If you have been one of those lucky kids that had the unexplainable fear of clowns, then chances are they are not the key to striking your funny bone. Clowns are sometimes employed in hospitals as part of the so-called laughter therapy. It is believed this therapy is very beneficial to patients because of its ability to reduce stress and anxiety, also reducing pain and boosting the immune system. Before you start wondering why respected medical professionals would do something like that we will cover the benefits of this whole phenomenon and why laughter is healthy.

The healing ways of laughter have been documented a long time ago, as even in the Bible, in the book of Proverbs you find this interesting quote:

“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” ~Proverbs, 17:22

But in today's modern world the healing power of this emotion was mostly considered the work of Norman Cousins . He wrote a book called “Anatomy of an Illness (As Percieved by the Patient)” in 1979. Mr. Cousins was diagnosed with Bechterew's disease, or as it is more commonly known today:  ankylosing spondylitis. During those days his prognosis wasn't one that had much hope for recovery and he was in constant pain and unable to move. In the midst of this terrible situation he retained his sense of humor. He did recover however and according to him he believed the source of that was the humorous material and the stories read to him by the nurses during his stay. According to his words, ten minutes of laughter gave him two hours of sleep without pain and suffering. More studies since those days have found that laughter may not be a panacea, however it has a very positive effect on people. It has been proven that laughter helps raise the pain tolerance levels, helpful with patients undergoing such procedures. The chemistry behind that is linked to the increased levels of endorphins, which give us this natural good feeling. In some cases laughter is compared to jogging as it has the psychological effect of a workout. It stimulates hormones and helps relieve anxiety, stress while giving us a feeling of being reinvigorated.

The essence of laughter therapy lies within the fact that humor is subjective and down to the individual perception. Culture, upbringing and personality play a key role in understanding how humor works. Even laughter induced by social situations which cannot exactly be classified as “genuine” has positive benefits. It is very important to find out which situations and people make you happy, as well as finding it within you to find the humor of every situation. Life isn't always easy, but sometimes feeling the irony of it all and laughing at its trials can be a reward in itself.

We all know people who have suffered in the past, wound up and tied to past pains. Laughter is one of the wonderful ways to help these people get away from these painful memories, moving forward toward  a better future. Free of the shackles of pain, they can move forward with their lives, freely enjoying what lies ahead. Negative and offensive humor like sarcastic remarks are something one must be careful with, as it can bring about a lot more harm than good. So like the great Monty Pythons sing in their famous song: “Always look on the bright side of life!”

Bio: Amber Collins is a professional freelance writer and dedicated Feng Shui practicioner. Her story of following her passions in homemaking and writing about it will inspire you. Her present article is dedicated on describing the importance of always looking on the positive side of life and finiding reasons to at least smile.

Disclosure:  Amber Collins has written this article on the behalf of Removal Services UK as a free of charge sponsored post.

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