Turn The Frown Upside Down

“Happy Wolf” – Photographer Unknown

Laughter Is The Best Medicine

In times of stress and anxiety it’s easy for people to become overwhelmed with their own emotions of fear or sadness. Worry may dominate your thoughts from morning to night. Fear can take hold and change your focus from what you want to accomplish in a day, to pulling in more fear and anxiety. It becomes a snowball that grows and grows until it seems to overwhelm everything in your life.

We all go through it. We all get caught up in the latest bad news. But sometimes it seems there’s nothing good to see anymore and everything is just getting worse and worse. It’s hard to break that cycle at times, and that’s when we need to ask for help. There’s nothing wrong with talking to someone about that downward spiral of emotions. Try to remember “that feelings are real but they aren’t reality” (Dan Harmon, 2017 – This is a great story reported in the Washington Post about author Dan Harmon’s twitter response to a fan. It’s really worth the read!)

On January 9th, 2014 a message for the Daily Tarot Meditation share some insight into what the average person might do to turn things around. It involves laughter. In a world that seems to be filled with fear, anxiety and angst it might be a good time to remember Life is about Balance. That means we can choose to dwell in despair or we can laugh in the face of adversity as needed. We don’t have to choose to be low and glum allowing the angst of the world around us dominate how we choose to feel. Here is an excerpt from that day 2014 reading.

Whatever that thing is for you to let off steam and relax, plan some time for that today. Whither you sit down and have a cleansing cry, or punch a bag at the gym. Maybe you like writing, so pour your emotions into a letter to yourself. Remember to end the moment with a smile and self pep talk to bring you back to even keel. If you don’t do it, who else is going to do it for you?

Even if you’re at home, you can find something to make you smile and feel a little lighter. Talk to yourself out loud, heckle the tv program you’re watching, or watch a funny movie. You can even find some funny video’s on YouTube to change your attitude.

Here’s one of my favorite that I use for this very thing! We watch videos of Late Night CBS Talk Show Host Craig Ferguson.

If you like laughing, here are some of my favorites: We start with “Geoff Makes Craig Cry” in a good way. My son loves “Craig Cracks Himself Up“. And then there’s “The Chuck Norris Apology“. And a million more.

We truly love Craig and Geoff. He’s gotten us through many tough times, down times and sad times. Nothing seems so bad after you’ve had a good laugh.

Give yourself permission to laugh and let the healing begin. Laughter can be the best medicine to turn things around. But please, anyone who still has issues with being sad and you feel as though you can’t shake those emotions no matter what you try, talk to your family, friends or see your physician. Your problem might be more than just a case of the blues. And you might have the wrong assumptions about how temporary depression can be treated vs. chronic depression. Not every case of depression requires a bunch of unwanted medicine thrown at it.

So talk to someone instead of suffering in silence. Depression is a terrible disease and no one has to live in that space alone. There’s help, you only have to ask for it.

Resources:

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline – U.S.
Depression: Family and Friends can Help (WebMD)
What’s Stopping You Getting Help (StudentsAgainstDepression)
4 Ways To Reach Out When Depressed
Excerpt: Most countries have a free dedicated helpline which you can call to talk to a trained counselor, such as Lifeline in Australia (13 11 14), the Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the U.S. (800-273-TALK), or the worldwide network BeFrienders (http://www.befrienders.org/need-to-talk) – PsychCentral.com.

Additional Reading:
If you’re wondering how we think about times of struggle and anxiety from the spiritual side of things, I’ve written a good many articles about these concepts on Springwolf Reflections and Spring’s Haven. Here are a few of my favorites.

Dealing With Trials & Grief -Going Through Trials, Trauma & Grief (on SpringsHaven.com)
Understanding Illness – Deciphering the Ailment Message (on SpringsHaven.com)
The Challenges We Face In Life – Why Does “God” Test Us?
Don’t Let Worry Make You Weary – The Challenges Of Faith and Adversity
When Tragedy Strikes – When Bad Things Happen To Good People
The Seven Point Guide to Self Fulfillment – Wisdom From the Dalai Lama | From a Pagan perspective

Springwolf Reflections 2017 Motto:
I go with the flow and accept that all things move in their right time and space.
I am safe and allow joy into my life.