Laughter is the Best Medicine

Last night I went to a comedy club with my husband Carl and my daughter-in-law Elizabeth’s Aunt Lucy. It was an extraordinary moment when I realized that for those two hours I did not think about anything but trying not to pee in my pants, because I was laughing so hard. Lucy pointed out that it was rather ironic that we were sitting in the audience with our glass of wine listening to the Insane and Sober comedy concert.

I have always loved going to stand-up comedy and improvisation shows. One of the things on my bucket list is taking comedy classes, so I signed up for the beginning session of scriptwriting at the Tempe Center for the Arts. Tony Vicich, my stand-up comedy coach, is teaching us the art and technique of writing jokes. It is a lot more difficult than most people imagine it to be. I am the only female in the class and definitely the oldest. The others are males – ages 17, 40, and the rest are in their 20s. They are clever and adorable and I have such respect for their efforts. Some of them make up their jokes right before class, while I spend hours on mine. Last assignment I wrote 36 jokes, but selected only 13 that were worth repeating.

When I started to get discouraged, my friend Addie told me that I have a lifetime of experience to draw my material from. I thought about that long and hard. She is right, you know.

One of the topics I can’t really joke about to a general audience is cancer, because it would horrify them. But there are so many things about being diagnosed with cancer that has made me laugh. Having a sense of humor and a child-like wonderment of the world has helped me get through my journey. I think I love to laugh, because if I take myself and life too seriously, I might not be able to stop crying.

So how does laughter help a cancer patient and caregiver? First of all, laughter is a part of the universal human vocabulary. Scientifically speaking, it produces endorphins, which produce positive feelings and inhibit the transmission of pain signals. There is evidence that 10 minutes of deep belly laughing has the numbing effect of giving patients two hours of pain-free sleep.¹

There are so many benefits to laughter, especially for the cancer patient and caregiver. Laughter is a paradigm shift. It can help in the healing process. Laughter is contagious. It connects people to each other. It strengthens your immune system, and is an antidote from the negative effects of stress, anxiety, fear, and conflict. Laughter relaxes your body and protects your heart. It is free. Laughter is the best medicine.

P.S. Here is a video of my granddaughter Grace. I play it almost every day, because it gives me such joy.

1.     Cousins, N., Anatomy of an illness as perceived by the patient: reflections on healing and regeneration, NY: Norton, 1979.