Want to Improve Your Relationships? Laugh!

Our general health and well-being are largely dictated by the strength and health of our relationships. Laughter is a sure-fire way to improve and keep relationships strong and thriving. It is well-proven that laughter has many beneficial effects. It has the power to increase immunity, decrease stress, reduce depression, improve blood vessel flow which enhances heart function and reduces blood pressure, and it reduces pain. It also has the power to improve our relationships, both our most intimate ones and those with family and friends.

Intimacy, in part, is born out of a sense of connectedness, enjoyment, and fun. In Belly Laughter in Relationships Something Else Positive Below the Belt, Edna Jenkins, writes, “Laughter opens our minds and hearts on a deeper emotional and biological level…”

You ask, how can laughter improve my relationship with my partner or most intimate friend? Laughter is a powerful antidote to decrease tension, anger, and conflict. I know from my thirty-eight-year marriage, that in the heat of battle if either my wife, Sherry, or I can find something humorous to kick start laughter, soon the fight dissipates and we’re left asking for forgiveness. Cooler heads prevail and we can enter into a rational and kind discussion. Jenkins reminds us, “Laughter is the oil of life that eases us through the issues that occur in all committed relationships.”

When we laugh, endorphins are released in our brains along with other feel-good hormones.  These chemicals foster a sense of happiness and connectedness, forging more intimacy.

Laughter also changes our mindset; it helps us to focus on the positive traits of our partners. It shields against a critical, judgmental, and embittered attitudes.

If we want to foster spontaneity and promote playfulness, both of which promote bonds with those we love, it behooves us to laugh and laugh regularly. This helps release inhibitions, which can open us up to deeper and more meaningful conversations. Or, to give ourselves permission to be silly, play and not take ourselves so seriously; even laugh at ourselves.

In our relationships, if we can decrease conflict, increase endorphins, promote a positive outlook, become more playful and spontaneous, vulnerability is a natural outgrowth. We feel more at ease and it helps us share our genuine feelings on a deeper level. Laugh by laugh, memory by memory, gut-wrenching conversation by gut-wrenching conversation, fight by fight, if diffused and forgiven, we weave a stronger and stronger bond, over the years.

It’s this bond that gets us through the painful, anger-filled, and tearful days. It’s this bond that helps us weather crisis, loss, death, disappointment, health problems, fear and doubt. It’s also this bond that brings more joy, wonder, and connection to our lives. This is the kind of connection that we all long for. The type of connection that helps promote our sense of worth, health, well-being. A sense of connection that helps us get out of bed in the morning and go to work, however the world has changed. A sense of connection that gives us courage and determination not to give up. A sense of connection that is enhanced by laughter and brings such sweetness and richness into our lives. So, laugh today!

Readers, my challenge to you today is to pick out one to two ways you would like to improve your relationships. Then, inject some daily laughter into your lives each day. Please let me know how laughter is affecting you and your loved ones. Next time, I will write about ways to help you laugh more.

P.S. How can I best serve you? What subjects are of interest to you and you’d like me to consider for future newsletters or for a blogpost? Please let me know.

Also, if you haven’t checked out past blogposts, I invite you do so. If they resonate with you, please leave a comment. And if you know someone who can benefit from them, recommend they visit me at www.transformedtoughguys.com or follow me on FB or Twitter @SkipWNW

Most important, take care of yourselves. Remember, self-care is NOT selfish. It’s even more vital to attend to self-care during this uncertain time. You will need to give yourself plenty of TLC in order to effectively care for your loved ones.