Laughter As Medicine

In 1964, I remember seeing the movie Mary Poppins with my parents.  I was only four, but to this day, there were two scenes indelible in my mind.

• With just a spoonful of sugar, Mary Poppins, the magic nanny, helps Jane and Michael see that any troublesome task can be made fun.
• Uncle Albert, played by Ed Wynn, is need of help from his complicated condition – laughter and happiness make him float into the air. The song "I Love to Laugh” makes a strong case for the beauty of laughter.

Chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation are all commonly known treatments for almost any kind of cancer.  However, the medical community has also long believed in a strong correlation between emotional health and physical health.  Thank goodness.  I think I have that, even though my youngest daughter accuses me of being bi-polar when I demand that she clean her bedroom. (If anyone finds that to be a symptom, please let me know.)

After years of prolonged pain from a serious illness, famed journalist Norman Cousins claims to have cured himself with a self-invented regimen of a positive attitude, love, faith, hope and laughter induced by watching Candid Camera and Marx Brothers films. He went on to write Anatomy of an Illness and Human Options. Cousins said, "I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep."

Researchers at Loma Linda University have been studying the effects of laughter on the immune system. Their published studies have shown that laughing lowers blood pressure, reduces stress hormones and boosts the immune function. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, producing an overall sense of wellbeing.

The bottom line – research shows that laughter is a natural medicine that lifts our spirits and makes us feel happy.  It is also a contagious emotion and can bring people together.  Laughter makes us feel empowered and more alive!!  And to think that all of that great stuff can happen with just a few belly-busting laughs each day.  That’s why many hospitals, like the UAMS Cancer Institute, are offering laughter tips and humor therapy as way to promote overall health and wellness for chronic illness. This therapy instructs patients to use the natural process of laughter to help relieve emotional stress, pain and discomfort. 

When we were small, my brother were the victims of “tickle tummy time".  That time was between tv show segments, during the commercials, and my father would bust our bellies to hear a good laugh from his children.  I owe many thanks to my Dad for giving us both the gift of laughter. 

Many, many years later, my dear friend Kim gave me a beautiful painted sign that has this quote: 

The most wasted of all days is one without laughter.” 

– E. E. Cummings

Every one of us was born with the gift of laughter as a way to enjoy and love, or sometimes simply cope or survive.  What we choose to do with that gift is up to us.  Today I will remember that any task, even chemotherapy, can be made fun with a little bit of laughter.  As Oscar Wilde said, “Life is too important to be taken seriously.”