From:
http://www.helpguide.org/life/humor_laughter_health.htm
"Humor is infectious. The sound of roaring laughter is far more contagious than any cough, sniffle, or sneeze."
I just returned from the Florida state MGMA meeting and had a great time networking with old and new friends and learned some great things to help me and our practice. I learned lots and laughed even more. For those of you who aren't actively involved in your state organizations, I would encourage you to give it a try. I have learned through the years in Alabama and Florida that the nuggets of information that you gain will more than cover the cost of the trip. (Enough of the commercial.....)
One of the presentations at the meeting dealt with utilizing humor to help one handle the stresses of our day to day life at home, in public and at work. The speaker had dealt with the death of her father, then mother and had also suffered through cancer herself. She spoke of just how much humor and laughing had helped her through all of those situations. The speaker was quite entertaining, hilarious and challenged all of us to look for humor in everything and remember those humorous events to help "heal" us from our stressors.
It was stated that laughter releases endorphins, helps people heal and actually can help us lose weight. (No telling how large I'd be if I didn't laugh as much as I do!) Not only does humor help in these ways, laughter helps our immune system, increases our energy and helps lessen pain.
Humor can lighten a room, remove tenseness from our body and overall make us look younger and more attractive. Who doesn't want to look younger and more attractive? We as professional adults often are hesitant to laugh it up and it is sad to think of people who do not have a sense of humor. We as children loved to play, loved to laugh and more often as not as we grew were told to "be serious", "quit being silly" and the like, and we have lost the joy that comes from humor. It has been said that babies laugh over 300 times a day and we as adults laugh about 7 times a day. Do we see a problem from this? Think of it, babies are filled with such joy that they laugh 300 times a day! What a goal for us to all set. How much change would we see in our lives, our homes, our workplace if we just upped our laughter quotients to the hundreds?
We often see postings on the list serve about how to increase employee morale, how to improve moods of workers, how to please patients better. If we want this to happen, it often starts at the top. Don't forget to SMILE and LAUGH. Also, remind yourself and others, morale and mood are a choice. Often I'm told have a great day, nice day, etc. I often reply, "Well, if I don't' it will be my fault." Decide to be in a good mood and enjoy things.
If you are having trouble getting to the humorous or slowing down long enough to laugh, try some of the following activities / exercises to help the laughter roll:
Spend time with children on a playground or at a park.
Get a dog or cat or volunteer at a pet shelter. Pets can alter your moods and are really hilarious when enjoyed.
Surround yourself with pleasant, happy, humorous people.
Subscribe to a joke a day email or smart phone humor app.
Look for the funny in everything. (Anybody ever looked at the first three letters of the word "funeral"?)
Laugh at yourself.
Keep your situation in perspective. (Usually things could be much worse - be too blessed to be stressed!)
Life can get you down, but laughter can turn things around. Laughter is infectious and can take the sting out of harsh moments, can ease the pain of bad memories, and can make you the friend/parent/boss/co-worker that everyone likes and wants to be around. Look for the positive and the humor in all you can. It can change your day and your life. As the title stated - Don't take things so seriously - no one makes it out of this life alive!