Laughing therapy video clip…click and start laughing…
A man laughing…
Following is an excerpt from my book (p103), Reconciliation: A Son’s Story… Click to order…
“Laugh Your Ass Off”- Coping with Anxiety
The best therapy for coping with PTSD symptoms, especially anxiety, is laughing and laughing and more laughing. I walked into this type of therapy solution quite by accident by testing the waters early on in my career saying and doing stupid things, and being obnoxious. Of course, timing is everything. This is one of those things you see on TV that we are told not to try at home or it could be a disaster. And it was a disaster for me at times. But most of the time it worked, and it is still fun with my best friends even today.
The first time this really took hold and got my attention is when one of my bosses, Joe, Area Sales Manager, Western Union, Detroit, Michigan, walked into my office one day and raised up his leg and farted, big time! This happened around 1970 while I was being introduced to my new job as city sales manager for Western Union in Detroit. This was my first promotion to a serious management position, so my anxiety was at a high level. I really couldn’t understand why they sent me all the way to Detroit from Los Angeles as a 22-23 year old kid to take on this big responsibility to turn-around a sales team that was sitting on its hands for the most part.
So, old Joe broke the ice with a loud and thunderous fart. My creative talents helped me calculate immediately that this was a modeling behavior by a good leader that would help me with my own style, and to help me relax and be calm. And it really does work, especially if you are working in a highly stressful sales culture or any type of creative environment where people are generally goofy anyway. Don’t do this around serious accountants or boring office managers, or folks who do everything by the book. Being nuts on the job is usually not studied nor recommended in school either.
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My friend and colleague Michelle Rosenthal got my attention with her daily “Healing Thought of the Day,” a highly favorite thought provoking reference… I share her post on my social network each day. But for today, and the beginning of a well deserved long holiday weekend for the hard workers of America, it is time for a good belly laugh… As indicated in the above excerpt from my book, laughing was one of the best therapy strategies used with my good friends and team members working in a highly stressful information technology business. Laughing continues to this day as healthy way to relieve tension in my post retirement professional life. During my IT career, we laughed all the time about stupid things mostly. We made fun of everything and everybody…none of it will be repeated here. You get the point…”laugh your ass off…” today and every day…
‘It can be hard to see the humor in our tragedies, but I think Bob Hope is spot on here:
“I have seen what a laugh can do. It can transform almost unbearable tears into something bearable, even hopeful.” – Bob Hope
You have enormous healing potential. The goal is learning to access it. Dig deep. You can do this. I believe in you!’
Please have a safe and enjoyable Labor Day weekend filled with laughter…
Steve Sparks
Author
Reconciliation: A Son’s Story click to order…
