How to Use Humor During Times
of Great Pain

By Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
"It all starts with a SMILE"

Anne sat in my office and cried as she related the knee-
buckling pain of her impending divorce.

"How could I have allowed myself to love such a distant and
withholding man all these years?", she asked. "I am a failure
on so many levels; I always imagined my husband and me sitting
on a front porch together as senior citizens."

Was Anne able to laugh away her pain? Would that even be an
appropriate use of the amazing power of humor? More on this in
a moment...

The way I teach the natural medicine of humor often leads me to
use the term lightness instead of laughter. There's often
nothing more cathartic or refreshing than a good, hearty belly
laugh, but that is not the appropriate response to many life
events. Humor is your constant ally and your greatest tool,
but laughter is not always a part of humor's natural medicine.

During times of great pain, laughter can even be misused. You
can hide within your laughter; choosing to distract yourself
with your laughter. Don't get me wrong - there is nothing bad
about finding a brief respite from our troubles by laughing -
but you have to be careful not to stuff or avoid bad feelings.

Bad feelings, denied, don't disappear. They linger and, un-
dealt with, haunt you like ghosts from the past. So
continually using laughter to avoid bad feelings is actually
causing you harm.

But even though laughter can be inappropriate, humor is still
your biggest ally during times of pain. How? Humor can
continually, and gently, give you the perspective you need to
stay sane and hopeful.

If you're like most people, there is a part of you that wants
you to believe that you are your habitual thought patterns and
your pain. In other words, your pain wants to become your
identity - it wants to be you. This is why Anne said, "I am a
failure..." instead of "I am experiencing a failure..." (and
there is an ocean of difference between those two statements).

We all experience sadness, pain, and other bad feelings. These
feelings are not who we are; they are not our state of being. These
bad feelings are simply...feelings. And your humor nature
gives you that perspective.

When we allow our humor nature to gently guide us during times
of pain, we are not spending our day laughing away our troubles. But
we are remembering that "this too shall pass" and while we
may be experiencing sadness or disappointment, we are not
inherently flawed or worthless.

Anne learned that, while her marriage was over and she needed
to let go of her fantasies of a life-long commitment to her ex-
husband, she was okay. She grieved her loss appropriately,
using humor's medicine to gently remind her that she was not a
failure and she was not flawed. For Anne, the natural medicine
of humor was manifest in a perspective she held - a perspective
to take herself lightly amid serious circumstances.

Today Anne is happier and healthier than ever. She even looks
back upon the pain of her divorce as a time of rewarding
personal growth. That's what the natural medicine of humor can
do for you too!

Your Attention Please!

Become a happiness machine today!

Announcing Dr. Kuhn’s new book, “It All Starts with a SMILE!” This
is his greatest work yet! Packed with 52 Smile Strategies
(one for every week of the year) guaranteed to send
your health and success over the top. Go to http://www.natural-
humor-medicine.com/new-book.html to get a peek at the beautiful
book.

Read Our Featured Article

Self-awareness is what allows humans dominion over the earth,
not opposable thumbs as you've been led to believe! And what
makes this possible? The natural medicine of humor. Better
still...humor's natural medicine also forges your self-
awareness into a self-actualized success-machine!

Your FREE Gifts!

Click Here to Get Your Free Gifts!

Some Humor to Help You Smile

"If the shoe fits, get another one just like it."

George Carlin

Please - do your friends a favor! Send them
this newsletter or tell them to sign up for it
themselves by going to "http://www.natural-
humor-medicine.com/Fun_times.html" Let's
spread the happiness virus together!

Cliff Kuhn, M.D.
The Laugh Doctor
7406 Wesboro Road
Louisville, KY 40242
"It all starts with a SMILE"