Laughter is one of the deepest mysteries of the mind and soul—and
I’m being serious! Before my book on near-death experiences
was published in 1975, I was best known as a humorist. I even performed
on stage and recorded a comedy album. As a philosophy professor,
I taught my students what the great thinkers of the past had to
say about humor. And as a psychiatrist and medical doctor, I am
convinced that sometimes, humor heals wounds that nothing else
will. In fact, in my opinion, humor therapy is one of the most
powerful, untapped resources for mental and spiritual healing.
So, how does it work? There seem to be three main components of
the healing power of humor.
First of all, laughter has direct, physiological effects on the
body. It is a terrific muscle relaxant, and there is some evidence
that it also strengthens the immune response. Everyone knows that
a good laugh relaxes the muscles. Have you ever been helping friends
move a heavy piece of furniture when someone starts laughing? Then,
everyone starts laughing, and their muscles get weak. You have
to put the furniture down for a while until the muscle tension
builds up again. Or think back on those times in childhood when
you laughed and laughed and got so weak you crumpled to the floor
in a heap. That delicious feeling of mirthful relaxation from laughter
is one of life’s most delightful experiences—almost
like intoxication.
How many times lately have you laughed so hard it made you weak?
Probably not many, if you are like most people I know. Most of
us live lives of constant, intense stress, rushing from one place
to another, always working under a deadline. All of that makes
the muscles tense up, and the blood pressure go up. Stress is a
major contributor to ill health, and billions of dollars worth
of muscle relaxants and anti-anxiety agents are prescribed every
year to combat it. Why not try good, hearty laughter instead? It’s
more fun, and it doesn’t cost nearly as much!
Laughter activates the immune system, too. A biochemist from the
University of California sent me a paper he and some of his colleagues
published. They measured an increased immune response in patients
who had first been treated to a whopping dose of laughter. If so,
it bears out what a gerontologist (doctor specializing in treating
the elderly) told me years ago. He said that what almost all of
his very old, very healthy patients had in common was a good sense
of humor.
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The second, major healing effect of
humor is that it helps us get a better perspective on ourselves.
I once had a wonderful patient named Chuck who at about the age
of forty had a severe paranoid reaction due to overwhelming life
stresses. He was hospitalized on the mental ward, where I got to
know him very well. Chuck was convinced that the FBI was after
him, despite the fact that he was an upright, law-abiding citizen.
He believed they were listening in on his phone calls and driving
by his house in big, unmarked cars at all hours of the day and
night. After a few weeks in the hospital, he and I had developed
a good rapport, and I could tell he was getting a little better.
One
evening, Chuck and I were sitting in the day room of the mental
ward and he was complaining that the FBI was parked outside and
had been watching him all day. He pointed through the window to
a car that I recognized as belonging to one of my medical colleagues.
I didn’t share that information with Chuck, though. Instead,
I leaped to my feet, threw my pen to the floor, and in an angry
tone of voice, yelled, “Darn it, Chuck, this is making me
mad! I’m going back to the nursing station right now and
phone up the FBI in Washington and tell them to leave my friend
Chuck alone! I’m gonna tell them to stop bugging your phone
and to get their agents away from this hospital!” I took
a few quick steps toward the nursing station and saw a look of
horror come over Chuck’s face. He took hold of my arm and
exclaimed, “DR. MOODY, THEY’LL THINK YOU’RE CRAZY
IF YOU DO THAT!”
About a week later, Chuck and I had a good laugh together as we
looked back on that incident. He had improved dramatically, and
his psychosis had cleared up almost completely. When I had pretended
for a few moments to believe in his delusion, he had backed away
from it himself. He began to realize that believing that the FBI
was watching him was a way his mind had of assuring him that he
was important. As we worked through the thoughts, Chuck got a clearer
perspective on himself. He concluded that he was important, just
as important as anyone else, and didn’t need to think the
FBI was chasing him to make him believe it. Years later, he told
me that my humorous intervention had been a big step in his coming
to terms with himself.
Clown therapy is a third, significant healing method that depends
on humor and laughter. Back in the 1970’s, I attended several
conventions of professional clowns and made a startling discovery.
Almost every clown I talked with had a story or two of how they
had brought someone back from a severe state of despondency when
all else had failed. For example, two circus clowns told me about
an amazing event that took place they were visiting a hospital.
A doctor stopped them in the hall and asked them to go in and visit
a ninety-year-old man who was so depressed he had given up talking
and eating. The clowns stepped into his room, and thirty minutes
later the elderly
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