Three Ways To Use Laughter To Get Through Life's Toughest Times
Cancer. It's not the type of thing you ask for -- usually. Who'd want it? A life-changing, sometimes life-ending disease. Cancer's so scary that there are people who won't say the word aloud...but I was saying it regularly, begging God to let me be the one with cancer. My son, a strong, smart, energetic 22-year-old junior at the University of Missouri, woke up one morning with an aching chest. It turned out to be a malignant tumor, and the start of my most fervent prayers. "Please. I've had a great life. Let it be me -- not him."
After his diagnosis, much of what happened was a blur. Months of chemo. Surgery. Watching my son lose his hair, his appetite gone because everything tasted metallic, as all the while he wondered if he would have a girlfriend, a family of his own, a life
For two decades, I'd studied, written and spoken about the therapeutic values of humor. It was time to walk the talk. It was tough. I won't kid you. Being funny can be hard work. At times, we had to make a conscious effort to laugh. And yet sometimes, if we would just let it"it would just happen. Humor was a saving grace for all of us.
Sorrow has its hour. There were many tears. But joy has a claim as well, and there was laughter too. Lots of laughter.
Some of the best laughs came from David's roommates, who dubbed him Captain Cancer. One was a red-headed Italian color-blind art student. She saw Davids newly bald head as a marvelous canvas and begged to decorate it with colorful markers.
We laughed at home, we laughed at the hospital, and we laughed at work. David was working as a bouncer at a popular local bar. One of his friends worked with him, and together they were known as Tonto and the Lone Ranger. After a round of treatments, though, his nickname changed. According to the bar's patrons, my son was now Chemo-sabi!
We have an almost instinctive understanding of the role of humor, particularly when we're seriously ill. Ground breaking researcher Allen Klein, best known for his seminal work, The Healing Power of Humor, discovered that over three quarters of terminally ill patients wanted more laughter in their days. They wanted to be surrounded with people who used humor, and they wanted the freedom to use humor themselves.
Humor can be used proactively, to help heal both the body and the spirit. To do this, you can:
Play: Make a Play List. This is a list of 10 low or no-cost things that are fun for you. Then, when you're not feeling well, do something from the list. You dont wait until you feel better to play. You play and then you feel better.
Make it easy to play by having fun toys around. Magic 8 balls, water guns, even the proverbial rubber chicken-- as long as it makes you smile, it'll work.
Be A Humor Collector: Gather funny books, magazines, movies and cartoons. Have people tell you funny or embarrassing stories. Search for great jokes. Amassing the collection is only part of the fun: spend at least 15 minutes a day enjoying it.
Make Connections: Surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Spend as little time as possible with negative, downbeat folks who make you feel bad. Ask people to laugh -- and do your best to make them laugh. One laugh leads to the next!
To live well, you must laugh. That's one of the pivotal lessons I learned from my son. He's cancer free now, for four years. And he's also my inspiration: for his courage, his gentle spirit, and of course, his sense of humor. It's my honor to say that he's my hero.
After his diagnosis, much of what happened was a blur. Months of chemo. Surgery. Watching my son lose his hair, his appetite gone because everything tasted metallic, as all the while he wondered if he would have a girlfriend, a family of his own, a life
For two decades, I'd studied, written and spoken about the therapeutic values of humor. It was time to walk the talk. It was tough. I won't kid you. Being funny can be hard work. At times, we had to make a conscious effort to laugh. And yet sometimes, if we would just let it"it would just happen. Humor was a saving grace for all of us.
Sorrow has its hour. There were many tears. But joy has a claim as well, and there was laughter too. Lots of laughter.
Some of the best laughs came from David's roommates, who dubbed him Captain Cancer. One was a red-headed Italian color-blind art student. She saw Davids newly bald head as a marvelous canvas and begged to decorate it with colorful markers.
We laughed at home, we laughed at the hospital, and we laughed at work. David was working as a bouncer at a popular local bar. One of his friends worked with him, and together they were known as Tonto and the Lone Ranger. After a round of treatments, though, his nickname changed. According to the bar's patrons, my son was now Chemo-sabi!
We have an almost instinctive understanding of the role of humor, particularly when we're seriously ill. Ground breaking researcher Allen Klein, best known for his seminal work, The Healing Power of Humor, discovered that over three quarters of terminally ill patients wanted more laughter in their days. They wanted to be surrounded with people who used humor, and they wanted the freedom to use humor themselves.
Humor can be used proactively, to help heal both the body and the spirit. To do this, you can:
Play: Make a Play List. This is a list of 10 low or no-cost things that are fun for you. Then, when you're not feeling well, do something from the list. You dont wait until you feel better to play. You play and then you feel better.
Make it easy to play by having fun toys around. Magic 8 balls, water guns, even the proverbial rubber chicken-- as long as it makes you smile, it'll work.
Be A Humor Collector: Gather funny books, magazines, movies and cartoons. Have people tell you funny or embarrassing stories. Search for great jokes. Amassing the collection is only part of the fun: spend at least 15 minutes a day enjoying it.
Make Connections: Surround yourself with people who make you laugh. Spend as little time as possible with negative, downbeat folks who make you feel bad. Ask people to laugh -- and do your best to make them laugh. One laugh leads to the next!
To live well, you must laugh. That's one of the pivotal lessons I learned from my son. He's cancer free now, for four years. And he's also my inspiration: for his courage, his gentle spirit, and of course, his sense of humor. It's my honor to say that he's my hero.
About the Author:
Learn more about the healing power of humor by visiting Karyn's website. And if you're looking for hysterical nursing humor make sure to check out the Journal of Nursing Jocularity Grab a totally unique version of this article from the Uber Article Directory
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