Laughter Relieves Stress Stress is the #1 cause of all dis-ease in our world today. YES! All illnesses of the body, mind, and spirit can be traced back to some form of stress. Laughter is the BEST MEDICINE! Laughter is our natural ability to release stress and thus stay healthy. Dr. Madan Kataria, a cardiologist in India, discovered that his patients who had a good sense of humor and could make fun of their situation, healed more quickly and with less complications. Norman Cousins, author of Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient, healed himself of a serious and very painful spinal dis-ease by watching old movies, comedies, and other things that made him laugh. He said ten minutes of good belly-laughter was worth two hours of painfree sleep. Kathy Goodman, featured in The Secret, said that she healed herself of breast cancer with Norman Cousins' method in just three months with no chemo or radiation treatments! These are just a few of the thousands of testimonials out there about how laughter is the best medicine! And the best part is you can take laughter with you anywhere! When you find yourself in one of those "inappropriate places" where it might be frowned upon to laugh, then laugh silently! It is still extremely powerful and will release all of that built-up tension. In reality, I think we should always be able to laugh for any reason: to release stress, to break the tension in a conflict of any sort, because something just happened to tickle our funny bone, or best of all, for no reason at all except we have the urge to laugh! Granted, laughter should never be used to ridicule or embarrass anyone. We're talking about good, clean, healthy laughter that reduces or removes stress and helps everyone to have a healthier, happier relationship, whether it be personal or business.