Around my house, April Fool's Day is an especially enjoyed holiday, but it's not markedly different than other days; we're goofy pranksters year-round. My husband, my kids and I all have a silly streak (to varying degrees), and April Fool's Day is just a fun excuse to let it out a little more than we usually do. Whether it's my husband orchestrating a semi-elaborate prank with the kids, or my 5-year-old playing "I've Got Your Nose!" (and trying to convince us he really has it), we laugh a lot around my house.All this laughter has some serious benefits, though. Laughter can be a wonderful stress relief tool for dealing with a bad day developing long-term emotional resilience, and is one of the more enjoyable ways to relieve stress as well. Because much of your stress experience has to do with how you view and react to stressors, and not just the stressors themselves, having the ability to laugh about something can help you to take a step back, calm your physiology, and deal with life without remaining in "stress mode". Laughter can also be the shortest distance between two people (one of my favorite quotes), so it can help you to gain the benefits of social support as well.
Today, I'd like to encourage you to bring more laughter into your life. Once you get some practice laughing in the face of stress, it's easy to look at most things with a lighter, more relaxed attitude. And you have more fun with life!
Laughter Resources From Elizabeth Scott: What makes you laugh? Do you have a story about turning stress into laughter? Share it in the comments section of this blog, or in the Stress Management Forum.
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Thanks for the advice. We all need more laughter, because stress isn’t taking a vacation these days. Another technique I use when my stress is holding on is aromatherapy. It helps release my stress without any help from me at all.