Tackling stress can be a laughing matter

Tackling stress can be a laughing matter

Maria Endah Hulupi, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

It's been another blah day at the office, the roof is leaking and
you start to wonder about the early onset of the seven-year itch.

Then, something makes you laugh -- and all those alternately
suicidal and homicidal aspirations are gone in an instant.

But that rollicking chuckle may be doing you even more good
than you think.

Stress tends to build up and, in its early phase, can lead to
headache, fatigue and back pain. If there is no break in the day
in, day out pressures, more serious, often life-threatening
health problems, like depression and stroke, can result.

According to psychiatrist Yul Iskandar of Dharma Graha mental
rehabilitation hospital in Serpong, Tangerang, stress can be
relieved with meditation, relaxation and breathing techniques. In
the early stage of stress, laughter therapy is quite effective,
he added.

"Laughter therapy is one of the escape techniques from stress
as it helps reduce the secretion of adrenalin, cortisol and free
radicals -- three chemicals that over time can trigger health
problems."

The psychiatrist said studies showed that people who laugh
easily tend to recover more rapidly from illnesses than those who
easily complain or break down in tears. A laugh lasting one to
five minutes, he said, encourages the secretion of endorphin,
serotonin and melatonin that will induce a sense of calm, comfort
and bliss.

Research has long indicated that laughter has a positive
impact on various systems of the body; today's scientists believe
that it has both preventive and therapeutic benefits. Apart from
relieving stress, laughing relaxes muscles, reduces pain, tension
and depression, as well as improving respiration, digestion,
stamina, sleep and even strengthening the immune system.

Dharma Graha hospital has developed a spontaneous laughter
technique for a group of at least 10 people as therapy to relieve
early indications of stress. The technique can make participants
burst into continuous laughter for up to five minutes.

A stressful situation sets off the body's protective alarm as
the body secretes adrenalin, cortisone and free radicals in what
is a fight-or-flee response for most people.

For others, encountering stress triggers laughter. "Some
people do laugh when experiencing a stressful situation," Yul
acknowledged.

Fatigue and disorientation follow if the stress persists,
often with potential health problems, depending on the
seriousness and duration of the stress.

Apart from headache and back pain, subchronic, or occasional,
stress is usually accompanied by sweating palms, irritability,
dry mouth, irritable bowel syndrome, insomnia and impotence.
Chronic stress can lead to cancer; acute stress can cause heart
attack, stroke and depression.

Ideally, Yul said, laughter therapy would be performed before
stress accumulates and causes serious health problems, helping
lower blood pressure and the heart rate as well as stimulating
the immune system to fight off cancerous cells.

"Regular therapy would help reduce chronic stress and the
accompanying pain. And since it relaxes facial muscles, it also
reduces wrinkles and, in turn, gives a youthful look."

However, Yul also warned that techniques would not be
effective unless they were coupled with stress management,
including problem solving, to deal with the causes.

If stress continues even after performing those techniques,
the person is advised to find someone to share or discuss her
situation or get help, including professional help from a
psychologist or psychiatrist.

Not all stress is bad since there is a type of stress called
eustress that is needed to motivate people to carry out their
daily activities, or else they would become lazy, spoilt and lack
motivation.

"Eustress can lift our spirit and make us function and there
are people who 'seek' stress or stressful situations through
sporting activities, like bungee jumping or rafting, to keep
their spirit high," he said.

Steps for laughter therapy

* Gather a group of at least 10 people. Laughter therapy will not
be effective when performed alone or by a couple of people.
* Laughing is contagious, so appoint an instructor who is able to
provoke laughter or easily bursts into laughter. He or she needs
to announce to the group that they are about to engage in
laughter therapy.
* The therapy should be preceded by performing both stomach and
diaphragm breathing. The first is done by inhaling oxygen through
the nose and holding the breath in the stomach before exhaling
through the mouth; diaphragm breathing is similar, except through
holding the breath in the chest before exhaling it through the
mouth. (Each of the breathing phases is done to the count of
eight).
* The instructor starts laughing, followed by the group.
* If members of the group are not cooperative, the therapy would
only last a brief period. If this happens, the therapy should be
repeated, beginning with the breathing techniques.
* There is no need to use jokes; silly jokes would only irritate
people, not get them guffawing.
* Never laugh at one of the participants, who may take offense
and cause disruption of the session.

-- Therapy by Dharma Graha hospital