Humor,
Play,
And Fun
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Positive Effects of
Humor and Laughter
Release of anxiety or nervousness
Maintain a sense of control over life
Breaks down interpersonal barriers
Increases pleasure, reduces pain
Physiological homeostasis
Promotes general well-being
Release of anger
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Laughter Therapy
Counters the effects of stress
Provides cathartic release-Purifies the emotions
Releases emotional tension
Different sounds of laughter
Social laughing
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Laughter/Humor Tips
With significant others/friends/family:
•
Seek out the humor in serious situations and share it
•
Consciously smile at others more
•
Stay playful in your interaction by keeping your voice and body
language playful
•
Play "Teasing Telephone Tag" by leaving outrageous messages
•
Tell them how much you enjoy their laughter and sense of humor
•
Exaggerate your affection for each other—Make everything bigger
than it is. Add a dash of silliness for fun.
•
Go on a spur-of-the-moment picnic
•
Dance together in the living room, in the parking lot, on the street, in
the mall
•
Use your imagination to develop playful greetings for each other like
a dramatic hug, enthusiastic joy at seeing each other, overdone
messages about missing each other
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Laughter/Humor Tips—
Cont’d
At work/while studying:
•
Look for the funny things that always exist like typos, the funny
actions of your co-workers, your own funny behavior.
•
Give your projects comical names like Quasimodo or Thumper.
•
Have mindless toys on your desk and take short breaks to play.
•
Incorporate elements of a game into your work. Give yourself a prize
for completing a project; divide the project into a football field and
see each stage of completion as a first down; give yourself a cheer;
develop a ritualized, playful way of turning on your computer
•
Wear light-hearted, temporary tattoos that help you cope
General Tips:
•
Look for humor around you--on signs, in people's behavior, on TV, in
the newspaper, the things others say, crazy things that happen to
you.--Keep a journal.
•
Share your embarrassing moments with other people.
•
Laugh with other people when they laugh.
•
Do at least one silly, non-conforming thing a day.
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Types of humor
Parody
Satire
Slapstick
Nonsense
Double Entendre
Dark humor
Irony
Dry humor & puns
Sarcasm
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Fun and Play
Pure, carefree, simple
pleasure
Lifestyle fun and Fun
moments
Play (Kolb, 2000)
A reward in and of itself
 Enhances creativity and
spontaneity
 Enhances learning

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