“Nothing to me feels as good as laugh-
ing incredibly hard.”
- Steve Carrell
I
n my Notes App, I have a list
titled “Laughing.” I created
the page my senior year of
high school as running documenta-
tion of the things that make me dou-
ble over, gasp for breath and cry el-
ephant tears of laughter. My list is a
gift that keeps on giving: a reminder
of all the times I’ve experienced the
purest form of joy, felt that glori-
ous pain in my abdominals and lost
all sense of reality beyond whatever
particular situation struck me funny.
When I’m down, or even just in the
mood for a chuckle, I open the app
and peruse through my humorous
peaks of life.
The other day, while my friends
sat on the couch in our apartment, I
scrolled through my list and landed
on one to narrate.
“Oh yeah, that time in Denny’s!”
I exclaimed. This was a gem of a
story that I’d since forgotten. “That
was one hundred percent the hard-
est time I’ve ever laughed,” I told my
friends. I say that about most things
on my list, but that time in Denny’s
— the 24-hour diner chain with a
unique array of breakfast, seafood
and American dishes, none of which
are completely mastered — is defi-
nitely a top two moment.
I was there one night around 1 a.m.
with a few of my friends after a high
school football game. The specials
menu was already at our table, sport-
ing Denny’s most recent and fresh
additions. The cover image, a plat-
ter of chocolate spheres of dough,
captured our attention. We oohed
and aahed. Chocolate chips melted
within gourmet pastries with choco-
late sauces intricately drizzled atop
them. “Choco Puppies,” the menu
read. Sold.
“We’ll have the Choco Puppies,
please,” I told the waitress while or-
dering.
Upon their arrival, silence de-
scended upon our table. In front of us
sat two minuscule, crusted and cold
chunks of what looked like literal fe-
cal matter. A singular line of dried-
up chocolate sauce graced a fraction
of the right chunk. We couldn’t con-
tain ourselves after looking at the
Choco Puppies, the menu and then
each other. Our laughter erupted
throughout the restaurant. Sprawled
out over the booth at Denny’s, we
gasped for air, held our stomachs
and pounded the table.
Back on my apartment’s couch, my
friends and I laughed as well. “Tell
another!” they said. Ah, laughter: the
gift that keeps on giving.
***
Above all else, laughter heals my
spirit every time without fail. It’s
the medicine of all medicines, pick
me up of all pick me ups, a remedy
for my soul more effective than any
meditation, yoga class or prayer. It’s
there on the darkest days and ever-
present on the brightest. It’s free and
it’s easy and it never ever runs out. I
feed my soul by laughing. Due to my
love for the activity, I think I laugh
more than the average person. Like
fresh juice from an orange, I’m keen
to squeeze the humor out of any situ-
ation.
But why does this simple action
heal my spirit and give me a dose of
euphoria that can’t be found any-
where else?
According to University of Michi-
gan professor Nansook Park, an ex-
pert in positive psychology, there’s a
definite scientific explanation as to
why laughing feels so good.
“When we laugh, physically, it de-
creases the stress hormone, corti-
sol,” Park said. “Laughing out loud
protects our hearts and relaxes our
muscles by increasing blood flow.
Also, it triggers the release of endor-
phins, natural feel-good chemicals,
which reduce pain and boost our
mood.”
In an email interview with The
Daily, Dina Gohar, another U-M
professor in the field of positive
psychology, explained it this way:
“Laughing forces air out of the lungs
and causes us to take deep inward
breaths, which increases the flow
of oxygen in the body and helps ac-
tivate the parasympathetic nervous
system,” she wrote.
Gohar also discussed substantial
proof of laughter’s long-term health
benefits.
“Laughter’s ability to counteract
the negative effects of stress may be
why those who laugh more may also
live longer and experience fewer
heart attacks as well as less sickness
since they enjoy better immunity,”
she explained. “A 2016 15-year Nor-
wegian study found that women with
strong senses of humor lived longer
than others. In fact, they were 73%
less likely to die from heart disease
and 83% less likely to die from infec-
tion.”
So that deep belly laugh actually is
powerful medicine.
Both professors also emphasized
how laughter promotes social bond-
ing. “Laughter is a social emotion,
and research suggests we’re about 30
times more likely to laugh in the pres-
ence of other people, especially those
we are close with and like than when
we’re alone,” Dr. Gohar said. Professor
Park had similar ideas.
“When we feel good, we are more
willing to open our hearts and broaden
our perspectives,” Park said. “When
we laugh together it’s even better. It
brings people and teams closer and
strengthens the bonds between people
through shared positive experience.”
It seems that laughter is also a so-
cial tool, as it makes us feel connect-
ed to those around us.
P
ersonally, I believe the crux of
laughter’s beauty is its ability
to brighten any situation, no
matter how dire, depressing or up-
setting. In fact, I think finding hu-
mor in the depressing, attempting
to make light of the grim, is essen-
tial for making it through the lows of
life. In the saddest of situations, just
the stringing together of a couple of
witty words can make someone laugh
and smile as well as lift their spirits.
For example, a solid joke from my
roommate about the salmon I burnt
in the air fryer makes up for the fact
that we’re completely out of luck
for dinner. As Dr. Gohar explained,
“The ability to laugh, whether at life
itself, yourself, or a good joke, is a
source of life satisfaction and resil-
ience. Substantial evidence exists for
the effectiveness of humor as a cop-
ing mechanism. Studies involving
combat veterans (Hendin & Haas,
1984), cancer patients (Carver, 1993)
and surgical patients (Culver et al.,
2002) have found that when humor
is used to reduce the threatening na-
ture of stressful situations, it is asso-
ciated with resilience and the capac-
ity to tolerate stress (Martin, 2003).”
This information is certainly ap-
plicable to this year, which has been
notoriously difficult and dishearten-
ing. Nothing is certain or reliable,
due both to the current political cli-
mate and implications of the pan-
demic. For me, and almost all other
students, the college experience I’ve
longed for is completely out of the
picture. With life as we currently
know it, we can’t go to classes and
form relationships with our peers
and professors.
Our basketball team is dominating,
yet we must watch from our sepa-
rate television screens instead of to-
gether in the stands of Crisler Arena.
A majority of freshmen aren’t in the
residence halls: We’re spread out
throughout Ann Arbor or at home,
navigating our first winter without
the community and support we prob-
ably need. And as for coping, options
are limited. Yoga and pilates classes
are few and far between, mostly on
screens like everything else. The
gyms have spiratically been open due
to county lockdowns, and many in-
person group religious services are
not happening. It’s difficult to gather
or connect with others, and for many,
virtual therapy or counseling can
present unique challenges.
It seems that the best medicine
that’s reliably available right now is
laughter. In fact, sitcoms like “The
Office” and “Friends” have skyrock-
eted in popularity. I personally try to
find a laugh wherever I can. I laugh
as my friends and I dissect our prior
nights, I laugh as we relay the bizarre
events of our Zooms and breakout
rooms. I laugh at our meal that was
left at the very end of the driveway
by the delivery man, cackle about
the time I tumbled down the stairs
in front of incoming guests, chuckle
every time I open my refrigerator to
the old soup that’s been sitting in its
Tupperware since my roommates ate
it in January. We laugh together as we
analyze life, people and all that we’re
experiencing, as well as a story from
my list from time to time.
Whether it’s the large laughs from
infamous stories like the Choco Pup-
pies fiasco, or the smaller laughs from
comments, witty remarks and snow-
balling convos where each addition
to the discussion adds a new level of
hysteria, they all come together to
make my days here more cheerful and
the current circumstances bearable.
While this pandemic has prevented
me from continuing to do a lot of the
activities I normally do, I’m certainly
continuing to add to my “Laughing”
list. I aim for that deep belly laugh,
that medicine of all medicines and
joy of all joys.
Maybe one day soon I’ll secure one
of those limited spots for a yoga class.
But for now, I’ll tend to my spirit on
my couch, with the help of my friends
and a large dose of laughter.
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
statement
A spoonful
BY LILLY DICKMAN, STATEMENT COLUMNIST
ILLUSTRATION BY EILEEN KELLY
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 — 13
of laughter