LAUGHTER: A BASIC NECESSITY OF LIFE

STRESS, STRESS AND MORE STRESS

Stress is a part of life and the job of caregiving can be especially difficult and stressful at times. For instance, time management for the caregiver can be a major magnet for issues of worry and anxiety as you come to realize interruptions are the norm. The demands on a caregiver’s time can result in lots of chaos, due to all the hats we may be required to wear on any given day and finding ourselves stretched to the limit. Since we can’t eliminate stress from our lives, what’s a body to do? Well, here’s a tip I’d like to share with you: STOP! JUST STOP - Right where you are and have yourself a good hearty belly laugh.

TRY LAUGHING? REALLY? - YES, REALLY!

“Ooh-kay”, - I can hear you saying to yourself, I guess the old girl’s finally lost it and flipped her wig! Well, to borrow from a famous quote: “there’s a method to my madness”. A few days ago in a weekly workshop I attend, the instructor had us do a laughing exercise, and it reminded me of a respite retreat I had attended previously, and “Laughter Therapy” was used as a stress reduction technique for caregivers.

Still not convinced? Well, just try this little exercise: think about someone you knew in school who was always the class clown. Or a family member who always has great joke on the tip of their tongue or is always the life of the party at any event. Chances are, when you think about that person you chuckle at the memory of their antics because they were sooo-so funny.

Well, they may have been doing you a favor!!

HUMOR AND LAUGHTER - IS NOT JUST FOR FUN

Researchers have found that: Laughter is a serious matter for our health and well-being. And whether it’s called laughter therapy, laughter yoga, humor therapy, it’s being used to help caregivers reduce stress, as well as being used to help other illnesses such as dementia, cancer, heart disease just to name a few.

According to studies: laughter can stimulate many organs in the body, including our cardiovascular system. In fact, one study suggested that laughing 100 times per day is the equivalent of spending 10-minutes on a rowing machine. How about that for a lazy exercise routine!!

Now, if you are following my blog, you already know I was a caregiver for a number of years, and in doing research I found that the strain of caregiving has been attributed to many health issues and/or even premature death due to stress related illnesses. And for current caregivers or for those who will experience the role of caregiver in the future, this is a technique you can use that is easy, free and you can do whenever you feel the notion. by the way, I can tell you that even though I’m no longer a caregiver, I still spend a lot of time laughing!

THE BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER

As I mentioned earlier, the act of laughing has been found to have a wide-range of medical benefits, and it’s healing powers are still being studied by many scientists. One such study I found suggests that the benefits of laughter reaches far beyond enjoying jokes or antics. And because we can’t see stress, we tend to disregard it until it results in a health issue that we can’t ignore.

Research states that "Laughter reduces levels of certain stress hormones in our immune system, which can help lower blood pressure, and has also shown benefits for cancer patients and other health problems.

Finally, I hope you find this information a useful tool, to help get you through some of the painful or emotional situations associated with caregiving. Just laughing at yourself or your circumstances can help to ease some of the stresses of daily care. So try finding something to laugh about even on your worse day. And when you have one of those “worse days”, just remember the old saying: LAUGH AND THE WORLD LAUGHS WITH YOU – CRY AND YOU CRY ALONE!

Be Well - Stay Well - Because Caregivers Need Care Too!!

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Coach Gloria

Life Strategies/Wellness Coach & Patient Advocate

Owner: GJ Brown & Associates

Blog: Glo’s Caregiver Wellness Connection

Email: gbrown1gjba@gmail.com

Website: coachglozcaregiverwellness.com