You may
be in a funk because of the coronavirus, but, according to Certified Humor
Therapist and Laughter for the Health of It presenter Roberta Gold,
there’s no situation so dire you can’t find something funny in it.

Maybe
while self-quarantining you’re passing the time alphabetizing your spices.
Maybe you’re obsessively watching YouTube tutorials on converting cat food tins
to candle holders. Or maybe, like me, you’re manically cleaning out your
garage, a chore I’d expertly managed to avoid for over a decade.

See,
you’re laughing already! The tension is flowing out of you and you feel better
able to cope. According to Roberta, “Seeing the funny side makes one more
optimistic and helps create a positive mindset.”

Finding Fun in Life’s Absurdities

Roberta Gold is a member
of the Association
for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. This organization defines therapeutic humor
as “any intervention that promotes health and wellness by stimulating a
playful discovery, expression, or appreciation of the absurdity or incongruity
of life’s situations.”

Roberta says life is an
attitude and she is an attitude adjustment
coach. “Although we can often neither change a situation we find
ourselves in, nor can we change another person’s behavior, we have complete
control over the way we look at life.”

Stress Is Real but Laughter Can Defeat It

Still,
there’s no denying that the pandemic is creating stress, and stress is mentally
exhausting and even disease producing. Here’s where laughter really proves its
mettle.

“Laughter
appears to cause all the reciprocal, or opposite, effects of stress,” says Dr.
Lee Berk, associate professor at Loma Linda University, who studies the way a
good laugh impacts your brain and body.

“Laughter
shuts down the release of stress hormones like cortisol. It also triggers the
production of feel-good neurochemicals like dopamine, which have all kinds of
calming, anti-anxiety benefits. Think of laughter as the yin to stress’s yang.”

Humor Is Therapeutic

People
have always known about the mind-body connection. Look no further than the
Bible, which states, “A merry heart doeth good like a medicine, but a broken
spirit drieth the bones.”

Ancient
Greek physicians, who used humor as an adjunct to other therapies, ordered
their patients to visit the hall of comedians as an important part of the
recovery process.

Along
the same lines, Native American shamans utilized the powerful impact of humor
in healing by bringing in their version of clowns. And so on through the ages
and around the world.

Fight Quarantine Effects with Laughter

All
of which brings us back to 2020 and back to you. Chances are you are
quarantined with at least one other person, and tempers can flare when the days
are long and the distance between one another is short.

Once
again laughter comes to the rescue. Nothing diffuses anger and conflict faster
than a shared guffaw or even a chuckle.

Since
we can be so critical of one another, Roberta Gold recommends that you
consciously look for three positive traits in your partner, spouse, or roommate.
This will help you ride out the temporary confinement in greater peace and
harmony.

How
can you keep up your spirits while on virtual lockdown? According to Roberta,
there are three concrete steps you can take:

Find Fun Things to Do

In
order to take your mind off the virus, play Monopoly, cook up s’mores, or create
a masterpiece with your grandchildren’s play dough.

Practice Your Aha’s

Say
“ah,” then “ha,” then “aha,” and start laughing. As Dr. Berk said, there will
be a chemical reaction in your brain. The amazing thing is, according to other scientific
researchers, laughter works even when it’s forced.

Reframe the Situation

Picture
the virus as Jell-O or pillows of cotton or something else ridiculous like that.
This visual image will help you cut down on the fear factor. Then you can take
a deep breath and start to change your perception of the risks you are facing.

To
sum up, laughter can help you get through crises, present and future, so now
that you have some time on your hands, you might as well spend it finding your
“humor bone.” It will pay big dividends.

Can
you see why it is said that, “Laughter is the best medicine?” Do you try to
find the funny side of life? When has laughter helped you through a difficult
situation? Please share your stories with our sisters!