Eight Days of Laughter – Day 4

For the next five days we will show a benefit to adding daily doses of laughter into your life.

Reason #4 to Laugh…
LESSENS AGGRESSION
Laughter releases emotion that helps us better deal with conflict…

Do you have any conflict in your life?
Better learn to laugh if you want the upper hand in effectively and emotionally dealing with conflict!

Conflict elicits stress, our self-defense mechanism against harmful elements in our world.

Stress tells us one of two things: I’ve been hurt, or I’m about to be hurt.

Naturally, we take the first thing seriously. If we’re hurt, our brain shifts into action mode. We release adrenaline within seconds and cortisol within minutes, causing us to become more impulsive. When a dog bites, who cares what canine experts recommend, any action will do so long as it gets his incisors out of your thigh.

The second situation, when we have that sick feeling that something bad is about to happen, also activates our stress response, preparing us for action. We experience this anticipative stress in most long-term conflicts with peers; we worry about some harmful outcome that might happen—or not.

The problem is that the worry itself can harm you as much as the outcome you’re worried about. While you’re stressing over what might happen, your body is releasing adrenaline and cortisol as if you were actually in danger.

These hormones, while adaptive in short bursts when you must act, can be harmful if they’re released chronically. Your body and brain remain on hyper-alert status; you’re always running, even if nothing’s chasing you.

The beautiful benefit of laughter is the releasing of endorphins, the “feel good” hormone which in turns reduces the amount of cortisol in the body.

The end result is:
Less aggression
Less impulsiveness
Less stress
which leads to greater ability and success in resolving conflict.

A great sense of humor, levity and laughter added gently and strategically into a conflict can avoid the destruction of communication and the destabilization of a relationship while at the same time building a stronger, deeper and more intimate bond!

Next time conflict arises, let laughter allow the endorphins to flow rather than flooding the brain and body with “cortisol overload” leading to a complete emotional and mental meltdown!

Laugh often and Fear not!
David!

Eight Days of Laughter – Day 1
Eight Days of Laughter – Day 2
Eight Days of Laughter – Day 3