Laughter Yoga for Seasonal Affective Disorder and Grief
27-Nov-07
Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a special type of depression that sets around Thanksgiving holidays. Around half a million Americans suffer from SAD every year with the change of season. They experience serious mood changes, access sleep, low energy levels and craving for sweet and starchy food.
Laughter is an extremely powerful tool that counters depression. Most people laugh when in a good mood, but very few can laugh when they’re sad. You must have observed that people who laugh frequently are less likely to be depressed, whereas depressed people hardly laugh.
This is where Laughter Yoga plays an important role as it does not depend on one’s mood to laugh. Laughter is simulated physically which gradually turns into real laughter. Laughter Yoga has the ability to change one’s mood state almost instantaneously and as one goes through the motion, the emotions flow freely.
Decker and Tagliaferri, Laughter Yoga leaders at Carmillo Yoga Centre, lead a laughter session in a Methodist church in Ventura County, California USA for a group of people suffering from pain and grief due to loss of dear ones. Expressing grief is important for one’s mental well being, but it can get detrimental if sadness continues and turns chronic. Laughter gives the much needed break from sadness and pain and provides respite from despair.
I remember the story of a lady named Nethra Ramachandran from Bangalore, India who lost her husband and was driven to misery and desolation. The laughter club members consoled her for some time after which they literally dragged her to the club. She recovered from her grief within a week and was able to put her life back to normalcy.
She now runs a laughter club for schoolchildren and an evening laughter club only for ladies.
Greetings!
I am so excited about how Laughter Yoga can be applied to mental health and wellness. Thank you for this entry on SAD.
I have been leading laughter yoga sessions for adults in a psychiatric hospital since I was trained by Jeffrey Briar last month. The staff has been so impressed with the results that I was asked to do them weekly! (Not to mention the patients asking when we’ll be doing it again!) I’ve been a therapist since 1980, and can honestly say NOTHING shifts the energy as quickly and lovingly as laughter yoga! I have also led laughter groups at a residential treatment center for teens and women with eating disorders. This population is notorious for feelings of isolation and shame; as well as for emotional constriction and paralyzing self-hatred/criticism. Witnessing the women laugh their way from this condition to joyous, unrestrained laughter and heart-felt connection was so deeply moving.
I am learning with each group I do, but will limit this entry to one connection I’ve made:
When I try to present new information to a client, such as; “I am more than my pain”, through cognitive/verbal means, it can take such a long time for that information to be integrated. Simply put, it’s as if there is a gatekeeper at the neocortex that discards any new information that doesn’t fit with established mental constructs and beliefs. (”I can’t bear this pain and I’ll never get through it”). Along comes Laughter Yoga, sneaking in the back door of the brainstem/body, bubbling up through the Heart, and creating the possibilty of new neural pathways for “I am more than my pain”. What a gift!
Thank you and Namaste to all!
Comment by Peggy Tileston, MA, MT-BC, CMS — December 1, 2007 @ 11:12 pm
Dear Peggy Tileston
I appreciated VERY MUCH for your sharing experience.Thank you very much!
You mentioned LAUGHTER is SNEAKING in the back door of the brainstem. It’s great saying!
ha ha ha
John (from Taiwan)
Comment by John Tachenag Chen — December 11, 2007 @ 12:05 am
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