April Fools’ Day is a holiday celebrated worldwide in many states and countries on April 1st. On this day, it is customary to play pranks on friends, other people, or just make jokes about them. On the role of laughter in everyday life, its use in psychotherapy, and laughter therapy, we have spoken with a psychologist from Nadezhda Krupskaya Palace for Pioneers and School Pupils, a graduate of the Master’s degree programme of the Faculty of Psychology of the Department of General Psychology, Psychodiagnostics, and Counselling of the School of Medical Biology of South Ural State University Iuliia Novykh.
– How do psychologists use laughter in their work? What is laughter therapy?
– There is a whole study of laughter: gelotology. The gelotology method, with the help of humour, creates a positive state of mind, helps a person to see and discover various absurdities in life and life situations, what normalizes health (physical and emotional), directs to a higher level of problem resolution, increases cognitive potential, and enriches spiritually.
There are three types of gelotology (laughter therapy). The first type is classical: funny stories, jokes, comedies, books. The second considers laughter therapy as one of the techniques as part of an independent school method (for example, the paradoxical intention method), or as an original author's technique (for example, such techniques, as breathing exercises in the form of reflex laughter, tickling, laughter meditation, mimic exercises with artificial stretching of lips into a smile and creativity development exercises are used). The third type is hospital clowning (or Clown Care). It has existed in Russia since 2005. The goal of hospital clowns is to distract children and their parents from illness, medical problems, anxieties and hospital experiences. In Chelyabinsk, this is the first project the participants of which have been regularly, for five years, working with young patients and their parents in the Chelyabinsk Regional Oncology Clinical Centre. Hospital clowns provide assistance in the rehabilitation of children, who are hospitalized at the Chelyabinsk Regional Oncology Clinical Centre, and their parents by means of clowning, art therapy and game therapy (not with drugs, but by creating positive emotions). The participants of the project are also planning to conduct their activities in other departments of the Chelyabinsk Regional Children’s Clinical Hospital.
– What role does laughter play in our life?
– In my opinion, humour is an integral part of our life. Only it manifests itself differently, in a greater or lesser extent. Laughter is one of the reactions to humour or tickling, demonstration of which includes specific sounds and involuntary movements of the muscles of the face and respiratory apparatus, a kind of emotional release. If we talk about the role of laughter in our life, then people who like to laugh get sick less often, are less irritated, practically do not know what depression is, and live longer.
– Please, tell us about the use of laughter therapy in your work. What are the mechanisms of the effect?
– In my work, I use laughter therapy mainly in hospital clowning, but now I have begun to apply it also in my individual work in consulting. Almost everyone reacts positively to a smile or laughter and also responds with a smile. Even to some extent, in this case clients tend to trust you more.
– Does laughter really heal?
– It would have been great if you could just laugh and all the illnesses would go away at once. But it appears that the main treatment can be provided only by professional doctors, and we can only promote and strengthen the treatment when we come to the department as clowns.
It is not always necessary to focus on the disease. We just come to children to switch their attention to something else. A clown is a person whom children can “treat” in a hospital, trying on the role of a doctor, and thereby playing out their fears. The clown can distract from a painful procedure, or even relieve the anxiety before the anaesthesia in a preoperative room.
– What would you advise the people who are experiencing the spring blues? Are there any exercises that can help you overcome bad mood?
– One of the research studies on laughter therapy stated that the brain and body cannot tell the artificial from natural laughter, and, in both cases, endorphins are produced. You can, for example, do exercises from yoga of laughter yourself.
1. Many do not believe that they can laugh long. Or that you can make yourself laugh. But everyone can start to laugh if they begin with the letter “A”. Breathe in deeply through your stomach, and as you exhale, say “А-а-а…”. Laugh for at least 10 minutes. Exhale all the way. You can laugh at 4 “A”s, 8 “A”s, 12 “A”s, and so on.
2. Open your mouth wide. Do not laugh with your lips or teeth clamped. When the mouth is open, energy is released. This engages the stomach and diaphragm.
3. Engage your whole body. Move around, wave your hands, clap your hands. When we engage the body, the head switches off. Try the “Cocktail of Joy” exercise. Imagine a glass of joy in one hand and a glass of laughter in the other. Mix them, pouring from one glass to another, and laugh at the same time.
Good mood can be supported by things that bring you great joy. Sometimes even a “little pleasure” for yourself can charge you with good mood for several days. Pay more attention to yourself and your loved ones!
– What is your life principle for good mood?
– Read only good news, or not read news at all! Engage in personal development! Learn something new! Have good rest! Give yourself permission to be lazy!