Monday, June 9, 2008

Beyond Blue: Five Humor Strategies? Make That Ten ...

Therese Borchard recently posted this item on her blog, "Beyond Blue."

I love Therese and her blog, but I realize first of all, she's a nicer person than I am, and secondly, that the mentally ill mind works in strange and mysterious ways.

So with that in mind, here is my AMENDED list of five humor strategies to help you find laughter every day ...
In the "America Fitness" article I quoted yesterday, I found a list of humor strategies by Joyce Saltman, a Gestalt therapist from Southern Connecticut State University, who believes laughter is a prescription for survival. Here are some of her recommendations on how to find laughter everyday.

1. Have a place devoted to humor. Designate a section at work as a place for a new joke of the day, everyday.

I have whole areas of my house that make me laugh. The kitchen. The laundry area. The spare room stacked floor to ceiling that's just "one good afternoon" away from being transformed into a beautiful den.

2. Surround yourself with positive people. Avoid people who are constantly negative. They can diminish positive energy.


Or people you can laugh at. They are usually easier to find, too.

3. Buy clothes that make you
smile.Wear the brightest clothes you can find to brighten your day and others around you.

Clothes that make you laugh work. Twenty years later, my mother and I are still cracking up about the time I brought her this beautiful sweater to try on but it had this weird ... bulge in the front. Our hilarity knew no bounds when I discovered I'd grabbed it from Maternity by mistake!

Clothes that make other people laugh work, too. So does laughing at other people's clothes. See #2.

4. Have a VCR readily available. Make tapes of the funniest TV shows you can find. When you or a friend need a pick-me-up, play them.

Watch the recordings of all the soap operas you made in the '80s. Laugh at everyone's clothes and hair. See #2.

5. Make a list of 20 things to do in a day that make you happy. Every couple of months, update this list and make an effort to do at least 10 of these items each day.

Make a list of 20 things in a day that make you laugh. Look in out-of-the-way places. Count the number of times the local news anchors stumble over words. Watch their graphics, note all misspellings, and email the station with your edits. Turn on your set's closed captioning and watch the voice-recognition software struggle with proper names. Read along -- out loud.

More suggestions as they occur to me ... this could be good.

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