The Healing Power of Humor: How Laughter Lights Up Our Lives

-Deeksha Solanki

Intern, May- July 2024

Ever felt like laughing out loud during a serious situation? 

Well, there is science behind it!

Breaking it down

Laughter, amusement, and humor can provide various bodily benefits by releasing endorphins, burning calories, relaxing muscles, and even decreasing pain. Additionally, laughing can improve our attitude toward life by cultivating happiness and easing tension during anxious situations. 

Let's try to modify the saying ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ more accurately. It definitely has its pros and is a major way most people relate to each other. However, it may not replace medical treatments. 

Laughter provides a temporary break from the tension. In some instances, it can be important to break the tension, however, to foster deeper and more genuine connections, it is vital to build on that tension and explore where it comes from. From a mental health perspective, hence, it is necessary to hold substantial conversations to adopt efficient management strategies for an individual. 

Read the room

We can’t joke about certain things. It comes with a certain privilege to hold conversations that are considerate towards everyone’s mental and physical well-being. Therefore, providing that safe space for every individual becomes a responsibility. Cracking disrespectful jokes at the cost of a particular group of people, traumatic events, or a single individual is not a ‘medicine’. Whereas respect can be a way to inculcate fraternity and familiarity with individuals. 

Using humor that puts yourself at the butt of a joke- called self-deprecating humor can also be a way of disrespecting yourself. It may act as a temporary relief or may make one seem agreeable, however, this actively leads to self-sabotage as well. This has an impact on one’s self-esteem, and optimistic attitude and may cause psychological discomfort. 

The therapeutic approach

Humor therapy is another aspect we will look at here. Even in hospitals, the patients are made to engage in activities that induce laughter and foster a better outlook, even though temporary. It is also used with caregivers of people with chronic illnesses effectively.

We are also aware of how healing requires social connection, support, and effective ways to improve any impaired functioning. For recovery to take place, it requires a reduced stress state, relief from pain, and discomfort; needs emotional resilience, and a relentlessly positive outlook, which can be achieved by harboring comfortable conversations with people around us. Further, humor can act as a way of personalizing one's life. Making efforts to laugh and build better humor can have a significant impact on social functioning as well as our overall attitude.

Therefore, understanding the negative aspects of using humor is as important as knowing the better part of it. We must work toward promoting a healthy lifestyle that not only includes a healthy body but also a healthy mind.  The cons of not using humor outweigh the pros by a lot. Over the healing journey, one must be aware of the fact that when used in moderation, Laughter is a Strong Medicine!

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