Laughter can give you a new outlook on life!

Yes, there is light at the end of the dark tunnel and your fear of having no control over your body is premature. There are a few ways to surface your unprocessed feelings and thoughts to prevent a body-breakdown (see Dealing with Emotions, or a quick checklist for dealing with intense emotions). But, more relevantly by using laughter, you can change your thoughts, feelings and perceptions!

When we feel stressed out, we are focussed on a problem and maybe experiencing uncomfortable feeling and lack of self-esteem. Laughter has the potential to release different chemicals into the peptide pool. This changes the peptide flow, and different (more positive) associations, memories, sense of self and feelings toward others can therefore be triggered. As a result, we are given a "new outlook" on life and the stressful situation.

Imagine the stressful situation as a dry desert, and you are attempting to cross it. You're hot, sweaty and dehydrating - dragging yourself with great difficulty step by step. Suddenly, laughter comes along like an oasis, allowing you to jump into a cool pool, freshen up, and start out across the desert again as a new, refreshed and more comfortable person: your step is light and you feel more energetic and creative, with renewed hope.

Just as crying sometimes helps us to better cope with the stressful situation because it unclogs the build-up of emotions and enables peptide flow, so too does laughter!