Holidays, Stress Days

The holidays are a time of cheer and getting together with friends and family and having fun. So why is it also the most stressful time of the year? It's because there is so much going on and so little time to get it done. Getting in the crowds at the mall, pushing & shoving, cursing each other, fighting over a parking space. It lets you see just how some people really are. It's not a pretty sight.

The holidays are a time when you have friends & family over and everything has to be just right and that causes stress in your life. Any time there is a change in your daily routine, it causes stress and the holidays are definitely a change.

So, step back, take a deep breath and look at the humor. Laugh at the way people are reacting. Keep a smile on your face. everyone else will wonder how you can remain so calm. Meditate before you go shopping. It will help you relax. or, just do what I do. Get your Christmas shopping done in July and avoid the crowds. Don't have any parties at your house. leave it up to someone else to throw the parties.

All you have to worry about is the smile on your children's faces on Christmas Day and that, my friend is what Christmas is all about. And that smile is a great stress reliever.

What Is humor Therapy

Humor therapy (sometimes called therapeutic humor) uses the power of smiles and laughter to aid healing. Humor therapy helps you find ways to make yourself (or others) smile and laugh more. When you think of humor therapy, picture clowns in the children's ward of a hospital cheering up sick children. Some hospitals now have humor carts that provide funny materials for people of any age. Many nurses have learned the value of providing a good laugh to those they care for.
Scientists have been researching the relation between the mind and the body, especially in connection with the body's ability to heal (a field called psychoneuroimmunology). Laughter appears to change brain chemistry and may boost the immune system.
Humor may allow a person to feel in control of a situation and make it seem manageable. It allows people to release fears, anger, and stress, all of which can harm the body over time. Humor improves the quality of life.

Is Humor Therapy Safe

Humor therapy is completely safe. Your doctor is likely to approve of any efforts you make to use humor therapy, even if he or she is not aware of any medical benefits that may result. Since it is also inexpensive, risk-free, and readily available, there is little reason not to try practicing humor therapy.
Always tell your doctor if you are using an alternative therapy or if you are thinking about combining an alternative therapy with your conventional medical treatment. It may not be safe to forgo your conventional medical treatment and rely only on an alternative therapy.

Is humor good for my health?

You've probably heard countless warnings about the dangers of negative emotions. Stress, anger, and depression can sap your immune system, encourage heart trouble, and slow your recovery from almost any illness. But how often do you hear the positive side of the story? Research consistently shows that positive emotions, including love, humor, and hope, may help your body fend off disease. As Bernie Siegel, M.D., wrote in his book Peace, Love and Healing,

"Feelings are chemical; they can kill or cure."

Norman Cousins, an editor of the Saturday Review, didn't feel particularly mirthful when he was diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis, a crippling form of arthritis. But as he described in his 1979 book The Anatomy of an Illness, humor was definitely part of his recovery plan. Soon after the diagnosis, Cousins vowed to tackle his disease with confidence and laughter. He set up a movie projector in his hospital room and frequently watched Marx Brothers movies and classic episodes of "Candid Camera."

(On the downside, his constant laughter bothered some of the neighboring patients.) In between reels, he stayed upbeat and relaxed. Over a period of months, he regained motion in his joints and felt the pain disappear. He eventually made a nearly full recovery from his "incurable" disease. Cousins went on to help establish a department at the University of California at Los Angeles medical school that investigates the connection between illness and the mind.

What Is Humor Therapy Used For?

Anyone can use humor therapy, either preventively or as part of treatment for any disease. People commonly use it in the treatment of long-term (chronic) diseases, especially those that are made worse by stress (such as heart disease and asthma). Chronic diseases can often have a negative effect on mood and attitude, which can make the disease worse. Humor therapy helps decrease the negative effects of feeling unhealthy, out of control, afraid, or helpless, which are common problems for those with cancer or chronic diseases.

Humor therapy is also valuable as a preventive measure for the caregivers of people with chronic diseases. Caregivers are at high risk of becoming sick themselves, and humor therapy can help release the stress that comes from being a caregiver. Caregivers and those they care for can practice humor therapy together, and they both are likely to have better health as a result.

BC is a professional speaker on humor and being a father. He is the author of the book Humor Therapy 101 and How To Be A Daddy Not A Father. His website is www.worldwidebc.com

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

Patients, doctors and health-care professionals are all finding that laughter may indeed be the best medicine.

Laughing is found to lower blood pressure, reduce stress hormones, increase muscle flexion, and boost immune function by raising levels of infection-fighting T-cells, disease-fighting proteins called Gamma-interferon and B-cells, which produce disease-destroying antibodies. Laughter also triggers the release of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers, and produces a general sense of well-being.

Laughter is infectious. Hospitals around the country are incorporating formal and informal laughter therapy programs into their therapeutic regimens. In countries such as India, laughing clubs -- in which participants gather in the early morning for the sole purpose of laughing -- are becoming as popular as Rotary Clubs in the United States.

Humor is a universal language. It's a contagious emotion and a natural diversion. It brings other people in and breaks down barriers. Best of all it is free and has no known side reactions.

B.C. is a Humorologist who teaches Humor Therapy. His website is www.worldwidebc.com

Laught To Lose Weight

By Victoria WesselerLifestyle, Gardening, and Culinary Writer.

Every once in a while I run across a bit of information that sounds just too good to be true. When I heard that a group of researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Department of Medicine announced that laughing caused people to burn extra calories, I just had to investigate it.

I wondered if there could be at least a kernel of truth in their study, which hinted that laughter might be a way to lose weight. After all, studies have shown that laughter, which has been said for years to be good medicine, can enhance the immune system, reduce stress, and keep our hearts healthy.

That's all great, but what could it do for my waistline? Could I laugh my way back into my skinny jeans? Before I replaced my hour on the treadmill with an hour of watching my favorite sitcoms, I thought I should investigate the study’s findings.Turns out that the study is real and does, in fact, show that genuine laughter causes an increase in energy expenditure.

The study’s methodology and results were recently printed in the International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31, 131-137. Note the use of the term genuine. The researchers say that fake laughter, such as the giggle you force out at an old joke told for the tenth time by your distant (but not distant enough) relative at a holiday dinner, doesn’t count.

To be beneficial, the laughter has to be a sincere, spontaneous laugh.If you get a chance to read the entire study, you’d probably find it pretty interesting. But I’ll cut to the chase. The bottom line is that during genuine laughter, as compared to a resting state, we expend between 10–20 percent more energy, and our heart rate is increased by the same amount.

The good news is that 15 minutes of laughter can burn between 10–40 calories. The bad news is that it’s just not enough to replace even the lightest daily form of exercise or intense physical activity. But, not to be discouraged, at the end of the study’s results, the researchers note, “This amount [15 minutes per day] of energy expenditure during 1 year with no changes in other components of energy balance, may translate into an annual weight loss [of approximately 1–4 pounds of body weight], if all other components of energy balance remained unchanged.”

I say that beats gaining 1–4 pounds a year!So, we now have scientific proof that laughter is good for our figures. And, as we all know, there are few things better for eliciting hale and hearty belly laughs than time spent with your best female friends. The friendships that we have with close female friends are literally life sustaining.

Numerous studies show that people who lack in friendships and are isolated from others die earlier than those who have close friends in whom they can confide and with whom they can share good times. Yet despite all their value, we have fewer friends than ever before. In June 2006, USA Today noted that 25 percent of all Americans have no close confidants in their lives.

Apparently, in the face of demanding schedules and overloaded daily activities, we often place non-relative relationships at the end of our “to do” list.Making a conscious effort to see our friends regularly is important. Whether it’s a monthly brunch, a weekly game night, or a semi-annual “ladies-only weekend at the cabin,” we have to plan and commit to nurturing and investing our time in these relationships.

Every year, I hold an annual “ladies-only” party where I invite my friends and ask them to invite one or two of their friends as guests. Anywhere from 50 to 60 women show up. For 11 years the party theme was chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Guests each brought sinful chocolate desserts to share with each other. In 2005 and 2006, the theme was announced as a “Ladies Only Pajamarama and Cocktail Party.”

Tiaras and feather boas were noted on the invitation as optional, but highly encouraged. My friends did not disappointment me with their attire. I had no idea so many of them owned tiaras and boas. Obviously, they were just waiting for the perfect excuse to wear them in public. Even my neighbor’s female Weimaraner dressed in full party regalia—no one could figure out how that dog kept a tiara on her head and a white feather boa around her neck all night.

Take a few minutes today to think about those wonderful women you are privileged to call your friends. Where would you be without them in your life? They soothe your spirit. They feed your soul. They lift you up as only another person in your life can. They help you through significant life passages. They are there to dry your eyes when you are defeated and applaud you when you succeed. They understand you better than you understand yourself. They want what’s best for you.

They create a safe place to discuss your dreams and fears. They are Lucy to our Ethel; Laverne to our Shirley; Monica to our Rachel. And, maybe best of all, just when you think all is lost, they’re the ones that always give you plenty of reasons to break into a healthy, calorie-burning, genuine laugh!

Victoria Wesseler is a lifestyle, gardening and culinary writer. She is a weekly featured columnist for CDKitchen.com and has been published in Cooking Pleasures, Out Here, Indianapolis DINE magazine, and Indianapolis Monthly HOME Magazine. She has written and produced culinary segments for broadcast on WKYT in Lexington, KY.

Humor Therapy. What Is It?

HUMOR THERAPY: WHAT IS IT?[From the American Cancer Society]

Comical or amusing entertainment. A quality that appeals to the sense of the ridiculous. That's what the dictionary calls humor. But in considering humor as a useful complementary therapy, scientists look at the possible release of endorphins that occurs when we laugh.

They see humor as a distraction from stress and pain.Humor as therapy is its deliberate use to provide symptom relief. This happens because humor reduces the natural stresses of illness and distracts the patient from pain. It is useful for treating people with physical and emotional problems.

The value of humor has been confirmed to the point that many hospitals and ambulatory care centers now have incorporated special rooms where materials - and sometimes people - are there to help make people laugh. Materials include movies, audio and videotapes, books, games, and puzzles for patients of every age. Movies and TV shows by popular comedians from Laurel and Hardy to Bob Hope and Bob Newhart, humorous songs, the joke of the day on the Internet, the one paragraph jokes and funny stories from the Readers' Digest, all have value in helping patients who would otherwise have little to laugh about.

A hospital in North Carolina created a "laughmobile" that visits bedridden patients. Many hospitals throughout the nation now use volunteer groups who visit patients with carts full of humor devices, including slapstick items such as water pistols and rubber chickens. They visit patients who are fighting cancer and other serious illnesses, providing an oasis of laughter during an otherwise difficult time.With all of the various objects and techniques, the goal is similar and simple: make patients laugh and help them put aside their fears, their concerns about health, and their discomforts.

BC is a speaker/author on Humor Therapy. His website is www.worldwidebc.com

Fun and the Bottom Line: Using Humor to Retain Employees

Article by David Granirer*
Humor for Retaining EmployeesPicture this: a team of welfare workers on the front-lines of a poor neighborhood, serving difficult, high-needs clients. And if that’s not tough enough, each has a caseload of about 300 and works for an organization undergoing massive funding cuts, downsizing, and policy changes.
But every day after coffee, it's the same. The supervisor and two workers appear in the reception area. "What song do you wanna hear? Do you wanna hear Jazz? Rock? Folk?" Then, "playing" accordion folders and staple removers as finger cymbals, they launch into the world’s worst rendition of "Across The Universe" by John Lennon, to the hysterical laughter of their colleagues.
"It's our way of keeping up morale," says a team member. "We're so overwhelmed, so stressed, so burned out. This is how we keep our sanity."
As more and more organizations reengineer, merge, restructure, downsize, rightsize, and even capsize, employees confront uncertainty on an almost daily basis. The rules keep changing in terms of what they're supposed to do, how they’re supposed to do it, who they do it for, and whether they get to do it at all.
And since most have little or no control over the making of these rules, the result is often a sense of powerlessness that translates into increased stress, decreased wellness, demoralization, absenteeism, and lower productivity, all of which affect rates of retaining employees. And we all know that people are an organization’s number one asset, and losing them costs money.
So the big question for both individuals and organizations is: how do you keep up spirits, continue to work effectively, and maintain health and sanity in a crazy-making situation? The team of welfare workers described chooses to laugh.
They could also choose despair, cynicism, bitterness, or negativity, but instead team members choose laughter. As one worker states, "We could either cry, or we could laugh, but you can only cry for so long. We’d had enough of crying, and it was time to do something else."
So, how do you help employees, who have little or no control over external events, survive a crazy-making situation? Organizations need to encourage employees to take control over the one aspect of the situation they do control - how they choose to respond to it.
And on those days where workers feel overwhelmed, overworked, and have no idea what's going to happen next, the only rational, life-affirming response is to go find some colleagues, and break out the clown noses, kazoos, and Groucho glasses.
Why Laughter?Why is laughter such a positive choice? We all know that it makes us feel good, but in today’s bottom-line oriented workplace, the term "feel good" is too nebulous to have much impact on how people go about structuring their job interactions and professional relationships.
And most organizations are not going to promote humor as part of their culture because some "touchy feely" wellness devotee thinks that having the boss come to work dressed as a chicken will create a happy afterglow.
So any discussion of the benefits of laughter needs to be more tangible and focused on addressing positive morale, a major factor contributing to retaining valued employees. Remember though, humor is a coping mechanism to aid in retaining employees, not a cure-all for other systemic problems affecting organizations.
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*David Granirer, M.A., is North America's Psychotherapist/Stand-up Comic. David gives laughter in the workplace presentations for hundreds of organizations throughout North America. For more information or to receive his free email newsletter "Get More Laughter In Your Life!" call (604) 205-9242 or go to David's web site.

B.C. is a professional speaker/author/musician/magician/storyteller who speaks on Humor Therapy He may be contacted at www.worldwidebc.com

Humor Therapy At Rochester

Humor Therapy
An innovative program utilizing therapeutic humor and laughter as a complementary part of medicine is being utilized to enhance the satisfaction and quality of life for patients, their families, and staff at ViaHealth Rochester General Hospital.
The Therapeutic Humor Program consists of four components:
Clown RoundsHumor ChannelHumor LibraryHumor Education
With the availability of all four components we are able to:
Provide a mirthful environment
Enhance the positive and caring RGH healthcare experience
Reduce stress, decrease anxiety, and relieve fear
Provide a powerful distraction tool
Complement medical care and treatment with a smile
Enhance communication
Act as an ambassador to and for the RGH community
Our Therapeutic Humor Coordinator has spoken both locally and nationally about this innovative ViaHealth program.
The Rochester General Hospital Foundation has provided funding for the program. This program is supported entirely by dedicated volunteers and generous donations from the community. Anyone wishing to donate to the program should contact the:
Rochester General Hospital FoundationParnall Office Building, Suite G-041445 Portland AvenueRochester, NY 14621(585) 922-4800

B.C. is a professional speaker/musician/magician/author/storyteller who speaks on humor worldwidebc. Visit his website at www.worldwidebc.com

The History Of Humor Therapy

Humor has been used in medicine throughout recorded history. One of the earliest mentions of the health benefits of humor is in the book of Proverbs in the Bible. As early as the 13th century, some surgeons used humor to distract patients from the pain of surgery. Humor was also widely used and studied by the medical community in the early 20th century. In more modern times, the most famous story of humor therapy involved Norman Cousins, then editor of the Saturday Review. According to the story, Mr. Cousins cured himself of an unknown illness with a self-invented regimen of laughter and vitamins.

B.C. is a speaker/author/musician/magician/storyteller who speaks on Humor Therapy worldwide. His website is www.worldwidebc.com

Psychoneuroimmunology and Humor

Every year, there is more evidence that your thoughts, moods, emotions, and belief system have a fundamental impact on the body’s basic health and healing mechanisms. Much of that evidence is discussed here at holisticonline.com.

Whether or not you get sick depends on your body’s ability to fight off infection and disease. In 1980 (prior to the discovery of the AIDS virus), the departing editor of the New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Franz Ingelfinger, estimated that 85% of all human illnesses are curable by the body’s own healing system. We now know that building a positive focus in your life plays an important role in supporting the body's ability to do this.

The body’s healing system responds favorably to positive attitudes, thoughts, moods, and emotions (e.g., to love, hope, optimism, caring, intimacy, joy, laughter, and humor), and negatively to negative ones (hate, hopelessness, pessimism, indifference, anxiety, depression, loneliness, etc.). So you want to organize your life to maintain as positive a focus as possible.

Paul E. McGhee, PhD

B.C. has been a professional speaker on Humor Therapy for 20-years. He may be contacted at: www.worldwidebc.com

The Healing Power Of Humor

The following is an excerpt taken from Chapter 3: Humor and Healing, or Why We're Building a Silly Hospital of Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health To You, The Medical System, And Society Through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor And Joy.

The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than of twenty asses laden with drugs.Dr. Thomas Sydenham, seventeenth-century physician
Humor is an antidote to all ills. I believe that fun is as important as love. The bottom line, when you ask people what they like about life, is the fun they have, whether it’s racing cars, dancing, gardening, golf, or writing books. Philosophically speaking, I’m surprised that anyone is ever serious. Life is such a miracle and it’s so good to be alive that I wonder why anybody ever wastes a minute!

Anyone who has picked up a copy of Reader’s Digest in the last forty years knows that laughter is the best medicine. In spite of the empirical nature of this truth, the mainstream medical literature hasn’t refuted it, as far as I know. The late Norman Cousins wrote eloquently about having laughed himself back to health after suffering from a serious chronic disease. The experience had such an impact that he changed careers late in life to help bring this information to the health care profession. Jokes seemed so important to Sigmund Freud that he wrote a book on the subject. But we don’t need professionals to tell us about the magnetism of laughter. With great insight, we call a funny person “the life of the party.”

Humor has been strongly promoted as health-giving throughout medical history, from Hippocrates to Sir William Osler. As science became dominant in medicine, subjective therapies like love, faith, and humor took a backseat because of the difficult task of objectively investigating their value. I am astounded that anybody feels the need to prove something so obvious. When individuals and groups are asked what is most important for good health, humor invariably heads the list even over love and faith, which many people feel have failed them. Few people deny that a good sense of humor is essential for a successful marriage. All public speakers recognize that humor is essential in drawing attention to what they are saying.

People crave laughter as if it were an essential amino acid. When the woes of existence beset us, we urgently seek comic relief. The more emotions we invest in a subject, the greater its potential for guffaws. Sex, marriage, prejudice, and politics provide a bottomless well of ideas; yet, humor is often denied in the adult world. Almost universally in the business, religious, medical, and academic worlds, humor is denigrated and even condemned, except in speeches and anecdotes. The stress is on seriousness, with the implication that humor is inappropriate. Health education does little to develop the skills of levity. On the contrary, hospitals are notorious for their somber atmosphere. Although hospital staff members may enjoy camaraderie among themselves, with patients their goal seems to be to fight suffering with suffering. What little humor there is occurs during visiting hours.

The focus on humor in medicine at Gesundheit Institute has often been declared a major deterrent to our getting funds. Still, I insist that humor and fun (which is humor in action) are equal partners with love as key ingredients for a healthy life.

Although humor itself is difficult to evaluate, the response to humor-laughter-can be studied quite readily. Research has shown that laughter increases the secretion of the natural chemicals, catecholamines and endorphins, that make people feel so peppy and good. It also decreases cortisol secretion and lowers the sedimentation rate, which implies a stimulated immune response. Oxygenation of the blood increases, and residual air in the lungs decreases. Heart rate initially speeds up and blood pressure rises; then the arteries relax, causing heart rate and blood pressure to lower. Skin temperature rises as a result of increased peripheral circulation. Thus, laughter appears to have a positive effect on many cardiovascular and respiratory problems. In addition, laughter has superb muscle relaxant qualities. Muscle physiologists have shown that anxiety and muscle relaxation cannot occur at the same time and that the relaxation response after a hearty laugh can last up to forty-five minutes.

Psychologically, humor forms the foundation of good mental health. Certainly the lack of a good sense of humor indicates underlying problems like depression or alienation. Humor is an excellent antidote to stress and an effective social lubricant. Since loving human relationships are so mentally healthy, it behooves one to develop a humorous side.

I have reached the conclusion that humor is vital in healing the problems of individuals, communities, and societies. I have been a street clown for thirty years and have tried to make my own life silly, not as that word is currently used, but in terms of its original meaning. “Silly” originally meant good, happy, blessed, fortunate, kind, and cheerful in many different languages. No other attribute has been more important. Wearing a rubber nose wherever I go has changed my life. Dullness and boredom melt away. Humor has made my life joyous and fun. It can do the same for you. Wearing underwear on the outside of your clothes can turn a tedious trip to the store for a forgotten carton of milk into an amusement park romp. People so unabashedly thank you for entertaining them.

Being funny is a powerful magnet for friendship, life’s most important treasure. Nothing attracts or maintains friendship like being a jolly soul. I know that humor has been at the core of preventing burnout in my life. Finally, as a nonviolent person, I feel that humor has often protected me by deflecting potentially violent situations.

In the twelve years we saw patients during the pilot phase of Gesundheit Institute, we had many opportunities to explore the relationship between humor and medicine. Although we greatly appreciated casual humor, it seemed imperative that we deliberately incorporate it into our day-to-day lives to prevent an atmosphere of agony and despair. Some of this humor came from a stream of jokes that patients and staff brought with them. However, jokes die quickly, and we found that for an atmosphere of humor to thrive, we had to live funny.

We learned to first develop an air of trust and love, because spontaneous humor can be offensive, and we wanted it to be taken in the spirit of trying. (Cautious people are rarely funny.) It soon became clear that silliness was a potent force in keeping the staff together as friends. And I, as a physician, began to see the potent medicinal effect of humor on diseases of all kinds.
Humor is important, too, for the health of a community, whether a neighborhood, church, club, or circle of friends. It has helped me live communally for more than twenty years. The first twelve years we used our home as a free hospital, surrounded by patients who had great mental and physical suffering. The staff stayed many years without pay or privacy because it was so much fun. As physicians, we also discovered that humor was a major medicine. Humor, maybe even more than love, made our pioneering project work; it would have been impossible without this great social glue.

We live in a troubled world. Many aspects of society are unhealthy or even deadly, and large segments of the population live on the edge. If we are to doctor society we must rely heavily on humor. Often in public a parent and child are at odds, and the frustrated parent is ready to strike out at the child. If I put on my rubber nose and act goofy, most of the time the situation is defused and neither parent nor child has a win/lose feeling.

How can one inject more humor into a medical setting? First, it must be a joint decision by administration and staff. The most important elements of bedside manner are not medical knowledge or skill but the qualities inherent in fun and love. Once the medical establishment has agreed to accept more humor, people at all levels of employment will be willing to take steps in this direction. It is easiest to be funny when people are familiar with one another. Spend time together learning your limits and practicing being funny. Invite patients and visitors to participate. Be open to experimentation and escalate slowly. Expect many experiments to fail and even to cause some pain. Avoid racist and sexist humor. Strive for goofiness and fun, not an infinite string of jokes.

Some hospitals have begun the process already. At Duke University Hospital, humor carts deliver videos, cartoon and humor books, juggling equipment, toys, and games. DeKalb Hospital, near Atlanta, has created a Lively Room for romping. The clowns of the Big Apple Circus in New York City have created Clown Care Units, which visit children’s hospitals on a regular basis to bring joy and assist with patient care. The Association of Therapeutic Humor is creating a clearinghouse with information about humor and about people who practice it as therapy. Finally, we at Gesundheit Institute are building the first silly hospital, where the entire context will be geared to fun and play.

There are many avenues to explore. I think hospitals need to give patients a choice between a goofy ward or a “straight,” solemn ward. In lectures all over the United States, I ask medical groups which ward they would choose, and more than 90 percent always choose the goofy ward. In any hospital, “fun” rooms could be designated as playful environments for all to enjoy. This could attract many of the community’s creative people, forge closer bonds between hospital and community, and diminish the hierarchical nature of current medical practice.

For all levels of staff, I suggest classes, intimate gatherings, picnics, and even slumber parties to cultivate the closeness needed to ensure more humor and joy in the workplace. I suggest creating humor support groups and maybe a place where people come just to laugh. Many hospitals have realized the importance of faith and have included ministers and priests on the staff. The same could be done with humor: hire clowns and playful people. Many large communities have performers and artists who could be invited to bring their specialties to the hospital. Some hospitals might even consider creating space for them, including a well-stocked costume and prop room.

The practice of medicine is hurting at many levels. Patient discontent is so great that many are resorting to lawsuits. Many health care professionals are so dissatisfied that they are quitting or even killing themselves. Few if any happy hospitals exist. Most people hate going to a hospital and have traumatic experiences when they do. Yet, it doesn’t have to be this way if we make great efforts to change it. Service to people in times of pain and suffering should - and can - bring rich fulfillment. Let us call on humor to lend a hand and make medicine fun.

Adams P with Mylander M (1998) Gesundheit!: Bringing Good Health To You, The Medical System, And Society Through Physician Service, Complementary Therapies, Humor And Joy Rochester: Healing Arts Press

B.C. is a professional speaker who teaches Humor Therapy. He may be contacted at: www.worldwidebc.com

Using Humor To Defuse Rage by APA Online

"Silly humor" can help defuse rage in a number of ways. For one thing, it can help you get a more balanced perspective. When you get angry and call someone a name or refer to them in some imaginative phrase, stop and picture what that word would literally look like.

If you're at work and you think of a coworker as a "dirtbag" or a "single-cell life form," for example, picture a large bag full of dirt (or an amoeba) sitting at your colleague's desk, talking on the phone, going to meetings. Do this whenever a name comes into your head about another person. If you can, draw a picture of what the actual thing might look like. This will take a lot of the edge off your fury; and humor can always be relied on to help unknot a tense situation.

The underlying message of highly angry people, Dr. Deffenbacher says, is "things oughta go my way!" Angry people tend to feel that they are morally right, that any blocking or changing of their plans is an unbearable indignity and that they should NOT have to suffer this way. Maybe other people do, but not them!

When you feel that urge, he suggests, picture yourself as a god or goddess, a supreme ruler, who owns the streets and stores and office space, striding alone and having your way in all situations while others defer to you. The more detail you can get into your imaginary scenes, the more chances you have to realize that maybe you are being unreasonable; you'll also realize how unimportant the things you're angry about really are. There are two cautions in using humor.

First, don't try to just "laugh off" your problems; rather, use humor to help yourself face them more constructively. Second, don't give in to harsh, sarcastic humor; that's just another form of unhealthy anger expression.

What these techniques have in common is a refusal to take yourself too seriously. Anger is a serious emotion, but it's often accompanied by ideas that, if examined, can make you laugh.

© 2007 American Psychological Association750 First Street, NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242Telephone: 800-374-2721; 202-336-5500. TDD/TTY: 202-336-6123

B.C. is a professional speaker on Humor Therapy. He is a humorologist and has been doing humor therapy for 20+ years.

He may be contacted at: www.worldwidebc.com

Humor Is Strong Stuff it Can Even Help You Lose Weight

Humor is strong medication. People who laugh hard at least fifteen minutes a day live healthier, happier and longer live. They lose weight too. That's right, humor is a great way to lose weight. consider this article by By Victoria Wesseler

Every once in a while I run across a bit of information that sounds just too good to be true. When I heard that a group of researchers from Vanderbilt University’s Department of Medicine announced that laughing caused people to burn extra calories, I just had to investigate it. I wondered if there could be at least a kernel of truth in their study, which hinted that laughter might be a way to lose weight. After all, studies have shown that laughter, which has been said for years to be good medicine, can enhance the immune system, reduce stress, and keep our hearts healthy. That's all great, but what could it do for my waistline? Could I laugh my way back into my skinny jeans? Before I replaced my hour on the treadmill with an hour of watching my favorite sitcoms, I thought I should investigate the study’s findings.Turns out that the study is real and does, in fact, show that genuine laughter causes an increase in energy expenditure.

The study’s methodology and results were recently printed in the International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31, 131-137. Note the use of the term genuine. The researchers say that fake laughter, such as the giggle you force out at an old joke told for the tenth time by your distant (but not distant enough) relative at a holiday dinner, doesn’t count. To be beneficial, the laughter has to be a sincere, spontaneous laugh.

If you get a chance to read the entire study, you’d probably find it pretty interesting. But I’ll cut to the chase. The bottom line is that during genuine laughter, as compared to a resting state, we expend between 10–20 percent more energy, and our heart rate is increased by the same amount.

The good news is that 15 minutes of laughter can burn between 10–40 calories. The bad news is that it’s just not enough to replace even the lightest daily form of exercise or intense physical activity. But, not to be discouraged, at the end of the study’s results, the researchers note, “This amount [15 minutes per day] of energy expenditure during 1 year with no changes in other components of energy balance, may translate into an annual weight loss [of approximately 1–4 pounds of body weight], if all other components of energy balance remained unchanged.”

I say that beats gaining 1–4 pounds a year!So, we now have scientific proof that laughter is good for our figures. And, as we all know, there are few things better for eliciting hale and hearty belly laughs than time spent with your best female friends. The friendships that we have with close female friends are literally life sustaining. Numerous studies show that people who lack in friendships and are isolated from others die earlier than those who have close friends in whom they can confide and with whom they can share good times.

Yet despite all their value, we have fewer friends than ever before. In June 2006, USA Today noted that 25 percent of all Americans have no close confidants in their lives. Apparently, in the face of demanding schedules and overloaded daily activities, we often place non-relative relationships at the end of our “to do” list.Making a conscious effort to see our friends regularly is important. Whether it’s a monthly brunch, a weekly game night, or a semi-annual “ladies-only weekend at the cabin,” we have to plan and commit to nurturing and investing our time in these relationships.

Every year, I hold an annual “ladies-only” party where I invite my friends and ask them to invite one or two of their friends as guests. Anywhere from 50 to 60 women show up. For 11 years the party theme was chocolate, chocolate, and more chocolate. Guests each brought sinful chocolate desserts to share with each other. In 2005 and 2006, the theme was announced as a “Ladies Only Pajamarama and Cocktail Party.” Tiaras and feather boas were noted on the invitation as optional, but highly encouraged.

My friends did not disappointment me with their attire. I had no idea so many of them owned tiaras and boas. Obviously, they were just waiting for the perfect excuse to wear them in public. Even my neighbor’s female Weimaraner dressed in full party regalia—no one could figure out how that dog kept a tiara on her head and a white feather boa around her neck all night.

Take a few minutes today to think about those wonderful women you are privileged to call your friends. Where would you be without them in your life? They soothe your spirit. They feed your soul. They lift you up as only another person in your life can. They help you through significant life passages. They are there to dry your eyes when you are defeated and applaud you when you succeed.

They understand you better than you understand yourself. They want what’s best for you. They create a safe place to discuss your dreams and fears. They are Lucy to our Ethel; Laverne to our Shirley; Monica to our Rachel. And, maybe best of all, just when you think all is lost, they’re the ones that always give you plenty of reasons to break into a healthy, calorie-burning, genuine laugh!

Victoria Wesseler is a lifestyle, gardening and culinary writer. She is a weekly featured columnist for CDKitchen.com and has been published in Cooking Pleasures, Out Here, Indianapolis DINE magazine, and Indianapolis Monthly HOME Magazine. She has written and produced culinary segments for broadcast on WKYT in Lexington, KY.

You see, laughter is good for your soul and your body. Laugh hard at least fifteen minutes a day and enjoy a stress free life.

B.C. is a professional speaker and humorologist who speaks on Humor Therapy. His website is www.worldwidebc.com