Yes, there is such a person. No, they're not clowns. They even have an association. The association's name is The Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. To get a better picture of giggle therapists, here's a brief description.
A giggle therapist is really a therapeutic humorist. They belong to the Association for Applied and Therapeutic Humor. It's a medical conference with a twist. The doctors, nurses and psychologists all meet for their annual conference... You would not know that it is a meeting of professionals. Some wear rainbow suspenders and clown noses, others have flowers in their hair. No suits and ties. Instead of passing out handouts, they pass out lollipops as speakers illustrate their point. They wear buttons that say amusing things like -don't tell me I am overrated and - do you think this nose makes me look fat? Hearing all of the crazy things they do might give you the wrong idea about the group, but let me assure you- the group's purpose is no laughing matter. They are trying to find evidence that humor and laughter can be healing.
One of the nurses said that if you have a negative feeling, your laughter acts as a bulletproof vest. She said that 25 years ago nothing seemed funny to her as she was facing some bad situations while working as a nurse. She said she felt like a load was lifted. She wrote a book on laughter hoping it would help others in challenging situations. As a nurse, she could see where humor helps release the stress of what she sees, to connect with patients and help patients cope with what they were going through. There is a lot of study to be done; but to date, most health benefits of humor are thought to be psychological, such as increased relaxation and reduced stress and anxiety. Much is still unknown but more positive results are expected in the future.
A study about laughter should observe laughter. Laughter and humor are a very important part of our lives. It is an emotional medicine. Humor can help you through the most trying times. A therapist should be able to share humor. They should be able to show understanding and compassion. A true therapist is living his or her doctoring every day. To be successful they must be able to laugh easy. Each person needs to be treated individually according to his or her needs. What makes one person happy does not always work for another. A therapist needs to know the person and all they can learn about their situation.
The study of humor as a cure has still a lot of avenues to discover and will require lengthy tests and trials. Hopefully something good will come out of these studies pretty soon to replace conventional treatment. It certainly is better than taking a drug that has side effects or a drug that is very addictive.
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