Humor is Serious Business

By Amy Sherman

Most people know that humor and laughter are beneficial for relieving stress. In fact, research supports laughter as a tool for lowering blood pressure, boosting immune function, releasing endorphins, which are the body’s natural painkillers, and producing a general feeling of overall well-being. Experts say that as you grow older, your view of the world becomes altered and your perspective on things changes. This means that what you found funny when you were younger, may no longer apply today.

Laughter and a sense of humor are natural resources, easily attainable and free. What you find funny depends on three theories:

1. You enjoy incongruities, like an unexpected fall or the surprise factor of a punch line.

2. You laugh at someone’s mistakes, stupidity or calamities, since it makes you feel better about yourself.

3. You appreciate the timing of comic relief when tension is released by a funny moment.

Sometimes you can get so overwhelmed with your daily responsibilities, that you don’t allow yourself the luxury of relaxation and mirth. It becomes difficult to find humor in the situations that are straining, agonizing and rattling. However, a change in disposition can do wonders in terms of how you approach most challenges.

Even depression can be lifted by finding humor in life’s everyday foibles. You may even have to LEARN to laugh because it’s not as natural as other behaviors. In essence, if you reassess the nature of your sense of humor, you can raise the scope of your “humor index.”

You do this by considering the following:

• Are you the type to initiate humor or do you enjoy laughing along with others?

• What are the kinds of things you find most humorous (jokes, movies, one liners, etc) and what don’t you consider funny (sarcasm, ethnic jokes, etc)? • Can you be silly and laugh at yourself easily?

• Must you be in a good mood to laugh, or can something amusing change your mood?

It’s great to have a repertoire of things you find funny that you can access when you need it. It’s also great to schedule daily moments of frivolity for ridding yourself of excess emotional weight, built up from the day.

Let yourself explore being less judgmental and more tolerant so that the subtleties of life become the fuel that tickles your funny bone. And remember that a sense of humor keeps minor problems in perspective and enables you to endure life more easily-- by cleansing the system of excess tension and keeping you emotionally fit.

Author's bio: Amy Sherman, LMHC, is a licensed mental health counselor in private practice. She is the author of “Distress-Free Aging: A Boomer’s Guide to Creating a Fulfilled and Purposeful Life.”

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