Smiling Therapy Have you ever stopped in the street and, just for a moment, stared at people? I have. Most people are so involved in their working lives or studying harder than normal for their studies; they don’t even realize they’re drowning in a routine of stress, anxiety, pain and sadness. All I saw were frowns on their faces and tiredness drawn all over their bodies. Happiness became almost endangered is such a society. This living pattern is not only affecting once mental and physical health, but also other’s. People became hostile to each other and much more irritable. Scientists and psychologists have also noticed this change in nowadays citizens and have thought about several solutions in order to ease life on them and give …show more content…
They think about smiling as an essential everyday act, as a professional signature and not an emotion or a solution to their problems. They don’t know that smiling has many advantages on one’s health such as reinforcing the immune system. Smiling defends the body against illness and diseases. It medicates the body as it was proved that smiling releases natural pain killers in the body (Smith Melinda, and Jeanne Segal. "Laughter is the Best Medicine"). In the case of head cancer, for example, the intensity of the smile in a patient’s face is like a clinical indicator of psychosocial well-being (Lee J, 1). The more a patient is smiling, the more he or she is improving in his or her situation. But most of all, smiling helps us stay positive. It is a universal sign of …show more content…
Neurologist Henri Rubenstein found that one minute of solid laughter provides up to 45 minutes of subsequent relaxation. Moreover, the good feeling you get when you laugh subsides even after the laughter. It is a respite from sadness and pain. You can’t feel anxious or sad when you’re laughing. Many of the beneficial effects of laughter are mainly due to its effect on different regions of the brain. Studies have shown that brain regions normally involved in emotion respond to laughter. In addition, scientists have also discovered that your body has to use more muscles and work harder to frown than it does to smile. So, since it’s free and doesn’t make you work hard why don’t you just smile? As leader Douglas Horton said: “Smile, it’s free therapy.” To conclude my sayings, I would like to say that smiling is not only an act of kindness but also an incredible “cure” for stress and pain. Even if you see someone who doesn’t smile, smile at him or her! You never know how was his day, is he feeling alright or completely stressed out. You may brighten his or her day. You may be the one who gave him hope and alleviated his pain. A simple smile doesn’t cost anything but it means everything. It means there is still something to hold onto in this world. Smiling is really the best medicine. Just try it; you won’t be sad about
People push being happy on society as a total must in life; sadness is not an option. However, the research that has conducted to the study of happiness speaks otherwise. In this essay Sharon Begley's article "Happiness: Enough Already" critiques and analyzes societies need to be happy and the motivational affects it has on life. Begley believes that individuals do not always have to be happy, and being sad is okay and even good for us. She brings in the research of other professionals to build her claim that extreme constant happiness is not good for people. I strongly agree that we need to experience sadness to build motivation in life and character all around.
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?
Sharon Begley, author of “Happiness: Enough Already,” proclaims that dejection is not an unacceptable state of mind and there are experts that endorses gloomy feelings. This reading explicates that even though every-one should be happy there is no need to ignore sadness, as both emotions share key parts in everyone’s life. Sharon Begley and her team of specialists provides the information on why sadness is supplemental to a person’s life.
Various populations can benefit from the therapeutic use of humor, often it is used with either the exceptionally young or old populations, but the benefits of humor extend beyond age and gender limits. Commonly, it’s implemented in young populations with severe to mild physical or mental disabilities or with those experiencing serious and terminal illness (Saper, 1990). Humor is used as a method of coping with or coming to terms with life changing illnesses for both old an...
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.
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
Laughter also proves a vital role in helping the patients deal with their problems. Not only does it help them deal with problems but it also gave them the push toward progress on getting out of the institution.
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.
the point where if someone is not happy 100 percent of the time, they are told to seek immediate help. But what is the point of having thousands of other emotionssadness, anger, and fearif a person is only supposed to feel one? Positive psychologists believe that instead of being sad or having neutral feelings, individuals should be happy. From another point of view, Susan David, author of “Don’t Worry Be Gloomy,” and Sharon Begley, author of “Happiness: Enough Already,” both agree that having “negative” emotions is not as defective as people portray them to be. Experiencing other emotions is just as important in life as happiness , and should not be shunned, because these emotions contribute to thinking clearly, encouraging perseverance, and, in the end, making people unintentionally happy.
“The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living” is a collaboration by His Holiness the Dalai Lama XIV and Howard C. Cutler, M.D., who identify many possible components that could lead to a happy and satisfying life. Their approach combines and integrates the thoughts of East and West; Buddhist principles and practices on one hand and Western science and psychology on the other. Many everyday difficulties are highlighted in this book, and Dalai Lama and Dr. Cutler attempts to help the readers find appropriate solutions in order to find a balanced and lasting happiness. Dalai Lama’s understanding of the factors that ultimately lead to happiness is based on a lifetime of methodically observing his own mind, exploring the nature of the human condition, and investigating these things within a framework first established by The
Richman, J. The lifesaving function of humor with the depressed and suicidal elderly. Gerontologist 35(2): 271 (1995).
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
Feeling down and depressed? Laugh all those troubles away. Laughter is a simple yet substantial way of putting that little spring back in the step. When people say “Laughter is the best medicine,” what are they referring to? Laughing acts as calorie burner, prevents heart disease or other illnesses, can increase learning abilities and focus, or even bring a more optimistic outlook on life.
stress and can be good for your health. Doctors say that laughing is good for
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