fountain of youth’, the secret ingredient to longevity. A person who laughs all the time is, more often than not, healthier and happier than a person who rarely laughs at all. Laughter is known as a natural form of medicine. However, like many other things, some people take the laughter and the jokes too far. This is the case in the story, “The Approximate Size of My Favorite Tumor,” by Sherman Alexie.
For this reason, humor holds the capability to bring people together and lead to something, like change. Mary O’Hara writes “[comedy provides] a counterbalance to bigotry and prejudice” (O’Hara 106) to prove that humor can do more than make someone laugh, but to reinforce the truth. Humor is a natural human behavior that allows people to escape the mundane, laugh at themselves and also the world around them. O’Hara also writes that “comedy can have a profound impact on how we feel, and even how we act” (O’Hara 110). If humor can change the way we think and act, then it consequently has the ability to bring forth social
There have been many theories over the years as to why we laugh. Freud suggested that during laughter, you discharge pent-up psychic energies. In a theory by V.S. Ramachandran, we laugh to alert others in the social group that an anomaly, whatever it is we are laughing at, is inconsequential. For example, if someone falls and is not hurt, we laugh to signal to others that the person is all right. The theories vary greatly, but there are so many attributes to the phenomenon o...
3. Apte, Mahadev L. Humor and Laughter: An Anthropological Approach. Ithaca, NY: Cornell UP, 1985.
Therefore, laughter therapy can be a series of cognitive-behavioural therapies that helps to make physical, psychological, and social relationships healthy and ultimately improves the quality of life (Ko and Youn 2011). It has taken a very long time for laughter to become a recognized medical therapy. Dr. William Fry of Stanford University School of Medicine developed a theory of laughter therapy, and found that humour and laughter produced natural painkillers in pituitary, such as endorphins, improved blood circulation, and decreased stress (Fry and Salameh
Never forget to laugh. "If you can laugh at it, you can survive it" (Cosby). Life is difficult for everyone. It is how people deal with these strives and struggle is what matters. Sometimes, the best way to get a break from the hardships of life is to simply laugh with friends and family. It’s a Balance process. Some people can be caught up in life’s problems and forget to laugh. Laughter is the mental medicine for life. Laughter supports the health of the body. Laughter can break up the quietness in a room. Laughter can change the room from black and white to a rainbow of colors. Laughter is a result of looking at something in a positive light. Is the glass half empty or half full? Whatever the circumstance, never underestimate the power of a good giggle. Never forget to laugh.
Those who use humor to its best advantage teach others by example. Instead of getting angry when something goes wrong, we should try to look for the humor in the situation. It eases tensions and keeps things in perspective. Humor can energize us when a task has become tedious. Humor can make even the worst of situations tolerable.
If there is one way to bring a smile to someone’s face, it is laughter. Funny jokes, comical stunts, sarcasm- Every person is different when it comes to what makes them laugh. Some find dry humor comical. Others think sarcasm or joke-filled ranting are the best. ‘Comedy’ is such a broad term, broad enough to allow everyone to find something they find comical. In fact, ‘comedy’ includes a specific type of drama, one where the protagonist is joyful and happy endings are expected. Comedy is like a drug; it allows you to escape reality. When we say the word ‘comedy’ in the present, we are generally referring to a type of performance which provides humor. However, in its broadest sense, comedy has only one purpose: comedy makes people smile and