Laughter Therapy

[gracer]

Hello everyone!


There's this TV show that I frequently watch because I always get a good laugh whenever I tune in. I find laughter as a good way of relieving my stress and helping me lighten up my day. It has been an effective tool for me to watch comedy shows or movies that give me reasons to laugh.


I have also heard about laughter yoga which has been said to have been effective in helping people with depression, anxiety, PTSD and other mental health issues. Have you ever tried laughter yoga? What are your opinions on laughter as a good therapy for mental health issues?

 

[kelden]

First time I heard something such as laugh yoga. Sounds amusing. When I need a good laugh, I look for a sitcom or the crappy humor of comedy central (south park). Laughing really works as a way to relieve even from the most awful stress, and crying too. Both stimulates the production of endorphins, the painkiller body


hormones.

 

[pwarbi]

Sometimes no matter what is on your mind and what's troubling you, you have to try and put your worries to one side and just simply, laugh it off. When you are suffering from depression I think we have a tendency to get bogged down with our negative feelings and we think and worry too much about things. I'm not saying that we shouldn't deal with the issues as and when they come up, but at the same time we have to know when to relax and unwind as well, and sometimes just throwing your hands up and just going out with friends and having a laugh, forgetting about your problems can be the tonic you need to actually realise that things aren't as bad as you may think.

 

[CrepesforDapes]

I think laughter definitely helps brighten up my days, especially if it's been a while since I last laughed. I remember when my depression was really bad and I rarely interacted with people, I'd use television and books as an escape and as a way to experience feelings that I missed out on. TV was a great thing for me back then, since I was able to experience much more positive lifestyles than the ones I was living. I wouldn't only watch comedies, I'd also watch dramas and practically everything else, just so I wouldn't feel like I was missing every feeling.


Specifically on laughter, I think laughing is a great way to relieve stress from your life. I always try to get people laughing when they're feeling down, since there's no feeling as good as seeing someone crack a smile at something you said after being sullen for a couple of hours. Those few seconds of brightness on their faces really makes me feel good and hopeful for them!

 

[pwarbi]

I think laughter definitely helps brighten up my days, especially if it's been a while since I last laughed. I remember when my depression was really bad and I rarely interacted with people, I'd use television and books as an escape and as a way to experience feelings that I missed out on. TV was a great thing for me back then, since I was able to experience much more positive lifestyles than the ones I was living. I wouldn't only watch comedies, I'd also watch dramas and practically everything else, just so I wouldn't feel like I was missing every feeling.
Specifically on laughter, I think laughing is a great way to relieve stress from your life. I always try to get people laughing when they're feeling down, since there's no feeling as good as seeing someone crack a smile at something you said after being sullen for a couple of hours. Those few seconds of brightness on their faces really makes me feel good and hopeful for them!

Depression is one of them states of mind that can control and rule everything in a persons life, and it tends to consumes people's moods that much that it's as if they no longer have different moods at all and everything is just...well, doom and gloom. Laughing and comedy is usually the last thing on your mind, and you sometimes can forget what fun is and that's when you have to try and snap yourself out of that bubble you find yourself in.


While the last thing on your mind might be going out and having fun, you have to almost physically make sure that you do go out and at least try to carry on as normal, and as soon as you do, even if it's only slightly you will feel your mood start to improve and your own struggles and worries will no longer consume your thoughts.

 

[kgord]

Yes, laughter is great can lighten your mood and take the focus off yourself and your troubles. I love to go online to various chat sites when funny people are on, because interacting and chilling with them and laughing can really be good. I enjoy those times and it can really make you feel good. It is just one of the things that people can do to take the focus on themselves and their own anxieties. I agree with getting as much laughter in your life as possible.

 

[nicky.bada]

I have one show that always makes me smile and feel like everything in the world is alright. That show is oddly enough. Adventure Time. A kids show that is so deep that sometimes I can't believe it really exists. I always feel lighter and calmer afterwards, as if my choices arn't that important and today and everything in it should be enjoyed instead of walking by it as if its a grey rain cloud of despair. I have found that in my daily routine if I take time for a show that makes me feel happy inside for whatever reason, that day can't be all bad. It helps reasure me that there are things worth living for, things worth laughing for and being around for. Reasons not to panic. I try to recommend the show to depressed or anxious friends, and it always seems to become one of their top favorites.

 

[hades_leae]

I think it's a great solution, who doesn't love a good laugh. Many days threw out the week, I always go on youtube to watch fails, compilations of funny things, and there is this one show called Just For Laughs, you should check it out. I like laughing all the time because it makes me feel good.


I can be in the most random moods, but when I start thinking to myself about things that affect my mood, I will just go watch something funny to cheer me up and keep me in a better mood. It definitely works, especially when you laugh so hard that you cry, those are hard to come by.

 

[pwarbi]

I think it's a great solution, who doesn't love a good laugh. Many days threw out the week, I always go on youtube to watch fails, compilations of funny things, and there is this one show called Just For Laughs, you should check it out. I like laughing all the time because it makes me feel good.
I can be in the most random moods, but when I start thinking to myself about things that affect my mood, I will just go watch something funny to cheer me up and keep me in a better mood. It definitely works, especially when you laugh so hard that you cry, those are hard to come by.

We do all love to laugh, there's no doubt about that but especially if a person is dealing with long term depression, like I said before you can get too caught up in your on problems to find anything funny. I myself have a few shows and stand up comics that I love to watch, but when I'm at my lowest, even though I know that if I watch them my mood will lighten, it's as if I cant even be bothered to put them on because my mood is that low it's as if I don't ant to cheer myself up.


To some that might sound stupid, but if you've dealt with depression yourself then you will know that even though mentally you know what to do to help yourself, sometimes it's as if you can't even motivate yourself to take the steps that are needed.

 

[gracer]

We do all love to laugh, there's no doubt about that but especially if a person is dealing with long term depression, like I said before you can get too caught up in your on problems to find anything funny. I myself have a few shows and stand up comics that I love to watch, but when I'm at my lowest, even though I know that if I watch them my mood will lighten, it's as if I cant even be bothered to put them on because my mood is that low it's as if I don't ant to cheer myself up.


To some that might sound stupid, but if you've dealt with depression yourself then you will know that even though mentally you know what to do to help yourself, sometimes it's as if you can't even motivate yourself to take the steps that are needed.

I hear you there pwarbi. I can't say that I experienced the same level of depression as you did but I understand where you're coming from. Depression robs you off of your energy that you just feel so drained and unmotivated. There were times I would just stare blankly at nothing for a long period of time because I don't have the energy to even move.


I think the laughter yoga that I mentioned in my original post is dedicated for mild depression and those that are at the recovery stage but not in the initial stages of therapy because one needs to be medicated first and undergo the initial stage of therapy. Laughter yoga has just been recently introduced here in my country but it has already been practiced since the 1990s. I just don't know about its availability in other countries.