Humor and Pain: Can you laugh away the chronic pain

Can you laugh away the pain? There’s an old saying that laughter is the best medicine. For years, people have been investigating that idea to see what a good chuckle can do for our health. What they have found along the way is that not only can it improve your quality of life, but there is some evidence that it can help with health conditions as well. While chronic pain is no laughing matter, those who suffer from it may want to grab a good comedy and see what it can do to help bring them some relief.

A study published in the September 2018 issue of the European Journal of Pain shared details of their findings where they reviewed 42 studies that have been conducted on the topic of using humor to help with pain (1). Researchers reviewed the studies and put them into three categories, which included experimental pain, chronic pain, and pain in children.

What the results of their study showed is that when it comes to experimental pain, humorous distractions can help to increase one’s pain tolerance. They also found that there was a significant association between the use of humor and main variables, such as anxiety, for those with chronic pain. For pain in children, they found that humor promoted emotional wellbeing among the children, as well as their parents.

Is having a good dose of laughter going to take all the chronic pain away? Not likely. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be a helpful tool to take off the edge and improve one’s quality of life. Laughing makes us happier, it helps to reduce stress and helps make people more alert. There are many benefits to laughing, making it a great tool to use on a regular basis.

Chronic pain management is about having a variety of options so that those who suffer can find what works for them to bring about some relief. Laughter can be one of those tools that the research shows is promising in helping to distract, as well as bring about a little relief to those who suffer. Try to include laughter in your life on a regular basis, even if only to uplift your mood. Watch a comedy, play a fun game with a neighbor, tell jokes, or look into a laughter yoga group near you, and learn to laugh for no reason!

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