Finding reasons to laugh

I have an ancient secret to wellness locked inside me. It bubbles up from time to time regardless of whether I have a say in things or not. It’s in the power of the universe and it rolls along everyone’s path like a mighty force. It’s laughter.

In my most desperate and struggling times I have banned my television, radio and reading materials from the outside news. No more was I going to watch or listen to who had bombed who, who had died in a tragic accident and who was arrested for a robbery.

Renting only funny movies and surrounding myself with clowns and lighthearted folk, I strived to invent and create my own plan for wellness. I gathered around me positive friends and silly playful pets. Yes people, I had a plan. I was going to enjoy my life no matter what!

I’m telling you right now it works. Anyone who is sick can tell you that those times that they can lose themselves to laughter are wondrous times indeed.

It’s hell when the body is so ill it no longer has the proper chemicals to fire up feelings of wellness in the brain or is in constant pain that must be managed with daily.

The brain shoots out druglike responses that help us cope with pain, stress and stimulates us to action. When we are unable to digest or create within our bodies these precious chemicals through chains of complex amino acids, we suffer. Others can look at us from the outside and see nothing amiss. Inside though, it can be a battle of pain or depression -- enough to make us lose our minds because we know nothing from the outside is causing it.

During really weak periods of time, I would experience lots of pain and depression. As I felt these emotions weighing me down I tried to find reasons in my life for having these feelings. At first I didn’t recognize that I could just feel depressed for no reason that is until I actually had nothing to be depressed about. Boy then did that get me thinking!

Like all those times that I was short of money to pay bills before. They’d never made me depressed before. Sure it wasn’t fun to be stuck in that situation but I didn’t get depressed over that kind of thing. So why did I need to gather up that and anything else I could think of to satisfy my need to validate my depressed state now?

Once I realized I was feeling depressed in my body and not in my head, I knew I could counter act those lows by surrounding myself with positivity. So until such a time when I could get the right balance of nutrients and straighten out my brain’s chemistry, I was just going to have to help myself in this. (I promise I will write more about this problem of brain chemistry later because it can solve so many of a CFSers health issues that it is most important. But right now, I’ve just gotta talk about laughter …)


Every reason I could find to laugh or smile was pulled out of the magic hat of life. Funny movies were watched. I got bouncy funny dogs to make me laugh everyday. I turned on the radio and listened to music. Dancing in my head and singing along. I read books that had me cheering for the hero or heroine.

Call me crazy but it got me through.

There I’d be so terribly sad, starting to think of reasons why I was feeling so miserable, the tears would come – oh poor me – as I wallowed in waves of self pity. Then “ta da!” from around the corner my dogs would come into my vision. Chasing each other, sliding across the floor and “wham!” Junior wouldn’t be able to put the brakes on fast enough and slide right into a wall. Now that’s pretty funny. In an instant I’d be laughing so hard I couldn’t even remember what my pity list had been from a moment before. Saved by some clowning around from my dogs.

Yup, since my brain and body wasn’t working right I had to really make some effort to fight back with my most trusty arsenal. Humor. And you can too.