According to Sunday’s poll there are quite a few people reading this site who are dealing with a broken heart and feeling fearful and angry. After reading the results of the poll, I wondered what I could do to help my readers deal with these negative emotions.
I thought back to when I was going through divorce and how I dealt with all the same emotions. I’ve always had friends who could take lemons and make lemonade. People who can laugh their way through problems. I attract people with that kind of attitude because that is how I deal with life also.
The ladies at the Salon where I get my hair styled call me Paula Deen and love to see me come in. I can feel like I’m hip deep in alligators at times but, I’m always able to find something to laugh about. My prescription for dealing with stress of any kind is to laugh, laugh, laugh. Especially at myself! That is the key, to spend as much time as you can laughing and to never take yourself too seriously.
Research has shown that laughter has a direct physiological effect on the body – reducing stress hormones, increasing the immune system's activity, improving the circulation and exercising the muscles. The best thing about laughter is that it is free. Hey, if you are paying an attorney and trying to split marital property anything you can get for nothing is a plus. Especially if it is something that will help you feel better emotionally.
A little laughter can:
- Lower levels of the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol – reversing the classic hormone response during times of stress.
- Increase endorphin levels – the natural 'feel-good' chemicals in the body.
- Clean old air from the lungs and allow fresh air to replace it.
- Exercise the muscles, nerves and organs of the torso. With a belly-laugh sustained for an hour you could laugh away up to 500 calories.
- Leave us with an 'afterglow' in which we relax muscle-tension.
- Restore a full and flowing breathing pattern and gently expand our circulation.
My prescription for all my readers is to laugh. This week I’m going to try and help you do just that