There are moments in life when crying and sadness win the game over laughter and joy. Crises, breakups, job loss, pandemics or illnesses are the most frequent reasons that can leave us plunged into despair. And it is known that the state of mind greatly influences physical health, that is why in this article we are wondering if in the midst of great difficulties, it is possible to improve the state of mind. The answer is found in laughter therapy, a technique that is gaining popularity as its innumerable benefits are being verified.
What is laughter therapy
- And what is laughter therapy? We are not talking about a psychological therapy to use, although many psychologists use it as a complement to their treatments. Laughter therapy is a technique based precisely on laughter to improve mood. What most people wonder is if forcing laughter or joy can work or is it a mere smoke screen to hide different physical and emotional ailments.
- The practice of laughter therapy answers us that it is an effective and highly beneficial technique. For this reason, laughter therapy workshops associated with medical centers proliferate and in many hospitals there are already entertainers so that patients use laughter as another medicine but without side effects. Indeed, laughter heals, laughter heals, and sometimes you have to push it a little to get it out.
- Laughter therapy is not only used to improve the recovery of patients in hospitals. This technique, commonly used, works as a prevention, especially emotional disorders, anxiety problems and depression. Signing up for a laughter therapy workshop is an investment in the future to help you maintain good physical and emotional health.
The effects of laughter on health
- If you are not completely convinced, it may help you to know how laughter works in health, how it acts directly in the body. Already in his day, Sigmund Freud found that laughter could free the body of negative energy and we must bear in mind that when we laugh we not only activate some 400 facial muscles, but also certain areas of the brain are stimulated.
- We are not going to get entangled in scientific terms, but to give us an idea of how laughter works, we can clarify that when we laugh we produce all those substances that we always hear about when we talk about depression. Endorphins, serotonin, dopamine… All of this contributes to relieving physical pain and also to relaxing muscular and emotional tension. Can we ask for more from laughter? We can, because laughter therapy has innumerable health benefits.
Benefits of laughter therapy
- Where do we begin to list the benefits of laughter therapy? Well, we can start with the physical side. Laughter is a most effective remedy against insomnia since, by providing us with some peace of mind, we sleep better and obtain a better quality of sleep. It’s a great start, because sleeping well is the key to well-being.
- We can continue with the benefits of laughter therapy to strengthen the immune system and thus prevent all kinds of infections and other diseases. The more we laugh, the more our heart is strengthened, the more our skin is oxygenated, thus aging is delayed. Laughter also improves circulation, breathing, eases digestion, reduces blood pressure and, in cases of mild pain, acts as an analgesic.
- If the physical benefits are remarkable, the psychological benefits of laughter therapy are no less so. Reducing stress and gradually bringing a more positive outlook on life are the magical effects of laughter. Something so simple that we should practice every day but that we forget so much at the worst moments. And it is in the worst moments when we need this resource of laughter the most.
- In a laughter therapy session, worries and torments disappear, at least for a moment. It’s quite a relief, right? But it is also that practicing this technique regularly improves self-esteem, promotes creativity, encourages motivation and helps you to have more confidence in yourself. As you can see, all these aspects are closely related to disorders such as anxiety and depression, so you can imagine that you find in laughter therapy one of the best allies to improve your mental health.
How laughter therapy is practiced: funny and effective exercises
- And after so much theory, let’s get into practice. Shall we try? Laughter therapy is a technique that is organized in a group, so we can add to all its previous benefits a considerable improvement in your social life, bring fun to your day to day, do some physical exercise and, something more valuable than you imagine, lose the sense of the ridiculous.
- A laughter therapy session usually begins with stretching to release muscle tension. Then you have to promote communication among the group to feel confident, create complicity and a good atmosphere. And from there, you have to play, you have to have fun, you have to go back to your childhood, leave your shame at home and do the exercises to end up laughing.
- One of the most common laughter therapy exercises is that of the mirror, which also has the advantage that you can repeat it alone at home as many times as you want. You stand in front of the mirror and smile to yourself. Then you start to make faces, cautiously at first, then you increase in intensity until you turn your face into nonsense. Exaggerated grimaces, unlikely expressions that will make you wonder what the hell you’re doing. And with the result that you see in the mirror… You will have no choice but to laugh.
- Grimaces are also used in group laughter therapy workshops by placing yourself face to face with another person. One begins to make faces and the other person tries to imitate her. This exercise may be predictable to you, right? And the truth is that each therapist has her own particular techniques, but in all sessions you will find more than one exercise that will surprise you a lot.
- Like when they tell you that while you’re so quiet at home doing your homework, eating, cooking, cleaning or watching television, you suddenly let out a laugh like that out of the blue. If you do not live alone, it is better that you warn your family that you are doing your homework in the laughter therapy workshop, lest they take drastic measures out of concern for your mental health.
- Another frequent laughter therapy exercise is to laugh using the different syllables. This technique also requires a different body posture, on tiptoes and with arms raised. In this way, you have to laugh very hard at the syllable “ha” for about a minute. Recover your normal position, take a breath and return to the same position to continue with the next syllable, “heh”. And so on until you complete the “ha”, “hee”, “hee”, “jo”, “ju”.
- These are just a few examples of the infinite exercises that you will find in a laughter therapy workshop, but we can already tell you that you will soon see that you have more energy and that your dose of optimism has increased after a session of laughter. And laughter is not a medicine that you have to take in moderation, laughter has no contraindications or adverse side effects.