Welcome to - This column will hereafter be a permanent feature of this web site, although its content will change monthly. It is dedicated to all individuals (and their loved ones) who are now battling cancer, and to Survivors whose cancer is in remission. I’ll occasionally leave you with a joke. This will usually be related to cancer, or some other source of stress in our lives. If you’ve heard a joke along these lines that you love, and would like to see it made available to everyone in this column, please send it to me at HaHaRemedy@viconet.com. Humor Your Tumor
"I have always felt that laughter in the face of reality is probably the finest sound there is, and will last until the day when the game is called on account of darkness. In this world, a good time to laugh is any time you can." Linda Ellerbee (cancer survivor) In last month's Humor Your Tumor column, I talked about the importance of sustaining access to a playful attitude even in the midst of dealing with one's cancer. This doesn't mean you should remain in this playful frame of mind all the time; rather, think of it as a skill that you can use to boost your spirits on the tough days. I also noted that this attitude provides the basic foundation for your sense of humor. When you re-establish contact with the playful child within yourself, your own natural sense of humor re-emerges. During my 20 years as a researcher studying humor and play, I also studied the play behavior of animals. It's easy to make a strong case for the view that when animals in the wild are playing, they are practicing basic skills which will later be essential for their survival. They engage in play fighting, chasing, wrestling, jumping, etc. When they become adults, these skills developed during play will be used to defend their lives. So play is important for their very survival. If you've ever been around young kittens or puppies, you've seen how much time they spend in this kind of play. So what does this have to do with humor? Humor is intellectual play. It's play with ideas. And your sense of humor is just as important for your psychological survival as physical play is for animals' physical survival. That's why so many cancer patients say, "If it hadn't been for my sense of humor, I would never have survived the treatments, let alone the disease." They recognize the power of humor to help them cope. The problem, of course, is that it's difficult to use your sense of humor to cope with cancer if you never used it much as a coping tool before you became ill. Chances are that you always had a pretty good sense of humor when everything was going well, and you were in a good mood. But most of us don't find much to laugh at when we're dealing with something very difficult in our lives. Luckily, it's never too late to learn to lighten up--even while learning to live with cancer. But the first step is to learn to be more playful, even silly when the opportunity arises. Make it a point to do something that is fun every day. There is an old saying, "The past is a canceled check, you can't spend it any more. The future is a promissory note which might not be paid off. The present is cash, spend it wisely." When you allow the playful child within you to come out and play a little while every day, an interesting thing happens. You become much better at "living in the moment" and you are assured of some joy in your life each day. Engaging in daily play and fun as you battle your cancer is a wise way to spend the present, not only because it nurtures your sense of humor. It also helps assure that your body will bring its own healing resources to the battle in as full a measure as possible. One 80-year-old man fighting pancreatic cancer never lost his playful spirit. He said, "Well, it could be worse. Just think of where I'd be if wrinkles hurt!" HOMEPLAY: Spend the next few weeks cultivating a playful outlook on life. Use the following suggestions as starters, but also make it a point to create your own way of building more play and fun into each day. 1) When the opportunity arises, spend some time playing with young children or young animals. In the case of children, try to play at their level. 2) Make a list of things you have fun doing. Do at least one each day. 3) Put up reminders in key places (refrigerator, desk, etc.) to be playful. Take a silly photo of yourself and keep it with you at all times. 4) Tell your friends, family that you'd like them to help you learn to lighten up and be more playful. For a detailed discussion of how to cultivate a playful attitude, see Step 2 of Health,
Healing and the Amuse System: Humor as Survival Training. Click here to link to Dr. McGhee's web site at www.LaughterRemedy.com. Click HERE for additional articles by Dr. McGhee on Humor and health/coping. |
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