The Lighter Side of Life

 “Even if there is nothing to laugh about, laugh on credit.” ~Author Unknown

If I were to tell you that there a new medication that boosts energy, decreases pain, improves your immune system in the fight against disease and also protects you from the harmful effects of stress, how many of you would want to buy shares in the pharmaceutical company producing this? 

Well the bad news is that there is no company producing this magic panacea, but the good news is that it is available to all of us to use on a daily basis to improve our health – and what’s more, it is free and simple to use.  It is called humor!

Laughter is a human magnet – it is infectious and improves relationships, increasing happiness and intimacy.  Additionally it is a universal language and as such can break through many cultural barriers that words cannot do. Unfortunately with all the anger, despair and negativity in the world today, it seems that we often forget just how good humor can make our lives a little easier!

Humor is not a behavior or positive emotion, but like stress it is a perception; the ‘ability to perceive/enjoy what is funny or comical, a state of mind, feeling or mood’ – Paul McGhee.

There is now sufficient scientific evidence that good humor, in the form of smiling and laughing, is a powerful tool supporting good physical, mental and emotional health.  Humor therapy is now being used widely in medical circles in many parts of the world.  What is interesting is that even simulated/forced laughter can have the same effects, so for all those skeptics and miserable individuals out there, try it and reap the rewards.

So how does laughter work? This is just to name a few of the benefits, as there is much more written on this topic, which is beyond the scope of a short blog:

·      It relaxes the body and reduces the stress hormones

·      It triggers the release of the endorphins or feeling-good chemicals similar to those released during exercise

·      It reduces pain and improves cellular immunity – thus aiding the fight against disease

·      It improves mood, adds joy to life and enhances resilience, many of the things that are being challenged in our worlds today!

·      It helps to defuse conflict and also improves relationships.

Try to find solutions to improve your sense of humor by smiling and laughing and seeing the lighter side of life.  There are many ways of doing this, but like everything that one aspires to, it takes a little extra work and effort!

So no matter how tough life seems right now, start by finding one humorous thing a day and learn to smile – a lot!!

Smile when you wake up in the morning and look in the mirror, smile when you are alone, smile at strangers and smile at any other time.

“Every day you spend without a smile, is a lost day.” ~Author Unknown

Facing Adversity and Cognitive Restructuring

When written in Chinese the word "crisis" is composed of two characters 危机 - one represents danger and the other represents opportunity ~ J. F. Kennedy

With all the uncertainty in the world and the current economic situation in many countries today, a number of us are being challenged daily in one way or another, facing crises and fighting fires.  Some of us have recently lost our jobs and may be finding it more difficult than expected to get back into the job market, despite adequate professional qualifications and a good track record.

This can have an impact on self-esteem and self-worth; the loss of employment and difficulty trying to get back into the market can be a big blow to self-confidence, even if the redundancy was in no way related to performance.  As time progresses some of us tend to become more negative about the entire situation, developing a sense of helplessness and despair and the consequences that follow.

Negative thoughts are most often a conditioned response to constant negative feedback and this is usually translated into shame and guilt.  These negative or toxic thoughts can, unfortunately, have a major impact on both mental and physical health, causing anxiety & depression and suppressing the immune system.  In addition to this, in our external world today we are constantly bombarded by negative stimuli - there is not often a happy moment on the news worth relating to!!

But no matter what it is that affects our confidence and self-worth, it is vitally important that we learn to put this into some perspective and bounce back from negative thoughts, low self-esteem and self-worth, however tough it may seem at the time.  We need to change the things we can control and learn to accept those that we cannot.

So how do we tackle the adversity we are facing and move on to the next stage of our lives, without constantly seeing ourselves in a negative light?

One way of doing this is by cognitive restructuring/reframing where we change a perception from a negative to a neutral or positive one, thus reducing the physical and mental stress that it is causing.  We have the ability to choose our thoughts and to alter our thinking, adopting new perspectives on life.

As with any behavioral change one needs to reconstruct the situation:

·      Identify and be aware of the negative thought/s or processes,

·      have the desire and knowledge to change them,

·      adapt a new positive mindset,

·      and re-evaluate.

Sometimes when there does not seem to be any positive light in sight, we need to accept the situation and live in the moment - this does not equate to giving up.

In Taoism this acceptance is going with the flow of universal energy, rather than against it. Acceptance makes it possible to enjoy life fully each day, finding answers to every situation.

“No matter how dark the night, somehow the sun rises once again and all shadows are chased away” ~ David Matthew