Laughter as Stress Relief

I guess most of us at some time in our lives have experienced a feeling of overwhelm. That's the time when you feel absolutely bombarded by stress and frustration everywhere you turn. In these situations you are most likely to be laughing much less, if indeed at all and spending a whole lot more time frowning. And it is well known that stress is bad for your health. So this would be the perfect time to do something different, contrary to our habitual way of responding, to re-address the balance  and bring about a positive change

You will need to take some definite action, to make a more conscious effort to bring moments of laughter and joy into your life. This might not be quite as hard as you think if you make use of something called State Management.

State management involves doing something or taking some action, to change your mood from one emotional state to another. And the quickest and easiest way to do this is by CHANGING SOMETHING IN YOUR BODY.

Let's take an example. Have you ever noticed what a difference it makes when you smile? If you experiment with smiling right now - just smile to yourself - how do you feel? Do you feel any different than a moment ago? Most of us would answer, "yes". You smile and the body receives a signal to produce more happiness hormones to match it. So in fact just a slight movement of your body, your lips, has changed the way you feel. So you can see that the more you bring laughter into your life ON PURPOSE, the less you will be at the mercy of anxiety, struggle and stress. You become the master of your own states.

Don't Take Life Too Seriously. Stress is the number one enemy of good health

According to a large number of health experts across the globe, the number one killer on the planet these days is stress and most health and chronic pain problems include stress as a major factor.

Sure, there are things in life that have to be taken care of and that require your focused attention. At the same time, it is important to see the real and important value of laughter, of being silly for a moment and of not taking yourself too seriously. Taking yourself and life too seriously all the time leads to stress and steals your happiness, joy and ultimately your health away from you.

Give yourself a break. Even just for a moment.

Take time to be silly, to have fun, and to laugh and as a result you will find yourself feeling much lighter and happier throughout your day. It has a 'knock on' effect of making life feel much more manageable as the resultant endorphins are released to boost your mood and make your body feel good too. As a result and with practice you will be able to tackle the most stressful moments in life with a smile on your face and a feeling of empowerment!

Make Time to Play

• Talk in a silly baby language

• Make funny faces in the mirror or make them for someone else

 • Make goofy noises or exaggerated sounds

By sprinkling silly and fun moments throughout the day, you will be able to maintain a more light-hearted frame of mind.

Problems in life may sometimes be rather challenging but you have the power to decide how you will respond and it is amazing what a slight sprinkling of laughter can do to make it all a little easier. And in the end your health will benefit too.