Come on, laugh for our health

One well-known story is the life of Norman Cousins ​​in 1964. At that time, the editor of the Saturday Review was stricken with spinal inflammation, diagnosed as ankylosing spondylitis. He lay sick in the hospital, unresponsive to various prescribed medications, especially painkillers. The doctor said he only had a few months to live, so Cousins ​​was asked to complete his unfinished business.

Amidst this situation, Cousins remembered the writings of Walter B Cannon and Hans Selye that discussed the "wisdom of the body". He decided to "take care" of himself. He rented a hotel room, supervised by a like-minded doctor, and applied a new prescription for himself, namely high doses of vitamin C and laughter. He filled his days by watching funny films such as "Marx Brothers" and episodes of "Candid Camera".

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Slowly but surely the symptoms are subsiding. Cousins even feels like he can measure the amount of progress by the level of laughter he generates. The only objective measure is the rate of red blood cell sedimentation, which is an indication of the amount of inflammation in his body. The sedimentation rate dropped drastically from a very high level to normal as his condition improved. Cousins' condition has improved.

This has caused a stir among many circles. He became a guest lecturer at various conferences and was appointed as an assistant professor of medical humanities at the UCLA School of Medicine. He died in 1990 due to coronary heart disease and congestive heart failure, 26 years after being diagnosed with spinal inflammation by doctors.

Ten minutes of laughing gave me two hours of pain-free sleep. "Laughter produces the body's natural anesthesia," said Cousins, recounting his experience. The story shows the positive psychophysiological impact that can be created by the emotions of humor and joyful laughter. Cousins ​​documented this story in a book he wrote entitled Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient (1979).

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Even though it has pros and cons, the benefits of humor for health are recognized by doctors. Howard J Bennet, pediatrician at George Washington University Medical Center, in an article entitled "Humour in Medicine" in the Southern Medical Journal volume 96, December 2003, citing research by Provine and Martin, said that the patient's ability to tolerate taste pain increased after exposure to funny films. Funny films are considered to reduce the need for post-operative analgesia (pain medication) in orthopedic patients.

According to Bennet, the impact of comedy movies on orthopedic patients is not immediately apparent after surgery. However, research shows that there is a 61 percent decrease in minor analgesic demand (such as aspirin) on the second day after surgery. Interestingly, patients who do not know what movie they are watching do not experience any improvement in their condition compared to those who do. According to Bennet, this indicates that humor has a positive effect on pain management.

In his article, Bennet emphasizes Norman Cousins' statement that laughing for ten minutes is equivalent to two hours of painless sleep.

Humor researcher from the Indonesian Institute of Humor Now (IHIK), Ulwan Fakhri, said that one of the functions of humor is to maintain personal happiness (well-being) or mental health. According to several studies, remembering humor produces lower levels of depression than remembering memorable memories from childhood.

He added that people can use humor to create a better mood. The method is simple, just write down three things that make us laugh. "This is what is called an intervention using humor forwell-being," said Ulwan, who is also a Certified Humor Professional from the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor (AATH).

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Cultivate laughter

The Benefits of Laughter Laughter is incredibly beneficial. However, not everyone finds it easy to laugh. When going through a tragedy, disaster, or challenge, some of us may forget what it feels like to be happy, let alone laugh.

But don't worry, laughter and joy can be created. There is a method that can be used to cultivate laughter, one of which is through yoga.

Yoga laughter is a unique activity that combines unbridled laughter with yoga breathing. It involves free movements like children playing, as well as asanas (yoga poses).

This laughter yoga movement typically starts gradually, beginning with clapping hands, shouting joyful cheers such as ho-ho-ha-ha-ha, having fun, and then reaching the peak of laughter, followed by relaxation with gentle movements, controlled breathing, and some may even fall asleep.

"The philosophy of laughter yoga is motion creates emotion. "That is, we laugh not because we are happy, but we laugh to be happy," said Emmy Liana Dewi (64), an Indonesian Laughter Yoga teacher who lives in Yogyakarta. This means that to be happy you don't have to wait to laugh.

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Laughter yoga was founded by doctor Madan Kataria from India in 1995. Emmy took part in laughter yoga training in India in 2010. During the training, laughter yoga was attended by participants from 36-37 countries. Currently, his followers are spread across more than 110 countries. After graduating from laughter yoga training in India with a certificate, Emmy was asked to teach laughter yoga scientifically. Because, said Emmy, there is a scientific background to the practice of laughter yoga.

”The point is, there is no need to waithappy to laugh. We laugh not because we are happy, but we laugh so we become happy. Because laughing produces four happy hormones, namely endorphins, dopamine, oxytocin and serotonin. It's like a drink. "If the four hormones are mixed, it will become a joy cocktail," said Emmy.

Laughing merrily does not change the problems one faces. However, after experiencing joy, one can have a different perspective in facing those problems. According to Emmy, this new perspective can be better.

“Laughter has many benefits. First, as part of yoga breathing exercises. When we laugh, we prolong the exhalation of C0₂, toxins, so that more comes out of our body, from our mind. "That's why it needs to be practiced regularly," said Emmy.

For Emmy, laughing is like internal jogging. "When we laugh out loud, our organs become active. Blood circulation also becomes active and smooth. Like exercise within the body. This will reduce stress. When endorphins appear, it will automatically reduce cortisol hormones as the cause of stress," she said.

"We never say we can cure, but when people are in the process of recovery, being cheerful can help them recover faster," said Emmy. That's why Emmy has volunteered several times in various places, such as during the eruption disaster of Mount Sinabung, teaching laughter yoga to groups with schizophrenia, autoimmune diseases, cancer, and elderly people at nursing homes."

However, Emmy reminded that not everyone can participate in laugh yoga. Some people with certain conditions cannot participate, such as those who are pregnant, have severe asthma, have a cold or cough, have uncontrolled blood pressure, heart conditions, or those who are mentally ill. Laughing, according to Emmy, can trigger a faster heartbeat.

"People who are experiencing a relapse from mental illness are advised not to participate, unless they are under control (are taking medication). Because, with laughter yoga, people's emotions can rise or fall. Can be very sad or more than happy, even cursing. That's why laughter yoga teachers must take part in training first. That's important," he said.

Yoga laughter, according to Emmy, is different from laughter therapy. There is a specific thing that differentiates them, among which is the need for special education/training for laughter therapy.

However, at least after taking part in yoga and laughing, people will become relaxed and their joy can last for days. That is the key to having a healthy mindset.

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Need to be careful

However, humor or jokes still need to be done carefully and appropriately. Benny Prawira Siauw, the founder of Into the Light, a suicide prevention community, reminds the need for caution in joking and paying attention to its impact. In addition, it is important to distinguish between the habit of joking in daily life and interventions that use humor.

He explained that humor in everyday life is divided into several types. Firstly, affiliative humor builds and strengthens social bonds, jokes and telling funny anecdotes that are used to entertain others, strengthen interpersonal connections and reduce tension.

Secondly, self-strengthening humor depicts a humorous attitude towards difficult events in life and focuses inward (intrapsychic). This style refers to the use of humor as a strategy to regulate emotions and reduce stress.

Next, there is aggressive humor that belittles others. This type of humor includes sarcasm and satire, but also contains manipulative components such as implied threats of satire. The underlying intention is to hurt or expose others.

There is also self-deprecating humor. Individuals who use self-deprecating humor are considered funny and entertaining, but they direct the humor towards themselves with the aim of entertaining others. This style of humor is accompanied by a strong desire to be part of a group.

"Self-enhancing humor is associated with better mental health capacity. Affiliative humor is also linked to good mental health. However, not as strong as self-enhancing humor, which is indeed used to cope with daily stress," explained Benny.

People who use self-deprecating humor, according to Benny, tend to have poorer mental health. This is because they usually try to entertain others by putting themselves down. Aggressive humor that belittles others is not related at all to mental health.

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Dr. Yulia Fatima Bessing, a psychiatrist at the RSJ dr. Radjiman Wediodiningrat Lawang hospital in Malang, stated that humor or jokes are a double-edged sword. On one hand, they can foster empathy and mature personality, but on the other hand, if done poorly, they can harm one's own and others' mental health.

"That's why it takes a certain level of intelligence for someone to be able to make jokes. Without good empathy and social relationships, the joke can seem like it's mocking or hurting other people's feelings. It ends up not being good," said Yulia.

You have to know the right boundaries and places, according to Yulia. Because, not everyone has a more mature ego defense mechanism so not everyone can make an unpleasant situation happen to them into a joke.

“In mental health, there is an ego defense mechanism. A more mature ego defense mechanism, for example, makes the unpleasant situation that befalls him into the subject of jokes or humor. "This was done so that he could be more comfortable and other people would laugh too," said Yulia.

Once again, empathy intelligence is important in joking so that others are not hurt. Have a good laugh and be happy....

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