The Therapeutic Goal of Laughter Therapy - Research Paper Example

Introduction According to Puckett, laughter therapy is also known as humor therapy. It implies the use of humor to promote the health and well-being of a person. Laughter therapy utilizes the natural physiological process of humor to relieve both emotional and physical discomforts in a person. Humor makes people feel happier, more empowered and re-energized. However, happiness is a personal choice and takes an effort where one has to insist upon it, strive and fight for it (Atwater, 110). Laughter therapy is also described as a kind of treatment aimed at benefiting the patient physically and mentally from laughter. It decreases anxiety and stress hormones in a patient, helping them gain physical and mental relieve from laughter. The therapy leads to increased number of natural killer cells; a very important component in the strengthening of the immune system .This increases the immunity response in a person, which in turn increases the body’s ability to resist diseases (Kataria, 1 & Krychman 244). The therapeutic goal of laughter therapy is to improve the patient’s quality of life, physiological and emotional health through relaxation and stress reduction, and to relief the patient from constant symptoms of pain. Laughter is used as a complementary therapy for patients in various medical circumstances. It is also used as part of support programs for patients and therefore provides a means of communication between patients, their doctors and caregivers. Moreover, laughter serves as an icebreaker that allows the patients to convey their feelings and ideas that are almost impossible to express in other ways (Cassileth, 198-199). Art therapists are specialists who are professionally trained to facilitate art therapeutically. The role of the therapists is to facilitate laughter in their clients by helping them find ways of playing with their pain that work for them and assist them to keep the process moving (Junkins, 1). These art therapists use a variety of therapeutic strategies in their profession in order to make their patients laugh. Moreover, they incorporate counseling in their profession. Some of the therapeutic strategies used include pet therapy and music therapy. Pet therapy involves the patient spending his/her leisure activities with a pet. The pet can be a cat or a dog, among others. This helps to improve the general health of the patient. Music therapy on the other hand involves the use of classical music that helps to relax the mind of the patient. Music and humour is pleasant to the ear and penetrates deap to the heart and soul. Beautiful voices will sooth and thrill the patient (Krychman, 244). The aim of a laughter therapist is to help the patient laugh more easily. However, not all people find it easy to laugh. Therefore, therapy comes in sessions where the therapist starts with a session of warm-up, followed by several activities that initiate laughter to the patient. Whether real or fake, the laughter will have the same beneficial effect to the patient's body because the body does not differentiate between the two. Although therapy is suitable and important for everyone, it is mostly used in the healthcare profession as one of the means of relieving stress. According to research, laughter therapy is most beneficial to mental health patients, the elderly and young people under care. Laughter therapy leaves the patients being exhausted and as well elated. The whole exercise boosts oxygen levels in the blood. However, laughter therapy can have negative effects on patients suffering from hemorrhoids, hernias, glaucoma. Patients who might have had recent surgeries may also be negatively affected, as well as pregnant women. Therefore, people under such conditions should seek medical advice before engaging themselves in laughter therapy (Guardian.co.uk, 1). Scientific research has proven that laughter is both therapeutic and preventive. Reports about positive mental attitude, increased energy levels and improved health status have been given because of laughter therapy. Most stress-related diseases like heart diseases, asthma, allergies, arthritis, depression, hypertension, stiff muscles and diabetes have been partially or totally cured through laughter therapy. Regular practice of laughter therapy results in drastic changes in people's physical and mental health making them feel great, healthier and develop a positive attitude in their lives. Though laughter therapy may not necessarily cure some chronic diseases, it improves a person's ability to cope with the situation while maintaining a positive attitude. The physiological effects of laughter and humor advocate the therapeutic benefits of laughter. These physiologic effects include increased heart rate, oxygen consumption and breathing rate. Laughter therapy also exercises the organs and muscles of the respiratory system (Cassileth, 199 & Kataria, 1). A research carried out by Berk and Tan points out that laughter therapy not only increases the natural killer cells in the immune system, but also increases the activated T cells (T lymphocytes), antibodies IgA (immunoglobulin A) and IgB(immunoglobulin B), which help in fighting infections in the upper respiratory tract. Moreover, increased number of T cells and antibody IgA reduces the risk of skin allergies. Laughter therapy also increases the level of neuropeptides and positive hormones that contribute in reducing the risk of skin allergies as well. Negative state of mind that leads to respiratory allergies like bronchitis and asthma can be overcome through the laughter therapy. In such situations, hearty extended laughter is recommended as the best exercise because it helps to improve the oxygen levels in the blood, strengthens the diaphragm and improves the capacity of the lungs. Further, laughter therapy helps in the respiration process of patients suffering from respiratory diseases like emphysema, among others. It also decreases stress hormones that may lead to supression of immune activity and constriction of blood vessels (Atwater, 110). Laughter therapy is invaluable to people living with cancer. Though it may seem almost impossible for such people to laugh, in the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), laughter therapy is one of the supportive options that the Mind-Body Medicine Department offers in combat of cancer. This helps cancer patients to use laughter as a tool for coping with their health status as they receive conventional cancer treatments. Moreover, there is laughter sessions in the CTCA also referred to as laughter clubs based on laughter as a physical exercise. Cancer patients are taken through a number of physical exercises including putting fingertips on the cheekbones and fake laughter, which in turn make them laugh, feel good and feel relieved from stress (Puckett, 1). Smith and his co-colleagues point out that laughter is infectious and when shared, it increases intimacy and happiness, binding people together the more. Additionally, it is a strong free medicine for both the mind and the body, and it is easy to use. Laughter and humor reduce pain, strengthen the immune system and protect one from the effects of stress. Moreover, they help one to stay emotionally healthy. There is a link between humor and mental health in that it shifts perspective helping one to be more realistic and avoid being overwhelmed. Furthermore, laughter therapy helps one to relax and recharge by reducing stress through dissolving the distressing emotions. Laughter will also help people in expressing their deeply heartfelt feelings and emotions to each other in relationships, hence strengthening such relationships (Smith, et al., 1). A research carried out by Kimata showed that laughter therapy improves the health effect of breast milk, which helps in reducing skin allergies in breastfeeding babies. An increased level of melatonin, a hormone that leads to relaxation, was also discovered in the breast milk of laughing mothers. In addition, breastfed babies who suffered from eczema experienced milder symptoms. This happened after their mothers laughed before breastfeeding them (Kimata, 669). Laughter therapy is also considered to improve depression, quality of sleep and insomnia in the elderly. Insomnia is considered a major risk factor leading to depression in the elderly, while the moods of depression are on the other hand associated with the symptoms of insomnia. A sense of humor is also considered to increase self-esteem and reduce depressive features in the elderly. Moreover, exposure of the depressed elderly to laughter therapy increases their quality of life (KO & CH, 267-274). It is also believed that laughter makes the feelings and emotions of people to come out from deep within them. Therefore, when a person laughs, the laughter quenches the release of pain in return. This leads to the release of the deeply felt and held emotions to the outside world. According to the Cathartic psychotherapy, laughter provides the physical process that enables the patients to access their stored emotions and release them. Moreover, laughter catharsis brings change on how a person relates to the facts without changing the facts themselves. For instance, it enables a person to face things and conditions that seem unbearable, living with cancer being a good example (Junkins, 1). Junkins further argues that laughter breaks boredom. Boredom can sometimes become serious leading to hyperboredome that is compared to a chronically painful disease that may eventually lead to death. In such a case, laughter plays a major role in releasing the boredom. Moreover, laughter helps in creating a clear frame of thoughts in a person’s mind. This is by reframing certain threatening and stressing situations or conditions and making them less overwhelming. Laughter in such situations reduces discomfort while releasing the anxiety and anger associated with threatening situations. For example, when a patient suffers from a life threatening disease like cancer, laughter will enable the patient to face life courageously and have a reason to enjoy life. As Atwater notes, laughter therapy also lowers blood pressure and leads to the release of endorphins, which control pain in our bodies and thus, our bodies end up healing or requiring less medication to heal. Conclusion Laughter therapy serves as a good medicine for our healing, even when we are angry and cannot afford humor. It is considered one of the easiest therapies in life. As discussed earlier, laughter therapy has many clinical benefits – it is cost-effective, useful, and easily accessible regardless of time and place of performance. Apparently, it is very effective and it yields drastic positive effects to the emotional, mental and physical health of individuals. People should learn and feel free to use laughter in their own way to solve their life issues whether ill or well, even in the absence of humor. Humor should not be a necessity for laughter and people should not only laugh when they are happy, but also when stressed and angry. The fact that laughter is infectious can also be of great benefit to the people around when one laughs. Therefore, even if it calls for forced laughter, it is very important for our overall sense of well-being and can lead to the lifting of our moods. Positive living and happiness lengthen people’s lives. However, it is important to note that despite its clear and desirable benefits, laughter therapy should not substitute conventional medical treatment for any disease. Instead, it should act as a complementary therapy for patients with various ailments. Works Cited Atwater, Brent. Healing Yourself! 23 Ways to Heal YOU! Atlanta: Brent Atwater publishers, 2011. Print. Berk, Lee., & Tan, Stanley. Immune Connection. 1996. Web. Cassileth, Barrie. R. The Complete Guide to Complementary Therapies in Cancer Care: Essential Information for Patients, Survivors and Health Professionals. Singapore: World Scientific Publishers, 2011. Print. Guardian.co.uk. Laughter therapy. 2008. Web. Junkins, Enda. The power of Laughter in Therapy. 2010. Web. Kataria, Madan. Laughter Yoga As Laughter Therapy. 2012. Web. Kimata, Hajime. “Allergies: Laughter Therapy improves breast milk’s health effect, reduces allergic skin reactions.” Journal of Psychosomatic Research 62 (2007): 699. HJ, KO & CH, Youn. “Effects of laughter therapy on depression, cognition and sleep among the community-dwelling elderly.’ A journal for Unbound MEDLINE 11.3 (2011): 267-274. Print. Krychman, M.L.100 Questions & Answers for Women Living with Cancer: A Practical Guide for Survivorship. Massachusetts: Jones & Bartlett Publishers, 2009. Print. Puckett, Katherine. Laughter Therapy. 2012. Web. Smith, et al. Laughter is the Best Medicine. 2012. Web. Read More