"Cliff Kuhn"Fun, health, wellness, humor, and laughter are all topics on which people consider Cliff Kuhn, M.D. an expert.
In this recent interview with The Humor Network, Dr. Kuhn hits the highlights of his Fun Factor prescription. Use this transcript as an overview of your Laugh Doctor's orders for optimal health, wellness, and success.
The Humor Network: Why Humor? What led you from psychiatry to your current profession?
Cliff Kuhn: As a psychiatrist I have always focused on the so-called mind/body connection, studying the effects of thoughts
As I studied this mind-body interaction in conditions such as cancer, arthritis and chronic pain, I noticed that a small percentage of my patients were doing better than the others – less pain, better sleep, better support systems, and quicker recovery from surgery.
The difference was that these exceptional patients were able to laugh.
Certainly I understand why most patients weren’t laughing. There’s nothing funny about cancer or pain. But the few who were laughing had the same unfunny things to contend with – pain, fear, uncertainty, etc. Yet they were able to keep their senses of humor when others lost theirs.
I studied these exceptional patients, hoping to learn how they were able to do that. I needed to learn how to help my other patients do the same thing, since it was having such an obvious beneficial effect.
These patients became my best mentors. They taught me that keeping your sense of humor strong is a form of self-discipline, just like brushing your teeth. They taught me the strategies they used, which I turned into a prescription I call The Fun Factor They showed me a “gold mine” of positive healing energy that most of us ignore most of the time. They helped me realize how little I was personally benefiting from my humor nature. I had to fix that before I could help others unleash this powerful healing energy.
Having learned the secrets for unleashing the healing power of humor, I had to share the information with as many people as I could.
I have discovered in this process that we are all infected with a hidden deadly problem – seriousness. We have learned to take ourselves too seriously. We’re willing to have fun only after all the work is done, when we’re “off the clock.”
Put responsibilities on our plates and we have the unfortunate and unhealthy habit of getting serious. The problem is epidemic in modern society and we reinforce it every day.
So, I spend all my time making people aware of the problem and teaching the foolproof remedy – the strategies and tactics I learned from my exceptional patients. I know the antidote works because I practice it in my own life.
The Humor Network: How does Cliff Kuhn's Fun Factor prescription work and why?
Cliff Kuhn: It works by freeing us from the constraints of excessive seriousness. The worst effect of seriousness is that it forces us to take ourselves too seriously. Fun enables us to take ourselves more lightly by reminding us of the “big picture.”
Current research documents many mechanisms of action that help us understand why The Fun Factor works. Fun reduces stress, boosts immunity, relieves pain, decreases anxiety, prevents depression, rests the brain, enhances communication, inspires creativity, maintains hope, bolsters morale and sustains resilience. It’s quite thorough.
The Humor Network: I already enjoy fun and humor; why should I care about Cliff Kuhn's Fun Factor prescription?
Cliff Kuhn: That’s like asking, “If I already enjoy food, why do I need a cookbook?” Everybody enjoys fun. It’s not enough to enjoy fun and humor. We must learn to respect our enjoyment of fun.
The challenge is to know how to get enough fun whenever and wherever you need it -- to be healthier and more successful. That requires knowing how your humor nature works, giving yourself permission to call on it, and doing what it takes to put it into action. In other words we must know how to unleash the power of humor at home and on the job.
The Humor Network: What's the biggest obstacle facing most people and how do you recommend they overcome it?
Cliff Kuhn: The biggest obstacle facing most people is their attitude towards fun, which misleads them into confusing the concept of fun with the concept of funny. Most people think fun is the same thing as funny. This trivializes the Fun Factor and makes it impossible to call on it when they really need it. Although they may have some characteristics in common, fun and funny are definitely not the same.
Funny is a behavior, a performance, which has the goal of producing laughter. If there is no laughter, funny has failed. That’s pressure we don’t need.
Fun is an attitude of willingness and a commitment to find whatever joy exists in each moment. We can enjoy a sunset without laughing. That’s fun in action.
In my workshops, I find that participants keep drifting back into the mistake of blurring this distinction. It takes frequent reminders. When we keep the difference clearly in mind, we can then forget about funny and concentrate only on fun. At that point we rediscover that we can always have more fun, and, when we do, laughter takes care of itself.
The Humor Network: Do you recommend that someone learn to tell jokes and become funny?
Cliff Kuhn: I wouldn’t be against it, but the point is it’s not necessary to be funny to get the benefits of my Fun Factor prescription.
The Humor Network: What are some easy activities that will help someone get started with Cliff Kuhn's Fun Factor prescription?
Cliff Kuhn: The best way to get started with the my Fun Factor prescription is to concentrate on one or two of my Fun Commandments (foolproof strategies designed to unleash your humor nature). There are many such strategies in my book, The Fun Factor, I usually recommend starting with these two:
The Humor Network: What are some of the physical illnesses you've seen helped by the Fun Factor and how?
Cliff Kuhn: First, let me say I think “help” is the right word here. Even though it is a natural medicine, I do not consider the Fun Factor to be a “cure all.”
I have seen many physical illnesses dramatically helped by my Fun Factor prescription. It is not unusual for patients suffering from chronic pain to report a decrease in pain intensity or an increase in pain tolerance when they are having fun or laughing.
I have witnessed cancer patients using humor to beat the statistics for both longevity and quality of life after diagnosis.
In my work with Jerry Lewis, I have witnessed dramatic instances of children overcoming physical limitations when they are having fun with him.
The Humor Network: Please explain how humor and fun play a role in wellness
Cliff Kuhn: Humor and fun are absolutely essential for wellness. Wellness is all about maintaining balance. As many unforeseen and uncontrollable events threaten to knock us off stride or isolate us from our supportive relationships, humor keeps us flexible and resilient. The real power of humor is in prevention of illness.
The Humor Network: How can the Fun Factor help my relationships?
Cliff Kuhn: Relationships are based on mutual attraction and effective communication. When we practice Fun Factor skills, such as smiling and laughing with ourselves, we become more attractive to others. People want to spend time with us and hear what we have to say.
My Fun Factor prescription enhances communication skills as well. The Fun Factor skill of Listening Carefully is probably the most critical component of effective communication.
The Humor Network: How can the Fun Factor help my career?
Cliff Kuhn: The Fun Factor will help your career by providing you with positive energy in abundance. You will be more resilient, bouncing back more quickly from mistakes and disappointments. The Fun Factor will also make you aware of more perspectives and options in any situation, enabling you to be more creative and productive. Your career will take off, as mine did!
The Humor Network: You've said the Fun Factor is a vital component for success. How and why?
Cliff Kuhn: To be successful it is vital that we be at our best physically, mentally, socially, and even spiritually. Fun is the positive energy of success because it is the best fuel for our bodies, our minds, and our spirits.
The Humor Network: Can you give one of your favorite personal examples of a "Humor Being" who used fun and humor to achieve great things?
Another close friend has beaten the odds against him by using his sense of humor. Ten years ago he was diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer and given only a 50/50 chance of surviving five years. He had the required aggressive surgery and chemotherapy, but also committed himself to laughter at all costs (he has become an inveterate punster). Today, he’s doing great, with no sign of recurrence.
And I don't know if you'll find a more compelling story than Margie Garrison. What she has done with her arthritis problem and her obesity is nothing short of amazing. I really look up to her, especially in the way she has dedicated her life to spreading her success to others.
The Humor Network: If you had to throw everything in your Cliff Kuhn Fun Factor arsenal for health and success away, except for one technique/skill, what technique/skill would you keep and why?
Cliff Kuhn: No contest! I would keep the technique of listening carefully, because it keeps me in the present moment, which is where all the fun is. If I listen carefully to those around me they will usually give me the information I need to deal successfully with the challenges I face. Also, by listening carefully, I discover the potential humor in every situation.
The Humor Network: What is the single most important thing someone should take away from listening to or reading this interview?
Cliff Kuhn: The most important thing to remember is that seriousness is a most deadly and crippling problem, and it is progressive. It will not abate or diminish voluntarily. Unless we treat it vigorously, it will only get worse and we will only suffer more. The remedy is to practice skills and strategies that will unleash fun anytime and everywhere.
People often ask me, "Cliff, what one strategy should I take if I want to use fun to help me be healthier and more successful?" My response is that you should sign up for my newsletter, The Fun Times, right now. That will be enough to get you going. Then I say you should explore this website, especially my articles page.
Finally, when you are really ready to super-charge your natural humor medicine, it's time to get my Fun Factor prescription !
And then, you know what? The sky is the limit for you! All these resources work in concert to produce greater success and self-confidence than any medicine or treatments I've ever known! Happy flying!
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Cliff Kuhn: The first example who comes to mind is my friend Jerry Lewis. He has been a fearless advocate for fun all his life and he practices what he preaches. Over the last few years he has struggled with deadly pulmonary disease. At age 78, the only reason he is still alive and kicking is that he knows the value of his humor nature and trusts it implicitly, especially in moments of distress and challenge.
