UAE | General
Counterpoint: Laughter really is the best medicine
I am doing some serious research on laughter. I type the word "laugh" in google and it throws up 4,550,000 results at me in 0.11 seconds.
- By Sonali Raha, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:00 July 30, 2003
Every issue, every event - global, national and local - has a point and a counterpoint. You are given the point all the time in news and analyses. Now get the counterpoint.
I am doing some serious research on laughter. I type the word "laugh" in google and it throws up 4,550,000 results at me in 0.11 seconds. I dig some more and I unearth the "world's funniest joke", courtesy LaughLab, a huge scientific experiment dedicated to discovering just that.
The joke goes like this:
A couple of New Jersey hunters are out in the woods when one of them falls to the ground. He doesn't seem to be breathing, his eyes are rolled back in his head. The other guy whips out his cell phone and calls the emergency services. He gasps to the operator: "My friend is dead! What can I do?" The operator, in a calm soothing voice, says: "Just take it easy. I can help. First, let's make sure he's dead." There is a silence, then a shot is heard. The guy's voice comes back on the line. He says: "OK, now what?"
After pausing to laugh and shake my head and show the joke to friends, I decide I'll try and get some really good quotes (on laughter) from the famous and the humourous. After much searching among real words and e-words, I come up with six of the very best:
- The most wasted of all days is one without laughter - e e cummings
- Man is distinguished from all other creatures by the faculty of laughter - Joseph Addison
- Always laugh when you can. It is cheap medicine - Lord Byron
- Laughter is the shortest distance between two people - Victor Borge
- Laughter is the sun that drives winter from the human face - Victor Hugo
- The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter - Mark Twain
Wise words, true words. Words that are particularly relevant now, with death and destruction looming large in our conversation and consciousness. Words that nudge us gently in the right direction – the direction of laughter.
My current interest in laughter comes from a workshop. A laughter workshop to be precise. We met - some friends, mostly strangers - last week to laugh. Led by laugh doctor Madan Kataria, we flung our arms, refined our breathing patterns and smiled. Giggled. Chuckled. Guffawed. Bellowed. Held our aching sides. Wiped tears from the corners of our eyes. Let go of our inhibitions. Behaved foolishly. And loved it.
Your body releases feel-good chemicals even when you pretend to laugh, the good doctor told us at the very beginning. The trick lies in stimulating laughter for at least 15 minutes a day. That done, you prepare your body and mind to face the day with energy and enthusiasm.
All of us, sober grown-ups with a hundred responsibilities, followed Kataria's lead. We said ho-ho and ha-ha. We raised our hands. We spoke gibberish loudly and with many gestures.
We laughed in many different ways and went around greeting complete strangers, looking them straight in the eye, laughing. We sat together and spent 10 minutes without talking, only laughing.
In the beginning, we forced ourselves to laugh. We pushed the giggle up, up, up from our stomachs and hearts and forced it out. But within minutes, inspired by the real gigglers of our large group, we were laughing naturally ourselves.
At the end of the session, we were happy, relaxed, full of energy.
I'd had a niggling headache earlier in the evening. Later, it had gone. That's when I realised laughter really IS the best medicine.
That's why I'm doing research on laughter. And smiling as I'm working.
Latest news
- Youngsters dance and raise cash for charity
- Dubai departments upgrade services
- Get yourself a free test for diabetes
- Ensuring a safety net for intellectual property
- Reader's issue addressed
- 5,552 illegals held in Dubai this year
- Man cleared because he took drugs in France
- Man charged with trafficking women
- Auditors to probe Mizin graft case
- Transfusion centre launches new toll free number
- Mirror, mirror show me the way
- Last minute ID rush is on
- Breaking down cultural barriers with photographs
- Car seats for children: Unsafe at any speed
- Abu Dhabi Crown Prince visits Islamic centre
Community Reports
-
Mirror, mirror show me the way
Driver on Salam Street had so many boxes and fruits piled into car, he would not be able to view rear or right side mirrors
-
Parents should be more vigilant
Reader's picture highlights risk of negligence by caretakers
-
Warming up to ‘Mobilise the Earth' theme
Dubai school dedicates a whole week to celebrating Earth Day with can-collection drives, sapling plantation and painting competition among others
-
Drivers using mobiles put others' lives at risk
Speeding is dangerous for the driver and other motorists
