Learn to LOL
By Kim Lovell, LBSW L.B.S.W. - Family Services Director
Apr
17
2012
LOL!
What does that mean? LOL. We are in a new technological cyber fast-fingered age of the English Language. For those of you not hip to the initials, it means: “Laugh Out Loud”. Or if it is really, really funny, you could say ROFL. Stumped? It means “Rolling on the Floor Laughing”.
Your laughing now, aren’t you? Well you should be! They say laughter is good for the soul. It has medicinal qualities. “The old saying that ‘laughter is the best medicine,’ definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart,” says Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. So why don’t we do it more often if it helps our heart? We need to learn to incorporate it into our daily work schedules.
Paul McGhee, PhD, www.LaughterRemedy.com stated that “Nurses and others who regularly work with people who are seriously injured or ill constantly tell me that they would burn out on their job very quickly if they didn’t find a way to lighten up in the midst of the emotionally difficult work they do. If you’re having surgery, the last thing you want is a surgeon who is feeling burned out—physically and emotionally drained. Your life could be hanging in the balance. Doctors and nurses have no choice but to find ways to recharge their batteries and provide quality care, no matter how stressful the day has been. If humor works for them, it will also work for you.”
Once you have laughter marked on your schedule, you’ll find it easier and easier to let go of workplace upsets as you head home, allowing you to be totally present and have fun when you’re with your family. And this, in turn, helps you return to work each morning refreshed and ready to tackle the day’s problems.
So, how do you incorporate laughter into the workplace? Look for it. Anticipate it. Find out what makes you get tickled or even on the floor laughing. There are even aps that bring laughter. I can just hear someone laugh and get the giggles even if I don’t know what they are laughing about. I have a daily devotional book that is called “Laughter For A Woman’s Soul” by the Women of Faith and it has stories of funny things that happen to women that we all can relate to. If you work in a team environment, like hospice, then the scenario below you will find humorous.
And lastly, don’t forget: “A good belly laugh is worth two cups of coffee and one trip to your therapist.” (Paul McGhee)
