Many people feel they are living in a world made up of primarily stress and despair. Worry about bills, work, and other things related to adult life has robbed our ability to laugh. It is no wonder why many of us walk around in a depressed state as if the possibility of happiness does not exist.
There is no such thing as a day without stress, for most people; however, many people can go days without sharing a good belly laugh. It is a necessity to laugh once or twice a day, even if forced.
Even a forced smile can significantly lower stress levels. A forced smile tricks your brain into thinking something good has occurred simply by the action of smiling.
There are several benefits associated with lowering stress levels. Blood pressure, for one, immediately drops if you can reduce stress during a particularly stressful situation. During an argument, when you force a smile and diffuse the situation, it lower the chances of both heart attack and stroke.
Therefore, not only can it assist in alleviating high-stress at the moment, it could possibly save your life. Lowering stress also helps your immune system work more efficiently, which means less illness.
Be Careful Not to Offend and Laugh Inappropriately
Just like anything, there is an appropriate time and place for any action. Having a belly laugh is probably not acceptable at a meeting where people are deep in serious conversations.
The issue with laughing during stressful situations is that laughing is associated with child-like behavior. Laughing is for the people without a worry in the world and adults don’t just laugh for no particular reason. It’s irresponsible and childish, right? Wrong. As long as you are not blatantly offending someone, you can certainly laugh it up.
However, one huge reminder, it is very important not to laugh at someone else’s expense. If the only way to get a laugh is to make fun of someone else, then find another way of dealing with the stressor. All this will do is make things more complicated.
Laughter, if used correctly, can help reduce everyone’s stress levels making finding a solution to an issue so much easier. Just make sure to take everyone’s feelings into account.
Find Happy Friends to be With
You’ll likely find that others are more attracted to those who aren’t afraid to laugh and have a good time. Nobody purposely seeks out the most stressful people to be around. If you can handle yourself well in stressful situations people will gravitate to you and in most cases, will follow you.
Employees crave a leader who is strong and doesn’t break under the pressure, but also someone who is approachable and human.
Once you learn to laugh and smile, you’ll notice your circle of ‘laughter friends’ will grow. Relationships with family and friends will strengthen and flourish. Why? Because laughter is contagious! Smiling makes people feel good.
Plus, your smile, the one that makes you feel happier, will also affect others. The next time you get the chance, open the door for someone and smile at them. See if they don’t smile back!
Tricks for Learning How to Laugh
In order to use humor to help relieve stressful situations one must remember to find the humor in everyday life. You can remind yourself by catching a funny movie, a comedy show, or going out with friends and sharing jokes.
You are sure to sharpen your skills in delivering a punchline or having witty conversations in an official setting. Recognizing where to add humor and when not to is something you will learn when enjoying any of the before mentioned activities. So, go enjoy yourself, lower your stress and learn some tricks that may bail you out of a sticky or tense situation.
If people can apply the tricks with using humor during times of increased stress, they can immediately reap the rewards. Not only personal relationships but your own health will be glad that you picked up on laughter to lower your stress levels.
In conclusion, the next time you’re in a situation you feel requires additional patience and understanding, make sure to smile. It won’t only make yourself more relaxed, but people will trust that you have things under control and more willing to work with you on a solution. It is contagious and everyone could use the ability to smile and laugh a little more.
