The Medicinal Effects of Laughter
- gmgrant2
- Mar 11
- 2 min read
We are all to often consumed by the ongoings or misinterpretations reported by the media, whether it be mainstream or social media. Whatever you believe the truth to be, it is all up for question anyway. Unfortunately, our all to eager search for the truth is a timely and often unsatisfying venture. Bombarded by hundreds of vague headlines lead our minds to often negative concerns which impact our mental and physical health. This is very taxing on our minds and bodies and it does lead us to wonder, what is it all worth.
This is why I thought I should bring up the story of Norman Cousins. I've posted the link above, of an article written in the Washington Post, 38 years ago about a story of a man back in 1964, over 60 years ago. I am surprised that more of such stories have not been in the news but then again it doesn't come with a profitable narrative. This unique story reports about a man that was struck with an illness, believed to be a degenerative collagen illness at the time. Today it is more commonly known as Osteoarthritis (See Google AI info posted below for more information about this disease).
The reason why this story is so interesting, is that this man consciously decided that he was going to change his outlook, attitude and demeanor toward his condition since he was unable to get any further help from his doctors. Instead of stewing over his demise, he decided that he was going to engage in laughter however possible. He recovered. This is what makes this story worthy of further consideration. Is there something that most of us are forgetting to do for our health, or are we too immersed with our problems and concerns that we have overlooked a natural inherent ability to help ourselves.
Google AI: Degenerative collagen disorders are a group of conditions that cause chronic inflammation in connective tissues. They can affect various parts of the body, including the skin, joints, bones, blood vessels, and organs. Some examples of degenerative collagen disorders include:
Osteoarthritis, which affects an estimated 27 million Americans.
Osteogenesis imperfecta, an autosomal dominant type I collagen disorder.
Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS), which cause abnormal collagen function.
Collagen vascular disease, which causes chronic inflammation in connective tissues.
