CHAPTER ACTIVITIES

Adopting a Success Attitude

COPING WITH STRESS USING HUMOR

The phrase “laughter is the best medicine” is especially true when it comes to relieving stress. Laughing relaxes tense muscles; reduces blood pressure and heart rate; exercises the muscles in your face, diaphragm, and abdomen; boosts your immune system; and triggers your body to release pain-fighting hormones. In fact, after you’ve had a big laugh, you could be free of muscle tension for as long as forty-five minutes. Plus, laughter boosts your mental health by distracting you from stress.

With these advantages in mind, do the following:

  1. Find a funny cartoon, joke, quotation, or picture, and put it somewhere you can easily see it when you need a good chuckle.

  2. Question 12.11

    Describe the item, where you placed it, and how often you glanced at it.

  3. Question 12.12

    Explain what kinds of events made you want a laugh break. Then describe what impact, if any, these laugh breaks had on your stress levels.

  4. Consider finding additional funny items and sharing them with others, or even creating a scrapbook or Pinterest board of things that make you laugh.

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