OUMH1303 ENGLISH FOR ORAL COMMUNICATION

LAUGHTER THERAPY - AN EFFECTIVE TREATMENT

INTRODUCTION

Hospital is not a heaven, place where people have to be tough. The most powerful medicine were given, actually is our ability to laugh Most of the people have ever heard the stanza of Laughter is the Best Medicine. What is the secret behind this phrase? In this discussion, the secrets will be revealed. As ability to laugh, play, and have fun with others not only makes life more enjoyable but also helps people solve the problems, connect with others, and be more creative. At the same time, Laughter Therapy, a new trend in mental health treatment, stems from the long standing Eastern tradition of Laughter Yoga has begun to be accepted. Further discussion on this new treatment will take place in the next sections. Lets start with the definition of laugh.

According to the Oxford Word Power Dictionary for Malaysia students, page 385; laugh is to make sound that show people are happy or amused. Most of people did not realize that adult actually laugh approximately 15 times per day and children laugh 400 times a day. Those who are not join in the guffawing, then they will be labelled a snob or egoist and seem like someone who not appreciate a good laugh because humor is a gift of God.

Laughter is a powerful antidote to stress, pain, and conflict. Nothing works faster or more dependably to bring people mind and body back into balance than a good laugh. Laughter lightens people burdens, inspires hopes, connects people to others, and keeps them grounded, focused, and alert.

With so much power to heal and renew, the ability to laugh easily and frequently is a tremendous resource for surmounting problems, enhancing your relationships, and supporting both physical and emotional health. Table 1.0 shows the benefits of laughter.

The Benefits of Laughter

Physical Health Benefits: Mental Health Benefits: Social Benefits:

Boosts immunity Lowers stress hormones Decreases pain Relaxes your muscles Prevents heart disease

Adds joy and zest to life Eases anxiety and fear Relieves stress Improves mood Enhances resilience

Strengthens relationships Attracts others to us Enhances teamwork Helps defuse conflict Promotes group bonding

Table 1.0 shows the benefits of laughter

Positive outlook and laughter is good for health. Humor can have positive purpose especially in people healthy life. How? Next sections will discuss the laughter in health environment.

HOW LAUGHTER ACT AS MEDICINE?

In the past three decades the medical world has begun to take more serious notice of the healing power of humor and the positive emotions associated with it. Scientists have found that laughter is a form of internal jogging that exercise the body and would improve the immune system. Laughter is one of bodys safety valves, a counter balance to tension. When people release that tension, the level of the bodys stress hormones drop back to normal, and thereby allowing their immune system to work more effectively. Headaches can just go away.

Laughing produce happy chemical called endorphin, which work in the brain to give an overall feeling of well-being. Lets check the proof that supports this statement. Dr Stanley Tan from Californias Loma Linda University Medical Centre said that all hormones act like an orchestra, each instrument make particular note. Laughter makes the entire orchestra more melodious. In other words, laughter brings balance to all components of

the immune system. Laughter also begins to take place of anti-depressants drugs and decrease the need for pain killers.

The late Norman cousins, a noted editor and writer proved the efficacy of humor when he was diagnosed in the mid 1960s with a life-threatening disease. His doctors gave him little hopes so he took massive, doses of vitamin C and rental classic comedy movies like Charlie Chaplin. He watches hour after hour and the more he did, the more he laughed and little by little he began to feel better. Eventually, doctor could not find any trace of his incurable disease and he lives another 25 years. He also said that I made joyous discovery that 10 minutes of genuine belly laughter had anaesthetic affect and would gives me at least two hours of pain-free sleep. Brett Leake, the comedian also expresses his feeling, Ive been doing comedy for 13 and years and I know Im healthier because Ive done this. Something happens inside my body and I cant say it regenerates, but it certainly hold steady the progress, slows it down for the night.

Can a laugh everyday keep the heart attack away? Cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Centre in Baltimore reveal that laughter may help protect against a heart attack. His study indicates that people with heart disease were 40% less likely to laugh compared to the people of the same age without heart disease. Ability to laugh has importance implications in society and people become healthier from laughter. When people laugh heartily, every organ is being massaged including their heart, lungs and digestive systems.

LAUGHTER THERAPY

Imagine that a particular person is a newly diagnosed cancer patient and his doctor has assigned him to a cancer support group. He is sad, scared, and do not know how talking about his problems is going to fix anything. As he sits in a room full of other cancer patients waiting for a facilitator to begin the meeting, he imagines what kind of depressing conversations are about to take place. The facilitator enters the room, asks everyone to stand up. Then, without warning, he begins to forcibly laugh loudly and deeply like Santa Claus

for the next 30 seconds. He then smiles and asks him to do the same. He is actually in a Laughter Therapy group. In healthcare, Laughter Therapy can help relieve stress associated with disease and illness. It serves as a diversionary tactic, a therapeutic tool for disorders such as depression, and a coping mechanism.

Psychotherapists have discovered humor as an aid in the treatment of several clinical disorders, most notably depression. Although opinions are divided on this issue, humor has been reported to strengthen the bond between client and therapist in the treatment process, increasing the progress toward recovery. Currently, humor is used as both an assessment tool, to help the therapist learn what topics the client wishes to discuss, and as a therapeutic tool, to help dissolve psychological defences inhibiting recovery.

As been mentioned earlier, in the past three decades the medical world has begun to take more serious notice of the healing power of humor and the positive emotions associated with it. This method is known as laughter therapy or humor therapy. Several hospitals across the country, particularly those with oncology wards, are developing humor programs for their patients. These offer rooms with videocassette recorders and compact disc players, in-house humor cable channels, library shelves filled with humorous books, and movable humor carts with a host of resources to promote laughter. Clinical staff noted that the primary benefit of humor therapy is it serves as a diversionary tactic, taking patients minds off their illness and related moods of depression, thus promoting a balanced expression of emotions.

The difference between clinical medicine and humor therapy is most notably found in their application. Whereas clinical medicine is prescribed by a physician and administered by healthcare givers, the use of humor therapy is often more subtle and much less formal.

The arrival of a good clown exercises more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than of twenty asses laden with drugs Dr. Thomas Sydenham

Enda Junkins, in the article that published in the year of 2007 stated that laughter and therapy are not generally paired in the minds of clinicians nor in the minds of the general public. Therapy is a serious business and is viewed and approached with a proper amount of

ponderous gravity. After all, people enter therapy for serious reasons, often at critical times in their lives. How can laughter be a vital part of the therapy process when the subject matter is so serious?

By laughing, people are able to keep cool in a stressful work situation, make peace with the hurt and pain in their past or deal with the stress of a serious illness. That does not mean the days of "take two aspirin and call me in the morning" are completely gone. Laughter therapy cannot take the place of conventional therapies entirely, but there is increasing evidence that a few hearty chuckles can help people along the road to recovery. People might see more humor rooms in hospitals, as well as laughter wagons full of funny books, games and toys roaming the halls. People might be asked to do a few laughter exercises before they shift at work or before baring their soul to therapist. And don't forget the clowns -- they'll be there, too.

The elation people feel when they laugh is a great way of combating the physical effects of stress. When people laugh, their body relaxes and endorphins (natural painkillers) are released into the blood stream. A laughter therapist's aim is to help people laugh more easily. Therapy is available in group or individual sessions - these starts with a warm-up followed by a range of activities designed to get you giggling. Laughter doesn't come easily to everyone, but luckily the body can't actually distinguish between real and fake laughter. So faking it has the same beneficial effect.

However, Nilesh Parekh believed that the base of laughter therapy relates to positive thinking. It is proved scientifically that if a person entertains negative thoughts while he/she is ill i.e. if he/she falls prey to depression, anger etc. about his/her illness, then it results in weakening of his/her immune system and then it takes more time, high doses of medications etc. to cure that person. At the other end positive thinking helps a person improve his/her immune system and become healthy again as soon as possible. It helps in removing negative thoughts from our mind and not letting our immune system deteriorate further.

EFFECTIVENESS OF LAUGHTER THERAPY

Advocates of laughter therapy believe that laughing is what helps people rid themselves of their own masks of fear and pain. Clowns can be a key part of laughter therapy, which relies on various techniques designed to produce laughter. Laughter is believed to be beneficial to patients because it reduces anxiety and stress, renders pain manageable and bolsters the immune system. Laughter therapy is suitable for everyone although most therapists work within the healthcare profession or in the workplace, where laughter is used as a means of relieving stress. Elderly groups, young people in care and mental health patients are all thought to benefit especially from laughter therapy. A laughter therapy session may leave you feeling elated and exhausted in equal measure. Muscle tone and cardiovascular functions may be improved, and oxygen levels in the blood may be boosted. In the long term, laughter therapy teaches people that they don't just have to laugh when they are happy. Laughing in the face of anger, stress or anxiety - even if it's forced laughter - can actually lift their mood. Is there any evidence that proof laughter therapy is an effective treatment?

Dr Lee Berk of Loma University Medical Centre, California, has been conducting laughter therapy research since the late 1970s. In 1989, Berk studied the effects of laughter in 10 healthy males. Five experimental subjects watched an hour-long comedy while five control subjects didn't. Blood samples taken from the 10 subjects revealed that cortisol (the hormone our body releases when under stress) in the experimental subjects had decreased more rapidly in comparison to the control group. Berk's research has also shown that the level of natural killer cells (a type of immune cell that attacks virus and tumour cells) is increased through laughter. These same cells are suppressed if the body suffers consistent long-term stress.

Based on the case in Noji Clinic Japan, a patient diagnosed as having advanced gastric cancer at the age of 88 years old. An endoscopy revealed a type-2 gastric cancer of 25 x 30 mm in the lesser curvature of the middle stomach body and an IIa gastric cancer with T2 SS and cardiac accessory lesions. Both the type-2 and IIa lesions were defined as tub1 with surrounding atrophic gastritis and entero-epithelium metaplastic carcinoma. Considering the patient's age and her desire not to receive cancer treatment, Noji Clinic prescribed laughter therapy as recommended by the Society for Healing Environment. The program was implemented in a laughter-inducing environment and consisted of five stages: (1) Making the patient feel safe, (2) Relaxing the patient, (3) Increasing the effectiveness, (4) Improving her

condition and (5) Increasing her joy of living. One year and seven months later, an endoscopy of the lesser curvature of the middle stomach body indicated that the lesions clearly improved with a morphological reduction into IIa + IIc masses. A tissue biopsy revealed that nucleus abnormality clearly improved from the initial diagnosis, with no irregularity in size. The suspected lesion was localized to a limited area near the stomach wall. Although partial gastric adenocarcinoma was suspected, the cancers turned into gastric adenoma, atrophic gastritis, and enteroepithelium metaplastic carcinoma. Now, five years after the initial diagnosis, she maintains a good condition. Laughter, one of people casual behaviors, has the effect of reducing the stress experienced by the human body.

As the laughter therapy is proven to be effective method of treatment, laughter therapy has also been introduced in Malaysia. Laughter therapy was started at Hospital Permai, Johor Bahru by Laughter Leader Esther at the invitation of the Director Dr Kadir in 2010. Since then, there are 2 sessions per month at the Forensic ward and the Occupational Therapy centre for the patients as well as the staff. Today, there was an introduction of Laughter Therapy with a practical session for the staff including medical assistants, technical personals, occupational therapists. Hospital Permai provides comprehensive, effective and quality psychiatric treatment and rehabilitation services.

Some other hospitals have begun the process already. At Duke University Hospital, humor carts deliver videos, cartoon and humor books, juggling equipment, toys, and games. DeKalb Hospital, near Atlanta, has created a Lively Room for romping. The clowns of the Big Apple Circus in New York City have created Clown Care Units, which visit childrens hospitals on a regular basis to bring joy and assist with patient care. The Association of Therapeutic Humor is creating a clearinghouse with information about humor and about people who practice it as therapy. Gesundheit Institute are building the first silly hospital, where the entire context will be geared to fun and play.

CONCLUSION

Laughter is a perspective that enables one to view stress and pain with a softer edge. Although not an immediate cure for trauma, chronic illness, or emotional difficulty, laughter can be a therapeutic tool.

In addition to its use in preventive medicine, humor also has a role as an intervention and rehabilitation tool in the clinical setting for a host of maladies and illnesses related to stress and life-style. Although alone it is no replacement for clinical medicine, humors supplementary use is now recognized as a powerful aid for both patients and healthcare professionals.

Most of the diseases are related to stress, tension depression etc. When people are in tension they attract various problems/diseases such as: mental imbalance, high blood pressure, heart trouble etc. Laughter relaxes their muscles and helps in relieving stress. When people laugh, their mind does not distract and the thought process stops i.e. no other thought comes in their mind, keeping their stress at lowest possible level. When people laugh, the blood vessels carrying blood in their body expands which results in increased blood supply to various body parts. Laughter also helps in keeping the level of stress hormones low.

Unfortunately many people struggle with forced laughter classes and therapy and find the idea somewhat contrived. However there is certainly a take home message here that reminds people how important it is to laugh once in a while. If they're feeling ill or tired, then often the very best thing they can do is to watch a funny film or to spend some time with a funny group of friends. If people can nurture the ability to take life with a pinch of salt and to take things a little less seriously, then they will often find that life is a lot more enjoyable as a result.

Dr Brian Kaplan, laughter practitioner and a medically qualified doctor claims that as soon as people start to laugh at a problem, 'the problem is completely disempowered'. Nilesh Parkesh (2004) stated that the effects of laughter are such that, laughter of only few minutes can make you feel fresh for next some hours. 20-25 minutes of laughter helps you keep fresh almost for a whole day.

As conclusion, laughter is really important in our life and to be healthy. Laughter is expected to become alternative medicine in the future, and medical experts hope to see more reports and evidence on soothing therapies using laughter. Dont forget to laugh. Although no one suggest that laughter cures all ills, or sad times all pain, but it can release a good feeling about

yourselves and others that is spiritually enriching. As said by William James, We dont laugh because were happy. Were happy because we laugh.

If you want to be more healthier, there something you have to do with Appreciate the importance of laughter because it is our greatest gift

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