Wednesday, June 12, 2002
Articles on healing humor by Paul E. McGhee
e.g.: "Humor provides a sense of control over the stress that goes along with battling cancer by giving you more control over your daily mood. It helps you sustain an upbeat, optimistic frame of mind, even on the bad days. This more positive emotional state helps give you the resilience you need to cope with the next problem thrown your way. A good belly laugh also boosts your energy level on the days when you don't want to even get out of bed. This is especially important, since most survivors experience fatigue as a result of their cancer treatment. Finally, humor and laughter provide a means of "letting go" of the anger and anxiety that build up on your worst days.
"Laughter also reduces muscle tension. This muscle relaxation, and the easing of psychological tension that accompanies it, is the main goal of all stress management techniques, and clearly accounts for much of the stress-reducing power of humor."
e.g.: "Humor provides a sense of control over the stress that goes along with battling cancer by giving you more control over your daily mood. It helps you sustain an upbeat, optimistic frame of mind, even on the bad days. This more positive emotional state helps give you the resilience you need to cope with the next problem thrown your way. A good belly laugh also boosts your energy level on the days when you don't want to even get out of bed. This is especially important, since most survivors experience fatigue as a result of their cancer treatment. Finally, humor and laughter provide a means of "letting go" of the anger and anxiety that build up on your worst days.
"Laughter also reduces muscle tension. This muscle relaxation, and the easing of psychological tension that accompanies it, is the main goal of all stress management techniques, and clearly accounts for much of the stress-reducing power of humor."
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