When was the last time you laughed?
Did you know that the majority of times we laugh, it’s usually in a social setting with other people? With Covid pushing our isolation into months now, you may not have had a good laugh with others for quite some time!
Humour and laughter are coping skills and help us manage some of the negative effects of uncertainty and isolation that we’ve endured the past few months . According to this Psychology Today article laughter “strengthens immune systems, improves alertness, increases endorphin levels, lowers blood pressure, increases the production of t-cells, and helps the pituitary gland release its own suppressing opiates”. That’s a lot of benefits from a simple laugh!
So if it’s time to get some laughter back into your life, you could consider a few different options:
- look for comedies on tv or whatever streaming service you use
- find some funny books
- reminisce about what made you laugh in the past. We all find different things funny so what is it that always guarantees a laugh from you?
- finding humour in life is sometimes hard, but if you try to view frustrating or annoying things in a humorous light, it can be one of those look back and laugh moments. Finding the humour in our own lives helps put situations in perspective and relieves stress
- join our Zoom calls or telephone tree and share conversation, experience and laughter with friends.
Remember, laughter can start from the most unexpected places – here’s an old press conference between Boris Yeltsin and Bill Clinton where laughter changes the serious to silly.
