.Personal Development

Lighten up
Thomas Sydenham, the famous 17th-century physician, once said, 'The arrival of a good clown exercises a more beneficial influence upon the health of a town than the arrival of 20 asses laden with drugs.' This is a great quotation and one that has as much relevance at the start of a new millennium as it had four hundred years ago.
Humour reduces stress. A good laugh releases natural endor-phins, which are nature's feel-good chemicals. I see many people in my surgery who say, 'I just need cheering up, that's all,' and they are right. They do not need drugs or counselling - they need to remember what it is like to have a good belly-laugh. The problem is that they are feeling stressed because of daily circumstances that wipe the smile off their face. To force a grin when life is rotten is absurd, but to look for the humour or absurdity in situations is healthy and can improve our chances of reducing stress. Women suffering from breast cancer who have a positive outlook on their life and who learn to use humour as a weapon against their disease have a statistically greater chance of doing well than those who choose to give in and give up.

ways. Remember there is all the difference in the world between irony and sarcasm.
I once attended a charming old lady on a routine visit. After introducing myself I took a careful history and did a fairly detailed examination to reassure myself that she did not have a serious illness. As she was getting dressed again she asked me if I wanted 'to see the meter now'. Puzzled, I asked her what she meant. 'You are from the gas board, aren't you?' she said. There was a silence while the penny dropped for both of us, before we erupted in a huge giggling fit.
Abraham Lincoln once said people are as happy as they make up their minds to be. He meant that we can choose to look at life in certain ways, and one of the healthiest is with a smile.
Humour is one of the best stress-relievers. It can be found at the unlikeliest times. Look for the absurdities in day-to-day life, laugh at them and remember that the person it is healthiest to laugh at is yourself.

Write down, or remember, situations you have found funny in the past. If there is little humour to be found in any one day, think of them for an instant 'lift'.
Keep the company of people you find funny or who seem to cheer you up whenever you are with them. The funniest people in this world are not those we see in the media - they are ordinary people.
Use humour against yourself. People will laugh far more readily at irony than at someone trying to impress in other

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