What is "laughter" psychotherapy?

When you hear the name "laughter therapy", you may think that the "psychotherapy" we are talking about is becoming more and more "divine". Can laughter also "cure" diseases? Please listen to a true story first.

First, the therapeutic principle of "laughter"

From 65438 to 0979, the United States published a very popular book entitled "Laughter is Good for Blood-the Medical Function of Humor", written by American doctor Raymond Moody. In this book, he said: Norman Cousins, an American journalist, suddenly got collagen deficiency ("collagen" is the main component of connective fibers, and this reporter has difficulty in moving because of serious damage to connective fibers in organs).

When he received the notice that there was no hope of cure from the hospital, he was not intimidated by it. He borrowed a lot of humorous comedy videos and played them at home every day. First, 10 minutes of laughter, I feel analgesic, the pain is relieved, and I can sleep for two hours; Then he just looked at it for hours and laughed for hours. After a few weeks, his condition showed no signs of deterioration, but obviously improved. 10 years later, the reporter's health is still very good.

Laughter, happy laughter, showed magical power in this seriously ill reporter. So where does this power come from? To put it simply, every time this reporter laughs, his diaphragm wriggles about 18 times, and the degree of peristalsis is slightly smaller when laughing. Optimism and happiness make the functions of various organs of his body play a better coordination role, make his endocrine stable and enhance his immunity, thus controlling the further deterioration of the disease.

If this reporter falls into deep depression, sadness and despair after being diagnosed with incurable collagen disease, the situation will be completely different, his immune response will be suppressed, and the production and function of his T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes (both of which have disease-resistant functions) will also be affected. In this way, not only can not weaken his condition, but it will enhance his pathological changes.

Second, depression leads to cancer.

Foreign scholars have confirmed that "depression, disappointment and sadness are the precursors of cancer". A retrospective study was conducted on 100 leukemia patients and lymphoma patients, and it was found that most of them had personal or family experiences about 1 year before cancer occurred. In fact, Chinese medicine has long had the theory that "depression hurts the spleen, muscles become thinner, and exogenous pathogens fight to form sarcoma", which is a "new" theory discovered and confirmed abroad. The main basis of these new scientific theories is that sadness can cause cancer because it can inhibit the immune response of the body and affect the production and function of T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, thus preventing the timely suppression and elimination of cancer cells.

There is also an experiment abroad that proves that many kinds of pain are caused by muscles, or muscle tension is aggravated. This situation is often overlooked by people who suffer from illness. For example, a headache caused by muscle tension is a telling example. Some people are restless and depressed, so unconsciously, the muscles of the head and neck will be tense and stiff, and then the head will be sore.

If laughter therapy is used, the situation will be just the opposite: laughter can relieve muscle tension and the pain will be alleviated or disappeared. So, you should relax your muscles. So, how to relax muscles? You can laugh because your muscles relax when you laugh.

Of course, it is not to encourage people to laugh for the sake of laughing. Such a smile is not from the heart, will not touch emotional nerves, and will not receive the due curative effect. But I suggest that you get into the habit of laughing and use the performance of laughing to induce your happiness and hope. Just as you always frown, it will induce your depression. If you can get into the habit of always frowning on weekdays, it may help you dispel the fog.

Third, the health of happy people.

In daily life, people can often see that humorous people are mostly happy and full of hope. They often laugh at things they are not satisfied with and shrug their shoulders; They will sum up experience and lessons, make persistent efforts and do things well. People who are too reserved will be upset, disgusted and unhappy because of unsatisfactory things; Some even remember this unpleasant thing all the time, sighing and blaming themselves. Humorous people, people who can laugh, can buffer their nervousness and maintain a relaxed and confident mood in any depressed and difficult adversity, thus reducing psychological pressure, relieving inner contradictions, eliminating inner depression and not falling into unhealthy psychological difficulties.

Therefore, some people call humor and laughter "spiritual disinfectants". This statement is not too much. Laughter and humor are actually an effective psychotherapy.

In daily life, everyone will experience that different emotions such as happiness and sadness will have different effects on the body. For example, when you are sad, no good food can be swallowed. Even if you barely eat it, you will feel bloated and indigestible because of "gas-wrapped food". This is because sadness and sadness affect the normal activity of autonomic nerves through the brain, resulting in physiological or pathological changes.

Why do people have no appetite when they are depressed and anxious? This is because when you are depressed and anxious, the blood volume in the stomach wall will decrease, making the gastric mucosa pale and weak, and the secretion of gastric juice will also decrease. When you are angry, why do you feel hungry on an empty stomach? This is because when you are angry violently, the gastric mucosa will be congested, the blood will increase, the peristalsis of the stomach will accelerate, and the secretion of gastric juice will increase greatly.

Similarly, if you are often in a state of tension, gastric juice will be affected by emotions, secrete too much, erode the mucosa of stomach and duodenum, and ulcer will easily occur over time. Thus, the opposite of laughter and humor-sadness, sadness, frustration, anger and other negative emotions and emotions are undoubtedly "spiritual corruptors." Only in this way can we show the positive role of laughter.

In order to maintain mental health, young friends are advised to watch and listen to jokes, comics, cross talk, comedies, books and magazines. Something that makes you laugh or fascinate. In short, try to find jokes every day, laugh heartily, laugh heartily and laugh hard. Because such a smile can make your heart, lungs, diaphragm, liver and other internal organs get short-term exercise activities; Can remove foreign bodies in respiratory system; Can accelerate blood circulation; Can accelerate the heartbeat of the heart; Can promote the function of endocrine system.

In this way, your "internal organs" function will be greatly enhanced, thus enhancing immunity. In addition, due to the enhancement of your organ function, you can stimulate your brain to produce a hormone called "catecholamine", which can stimulate your body to produce a natural anesthetic. Then it will help you to relieve the pain and uncomfortable feeling, and help you to relieve the psychological state of boredom, regret, depression and tension.

A psychologist who studies humor and laughter said: "Laughter can make people feel comfortable and happy, get rid of fatigue, troubles and worries, feel happy, be refreshed and full of confidence. Because laughter can promote the function of the circulatory system and speed up the blood flow, people are particularly young and moving when they laugh. "

Fourth, use "laughter therapy"

So, as a kind of "laughter therapy", how to laugh?

Psychologists believe that the strength of sense of humor and the expression of laughter depend on who, under what conditions, and what they feel. Therefore, as a kind of psychotherapy, you don't have to stick to Xiao Yu's way. However, laughter, as a psychotherapy, is different from what aestheticians say: laughter is an "art" and laughter is a "beauty". Because we are concerned about the "curative effect" rather than "appreciating" the beauty of laughter.

Any "sincere" smile that comes from the heart and touches emotions, whether it is a knowing smile, a subtle and deep smile, a deep smile, a funny smile, etc. As long as it is charming, moving and touching, it can achieve the therapeutic effect of psychotherapy to varying degrees. In the movie San Xiao, Chou-heung gave Tang Bohu three different smiles, almost all of which made infatuated Tang Bohu "out of body" and brought him happiness, relief and hope.

Therefore, as a "smile" in psychotherapy, there should be at least two basic conditions that must be paid attention to: ① Laugh naturally, don't be forced, and don't laugh for the sake of laughing. When you feel funny, laugh as much as you want. As for how to laugh, you don't have to worry about it, because we are not acting and have no social activities, so we don't need to think too much about the way to laugh. In feudal society, everyone's "boudoir" was locked in "boudoir" and "Xiulou". Because of feudal ethics, they dare not laugh loudly, so they often get sick. In modern society, this should be regarded as a joke or a tragedy.

A middle-aged female teacher who is the head teacher of a high school "teaches" her college student daughter: "Girls, don't laugh!" The reason for this mother's admonition is that this kind of smile is too "wild" and not "indecent", which makes others think that you are "uneducated". In fact, this kind of "education" is completely unnecessary. Because the way everyone laughs often depends on the intensity of emotions, and the intensity of emotions depends on the intensity of external stimuli. Therefore, when you face a very happy and funny scene, you should laugh loudly, but you suppress your emotional expression. Laughing or not laughing "without showing one's teeth" will inevitably lead to mental health over time.

People like to say that different world views, different hobbies and different cultural levels determine that people have different fun, so they will show different laughter methods. But from the perspective of mental health, this is too rigid, too rigid. Therefore, from the perspective of psychotherapy, laughter does not have to be divided into "elegant" or "vulgar". Experiments have proved that the more you laugh, the greater the curative effect.

5. You can't live without laughing.

In short, young friends should keep in mind the most fundamental point, that is: laughter is indispensable in life! Instead of taking medicine and injections, it is better to use the "spiritual disinfectant" of "Happy Brand". Everyone pursues together, looks for laughter together, and even takes some measures in a planned and organized way to make everyone laugh. Some people may think this idea is bizarre, but in fact there are precedents abroad. In 1970s, a British university established a "humor classroom". There, people can laugh in various ways and often hold scientific seminars on humor. At the seminar, many people suggested setting up some city entertainment centers as facilities to promote people's collective laughter. This will be of great benefit to promoting people's mental health and preventing mental illness.

As for what kind of laughter is most beneficial to what kind of disease, this has not been finally studied. However, I believe we will come to a conclusion one day.

Humor and smile are also necessary for harmonious interpersonal communication. It can eliminate barriers, enhance friendship, strengthen emotional communication, shorten the psychological distance between people, make people more intimate and promote unity.

There is such a description in kuznetsova's Life is Calling: "What can be more beautiful than sincere laughter? Laughter can make people happy, happy and refreshed. Sincere laughter can make the warring parties understand each other and make strangers close at once. "

About 20 years later, an organization called "The Association for the Use of Humor in International Relations" appeared in Paris, France. The purpose of this association is to make laughter a means to ease international tensions and let people of all countries understand each other better.

Can you say that "laughter" is not a therapy, not a spiritual "weapon"?