Imagine a prescription that reads: “Take two doses of Lily Tomlin, followed by one dose of Charlie Chaplin, and rinse with an episode of I Love Lucy. Repeat as necessary and call me in the morning.” That is exactly what political journalist Norman Cousins decided to prescribe for himself during his treatment for a life-threatening disease. Perhaps one of the most influential proponents of the healing effects of humor and laughter therapy, Cousins was diagnosed in 1964 with an advanced case of ankylosing spondylitis, a rare rheumatoid disease that causes progressive deterioration of the body’s connective tissue. He was given a poor prognosis for recovery: roughly 1 in 500. His unique approach to recovery included watching TV shows like Candid Camera and movies with Laurel and Hardy and the Marx brothers. Cousins found that 10 minutes of laughter allowed him 2 hours of pain-free sleep. Through the use of laughter and high doses of vitamin C, he recovered and spent the remaining 12 years of his life as an adjunct professor at the University of California, Los Angeles Medical School, where he established what he called a humor task force to coordinate and support clinical research into laughter (Cousins, 1979; Wooten, 2013).
Cousins emphasized that humor is not a cure-all, nor does it substitute for competent medical treatment. Humor, he believed, is a powerful therapeutic element that interrupts the panic cycle of illness. When this cycle occurs, blood vessels constrict and negative biochemical changes occur (Cousins, 1979).
The physician Patch Adams (1998), whose book was the basis of the Hollywood movie Patch Adams, also extols the health benefits of humor. He wrote, “Health is based on happiness—from hugging and clowning around to finding joy in family and friends, satisfaction in work and ecstasy in nature and the arts” (p. 1).
Humor is a universal experience that involves three basic elements: the stimulus (a funny joke or humorous situation), an emotional response (mirth), and the accompanying behavior (laughter, smiling, giggling, etc.). Nearly everyone knows how it feels to experience something humorous. Someone tells a joke, makes a witty comment, draws a funny cartoon, or has a slip of the tongue, and bystanders are suddenly struck by how funny it is. They smile, chuckle, burst out laughing, or experience a sense of pleasant well-being. Humor is such a commonplace occurrence for most people that it may seem strange to explore it.
Although humor is often lighthearted, it also serves a serious social, emotional, and cognitive function (Martin, 2007). Humor adds perspective to life, helping people deal with stressors from minor irritations such as being cut off in traffic to more challenging difficulties like life-threatening illnesses. Attracting all types and kinds of people, it breaks through barriers when mere words cannot.
Humor and laughter connect people and help build relationships. Laughter is also great exercise. It uses the breathing muscles, can increase heart rate and oxygenation, and can cause distraction, thus promoting relaxation. Nearly all of us have laughed until our sides hurt or until we collapsed in a giggling fit over a silly experience.
Laughter makes people feel alive. His Holiness the Dalai Lama has said, “Our business is to be happy.” As long as people choose to laugh, it means they have affirmed life, no matter how burdensome it becomes. Although laughter is short lived, its effects are long lasting.