I’ve been writing this blog for a little over two months now. It’s therapy for me and hopefully helpful for you. Whether you’re someone who suffers from Myasthenia Gravis or a caregiver, a family member, or a friend, I hope there’s been something in my messages that you’ve found helpful.
One thing I’ve noticed about people in general is that we don’t laugh enough. This especially holds true for people with chronic illnesses like MG. They say laughter is the best medicine and I truly believe that. So much good happens when we’re laughing.
Were you aware that laughter strengthens your immune system? According to the Cleveland Clinic, laughter helps us reduce stress, it increases our oxygen to the body, it helps our heart health and it strengthens human bonds. The primary effect of laughter is to reduce stress hormones like cortisol and increase the release of endorphins, which can improve mood and promote a sense of well-being. These effects can help enhance the body’s ability to cope with illness and may have a supportive role in managing autoimmune conditions.
So, if you have MG and are taking immunosuppressive medication, does that mean you’re not supposed to laugh? No, in fact laughter is quite helpful for those taking immunosuppressive medications. Those medications work by reducing the activity of the immune system to prevent it from attacking the body’s own tissues. Laughter doesn’t directly counteract the effects of these medications. Instead, it can help improve a person’s overall mental and emotional health, which can be quite valuable in managing chronic conditions like Myasthenia Gravis. In other words, laugh away! It’s good for you.
Studies indicate the average adult laughs about 15-20 times a day. It’s even more than that for children. Hmmmm…..sounds like, as we age, we forget to laugh as much as we did when we were youngsters. We should fix that!
Here’s the sad part. It’s estimated each laugh lasts only about 7.5 seconds. That means over the course of our lifetime, if we live to be 80 years old, we’ve survived 29,140 days, but we only spent a total of 38 days laughing. That’s not nearly enough! For those of you who would like to do the math (as Sheldon from Big Bang Theory would say), that’s 15 laughs/day x 7.5 seconds/laugh x 365 days/year x 80 years = 3,285,000 seconds/lifetime/86,400 seconds per day = 38.02 days.
Now, we can’t spend all of our time laughing or no one would take us seriously, but if we make a point to laugh a little longer and a little more often, our life would be so much more fun and better for our health.
In the interest of health, here’s a joke for you:
A husband and wife were cleaning out their attic when the man stumbled upon an old tarnished brass lamp. It looked like one of those magic lamps from the movies where the genie would pop out when you rubbed it. He called his wife over and they rubbed the lamp together. Sure enough, a genie pops out. “I’m at your command and will grant each of you one wish,” the genie told them. They both thought about it for a minute and the wife spoke first. “I’ve always wanted my husband and I to be able to travel the world,” the wife said. POOF! In her hand appeared two unlimited airline tickets allowing them to travel as much as they wanted, to anywhere in the world, whenever they wanted. They were both quite impressed. The husband rubbed his chin as he thought about it a little longer. He was 60 years old and so was his wife, so he wanted to make it something big. He knew he was being selfish, but he said it anyhow. “I would like to be married to a woman 30 years younger than me,” the husband proclaimed. POOF! He suddenly found himself to be 90 years old.
Serves him right for being so selfish, right?
Did you know the typical joke teller spends just as much time laughing at their own joke as do the people listening to it? That’s true, unless you’re a standup comedian. They rarely laugh at their own jokes. Maybe they don’t find them funny.
So here’s your assignment. Tell two people a joke today and do the same tomorrow, and the day after that, and the day after that. If you don’t know any jokes, look some up on the internet. Not only will you benefit, but so will the people to whom you’ve told the jokes.
We need more laughter in this world. Sometimes we get so caught up in the everyday struggles of life, we forget to laugh. Some days we just don’t even feel like laughing. Let’s fix that. Laughter is the best medicine, so spread it around. Do some good in this world by making people laugh. Do some good for yourself by making a conscious effort to laugh. Take your daily dose of laughter and see how much better life becomes. It not only makes us feel better, but it helps make us warriors in the battle of life.
Myasthenia Gravis is no joke, but I sure enjoy laughing in its face! Laugh with me!