"Wellness"By Clifford Kuhn, M.D.The Laugh Doctor 
Health, wellness, energy like a child, feeling "top of the world," and seeing the glass half-full: these are all directly tied to how much fun you are having today. Some people have it backwards, though, they wait to have fun when they feel good, instead of feeling good to usher in the fun.
Joanna knew that her health was below par, she suffered chronic fatigue and a general feeling of poor health. Her fitness level was low and she was overweight, but there was nothing clinically wrong with her that would explain her symptoms. Her husband had died six months earlier after a long and painful battle with cancer. Her General Joanna Was Sacrifing Her Wellness for...Something Worthwhile, I'm Sure She had an air of hopelessness.“How long is it since you had any fun?” I asked. “It seems like forever,” she sighed, “not since we found out about my husband’s illness. There’s nothing fun about cancer.” There is no denying that, but it is also true that depression does not help the sufferer’s problem, it makes it worse. Depression caused by an external event, such as the death or illness of someone close, can sometimes be difficult to treat because it saps the patient’s energy and ability to help herself. He or she may recognize the symptoms, feel awful, know at least some of the things they could do to improve the situation, yet “couldn’t care less” about actually doing anything. People Usually Know What They Need to Do...But They're Often Not Sure Why “I should go out and meet people,” is a typical response I get when I ask patients what they think they could do to help themselves. “I should take up a hobby,” or “I need a vacation,” are other solutions offered up. Almost never does the sufferer say: “I need to put some fun into my life,” "I need to experience more wellness, but that is exactly what most need. Fun Is The Object, No Matter The Activity Going out, meeting people socially, taking up a hobby or having a vacation are all prescriptions for fun. But to get The Fun Factor, my special prescription, to work optimally for us, we need to recognize fun as the objective, regardless of the activity. How we have fun is up to each one of us individually, active for some, passive for others. There is no single right way. We all have different interests and ways that we perceive fun. Of course, all of us, not just the depressed, need fun in our lives; it is a fundamental need for all of us if we hope to maintain the highest standards of health, wellness and fitness. For man, health and fun are closely related. To be as healthy as possible in our individual circumstances, we need fun in our lives, but we do not need to be healthy to have fun. Having fun as we perceive it is a matter of attitude, not health. A Prescription For Fun Spend time in any hospital and, despite often-frightening circumstances, you will hear laughter, see patients take pleasure from helping others, enjoying TV, even playing games. In a children’s hospital, evidence of fun is even more striking. Even among those with phobia and anxiety disorder, you will see attempts to smile and conquer their dread of illness and institutions. Medicine and surgery have made amazing advances just in our lifetimes, but one of the best remedies of all has not changed: the humor spirit. Why ‘humor’ spirit instead of human spirit? Because all of us are Homo sapiens, humans; we don’t need to do anything to earn that title. Good people or bad, we are all human beings. But the survivors, the successful, whether that is in health matters, family life or business, all find a way to employ humor. They are humor beings. So what do they know that some of the rest of us do not? Is there some magic secret or formula? Is there a paint-by-numbers system? In a sense, yes. But it’s not a scientific, 1-2-3 mathematical equation that says: “Step One, do this; Step Two, do that, Step Three….” You see, we all have a sense of humor, even the most dour among us. Unfortunately, it has been suppressed for some of us through experiences we have had during our lives. We Knew The Answer...What Happened To Us? Listen to young children at play. They laugh, they giggle, they scream with delight. They are not telling jokes or they would be stars on Comedy Hour. How many three-year-olds have you seen on Comedy Hour? They are simply having pure fun. No one taught them how to do that. They did not go to pleasure school or to Fun 101; they are not consciously trying to improve their health and wellness - yet that is exactly what they are doing. They knew how to have fun almost from the moment they can focus their eyes. But then they are introduced to discipline and rules and accepted behavior and seriousness and responsibility. I am not suggesting that these things are bad, and I am not advocating anarchy. But what we typically forget to teach our children is that they can become responsible fun-filled adults, and that it’s okay to turbo-charge our wellness and health by using the principles found in my unique Fun Factor prescription while living by the rules. If you want the best health and wellness possible in your own circumstances, allow yourself to be a child again. Understand the oft-heard instruction: “Oh, don’t be such a child”; or “act your age” or “grow up”. Taking these instructions too literally can destroy the beautiful simplicity within us that finds ways to use The Fun Factor in virtually any situation and improves our overall health and wellness. If Our Sense Of Humor Could Be Put In A Pill, It Would Be Worth Millions! Humor allows us to take control of almost any situation, and studies have shown that, among other things, it greatly assists our wellness by strengthening our immune system, reduces pain, relieves stress, and gives exercise to our heart. Do you have any idea how many billions of dollars are spent each year on medications to achieve these effects? Seems strange when the cure is readily available without charge within us, don’t you think? In fact, your health and wellness could experience a dramatic upswing as soon as you start using this information! Medical science does not yet fully understand how "fun therapy" works. It is a relatively new branch of study. But it is already clear that, in addition to everything we have already talked about in this article, it can positively affect women’s health and women’s health issues, men’s health, sexual health, mental health, and even longevity. And these are the areas we rightfully associate with health and wellness.
Want to find out just how powerful your natural medicine of humor is. Check it out now - if you put it off, you might forget to return to this site and you won't have taken advantage of this window you've received. You've got access to wellness, now use it!
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