Let’s Laugh

What did the grape say when the elephant stepped on it?

Nothing. It just let out a little "whine".

Hopefully, you just laughed a little — even if you did roll your eyes! If so, you may have done your health a favor.

WARNING!!

This is not going to be a typical If You Don’t Quit You Win blog post. We've created a lot of content this year to address mental health and emotional wellness from a variety of viewpoints. We've dealt with difficult emotions and allowed ourselves to feel sad, angry, and upset. We've talked about self-care and how to find hope during difficulty. And if you're in a place where you need that information, I encourage you to check out the posts below.

BUT (and that's a big but, hee-hee) if you're ready for something a little different, keep reading. And if you're in that rough spot, I'd encourage you to keep reading this too. We all need a little positivity and silliness in our life.

According to the Mayo Clinic, research suggests that laughter is good for you. It may improve blood flow to the heart, boost your immune system and trigger the release of feel-good chemicals that can temporarily relieve pain. A good laugh can lessen physical tension and stress, and good humor can often help defuse a tense situation. Share your laughter with someone else, and the benefits may be even greater.

Looking for laughs? Need to escape the emotional and mental treadmill? Start with you. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Share your embarrassing moments. If you do something ridiculous, it might not seem so bad if you can get yourself to laugh at you. Be your own stand-up. If you’re a person of faith, most of spiritual books address the benefits of laughter. In fact the only thing in the Bible called medicine is…. Yup you guessed it, LAUGHTER!

Here are a few hacks I use to laugh through difficult days.

I dare you to go to the nearest mirror and tell yourself these stupid jokes… no for real look at yourself and tell yourself a joke!

• What do you call a boomerang that doesn’t come back? A Stick.

• How do you make holy water? You boil the hell out of it.

• Why do Dads take an extra pair of socks when they go golfing? In case they get a hole in one.

• Why do you never see elephants hiding in trees? Because they are so good at it.

• I ordered a chicken and an egg online. I'll let you know.

Learn to laugh at yourself. We all make mistakes, we all screw up, we’ve all tripped over and pretended nothing happened, we spilled coffee on ourselves… why? Because that’s just what we do.

Expose yourself to humor. Watch a funny movie. Go see a comic. Encourage people to tell funny stories.

Hang out with your funniest friend. I have a couple friends I know if I call them I am going to laugh. (Rich, Jessee, Terry, Alex, Adam, my sister Summer and NWA – Thank you laugh crew…)

Read a funny book

Ask Siri (or Google) to ‘make you laugh’ (seriously, do it)

Allow some space in your daily schedule to relax and have a laugh.

At the end of the day, mental illness is not a life sentence and you can recover. You can gain skills to succeed and thrive in life. An NO ONE is responsible for your health and healing but you! Laugh your way to a better day, and WIN THE DAY!