Responding to Illness With Humor

"Whether planned or not, laughter takes our mind off our troubles. It diverts our attention and gives us a break when things get too difficult. It distracts us and keeps us occupied so that time, if nothing else, can heal our wounds.

When we are in pain and wish that something would 'take us away from all of this,' humor does exactly that. It may be for only a brief moment of time, but humor distracts us from our pain, focuses our attention elsewhere, and lifts our sagging spirits.

Moreover, if we can be distracted for one moment, it is possible to extend that moment to the next, and to the one after that. I recall, for example, when I first started presenting all-day humor programs. One woman in the class had recently had an operation. She came to the workshop with both arms bandaged. Around eleven-thirty in the morning, the women let out a shriek. I thought she was in pain, but she wasn't. She said, 'I was enjoying myself and laughing so much since nine A.M. that I forgot to take my pain medication. For the first time since the operation, I haven't been in pain.' "

— Allen Klein, a "Jollytologist" and author of The Courage to Laugh, reprinted with permission.