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