So imagine you’re lying in bed, sick as a dog. You’ve already woken up at that dreaded hour of 8:30 to call health services and make an appointment. You’ve fallen back asleep and woken up in time to drag yourself there. We all know how horrible that walk is when you’re sick. You sign in and sit on the black and red couch and think to yourself how much you hate your life right now. They finally call you back after waiting for thirty minutes when all you can think about is how much your head is pounding or how it feels like a knife is stabbing your tLhroat constantly. The nurse does your basic check up and then leaves you to wallow in your misery while you wait another thirty minutes for the actual doctor to come in. She finally does and is in there for literally five minutes. She gives you a diagnoses and a prescription to fill and sends you on your way. You go fill it at the drug store and finally, after at least an hour, if not more, make it back to your comfy bed. You take your medicine and attempt to sleep, while waiting for the medicine to finally kick in. Then, your best friend, who also happens to live with you, busts in your room right as you’re on the verge of falling asleep. She, or he, tells you they’re sorry for waking you up, but they have got to tell you a story. They’re already laughing and they haven’t even started talking yet, so you’re hoping it’s going to be good because gosh darn it, they just woke you up! After taking a couple of deep breaths, they tell you the whole story. It only takes a good seven minutes longer than it should because they had to get through the laughing, but hey – it was worth it. You are now laughing along and can’t breathe from all the laughter either. You have momentarily forgotten about your sickness and all your pain. You have forgotten how upset you were with your prognosis for the moment. No matter what else is wrong with anything, for this one moment you are happy. You are laughing with someone you love and enjoying life. Antibiotics are probably the best physiological cure at the end of the day but that doesn’t stop me from firmly believing that laughter is the best medicine.
Laughter is not a physiological cure for anything. It does not get rid of your cough and it does not cure cancer. It is not able to help heal your broken leg and it doesn’t kill your fever. Antibiotics are the only things that can truly take away an illness. That is a fact that cannot be changed. But why does it have to take so long to kick in? Why do you have to take an antibiotic and not even feel recovered for another week? Or with terminal diseases, you can get sick and there is no cure. Medicine can do nothing to cure it; only delay it. It doesn’t take you away from reality the way that laughter does. A good joke in a stressful situation is easing to the mind. So even though medicine is the true cure, laughter is the ultimate one.
I am not the only one who believes that laughter is the best medicine. Norman Cousins who is quoted in an article by Jaak Panksepp says, “ten minutes of genuine belly laughter has an anesthetic effect.” Rod A. Martin lists four different mechanisms that laughter helps with. The first states that vigorous laughter helps with various systems in your body, such as muscle relaxation and stimulating circulation. The second talks about putting you into an emotional state. The third is about how it might benefit you indirectly because it affects stress. And the fourth and final is how it can benefit you indirectly by increasing one’s level of social support. People are drawn to humor and friends help you through tough times. L. Alan Sroufe and Jane Piccard Wunsch talk about the affect laughter has on infants and the importance of laughter in childhood. They state how “laughter may provide a rich source of information concerning cognitive and emotional development in infancy.” Seeing as some medical professionals see that laughter is the best medicine, I can do nothing else but agree with them.
Let’s say you have been with your boyfriend or girlfriend for a glorious two years. It’s been the best two years of your life you would say. You’ve had a great time and enjoyed all the ups, and even some of the downs. You know that without them you have nothing and you need the downs to appreciate the ups. And then they dump you; out of nowhere. You don’t know how to react and you don’t know what to do. You feel the pain coursing through your body and you didn’t even know something this excruciating was possible. But you push through day by day, and you learn to smile and laugh again. And it’s all because of that one person. That one friend who is there talking you through it and helping you cope. They are there to give you that smile that you need to get through life; to provide a laugh for you when you need it the most. For that one second you feel okay and you feel you can make it through the pain. They have provided you with an escape from this overwhelming pain. You accept it wholeheartedly and embrace it. In that moment, you are more thankful for that friend than you ever thought you could be. They have freed you from the chains of sadness and lifted your heart to help you soar, even if it is only for a minute. All your friend has to do is smile and laugh and you will be okay. Laughter’s contagious, right?
Or here’s one last example: You’re skiing with your best friends. You’re going down the slopes and you feel like you’re flying. You’re on cloud nine and you feel like an all-star. And then you lean too far forward and the next thing you know you’re tumbling down the slopes head over heels. And then there’s that dreaded tree stump and you crash into it and you hear the crack. The pain comes coursing through immediately and you scream. This pain is something new, you think to yourself. Your friend comes skiing up to you as fast as they can, having seen the whole thing. They’re cracking up thinking that you simply tripped over your own two feet, typical right? They realize what happens as soon as they get there though and are terrified. They have no idea what to do. I know that if I’m your friend than I’m freaking out. I’m terrible in emergencies. And then you, being the brave soul that you are, crack a joke about how you’re surprised there was no avalanche following you down the slope. Being in the delirious state that you are, that joke is hilarious, and soon your friend is cracking up too. You guys both are relaxed for the moment. You have blocked out the pain for a second and your friend has calmed their racing heart. You are united in this moment of laughter, of shared happiness. Another shot of pain and you remind your friend of the trouble. This time though, they are prepared. They whip out their cell phone and hit the numbers “9-1-1.” Because of your laughter and jokes, they have relaxed and reminded themselves to breathe.
In conclusion, laughter is the cure-all to all ailments. No matter what else you can say about it, it does one important thing: it is an escape. It takes you away from a moment. It takes you away from the pain, sadness, unhappiness, or even awkwardness of a situation and transports you to somewhere more lighthearted. It puts you in a world where it’s okay to just relax and breathe. Laughter helps you remember that life is short and you only get to live once. Don’t stress over something that won’t matter in a week. As Mark Twain once said, “The human race has only one really effective weapon and that is laughter.” So remember that next time you’re feeling upset or sick, or it may even help the next time you’re stressing out over that speech due at eight am the next morning. And with that, I’m going to leave you with the dumbest most pathetic joke I know written by myself in seventh grade. So remember that I wrote it in seventh grade when you judge me. Knock knock. (Who’s there?) Uganda. (Uganda who?) Uganda the store lately?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qliIGKZ0_dE
Give it time if its not fully updated yet.. it should be loaded by the end of the night.
The video's not working. :( at least for me.
ReplyDelete