6 Ways to Bring More Laughter into Your Life

For many of us over 60, finding ways to bring more laughter into our life is difficult. Through the years, we have accumulated life experiences that may have left us with unresolved emotional wounds. From past experiences or recent ones, unhealed inner wounds have a profound impact on our emotional state, making it difficult to welcome more fun and joy in our lives.

If you can relate, you already know it’s essential to find healthy and effective ways to heal this lingering trauma and move forward in life with confidence.

One such way is through laughter.

In this article and the accompanying video, I am going to share with you how laughter can heal the effects of trauma with “6 Ways to Bring More Laughter into Your Life.”

Reclaim Your Power

Laughter is a proven and powerful tool for healing trauma, but it’s important to acknowledge laughter is not a replacement for professional therapy.

Trauma can be complex, and in some cases, professional support is necessary to fully process and heal from traumatic experiences, regardless of how far back they occurred.

That being said, laughter can be a vital tool that complements therapy and assists you in healing from trauma.

In addition, laughter can help you reclaim your sense of value and emotional balance. Laughter is effective in asserting control over your emotional state, helping you create positive experiences in all areas of your life.

Integrate Laughter into Your Life

I remember my mother routinely dismissing my physical looks during my young, impressionable teenage years. With each dig, I felt the sting of her comments, but it would be many decades later before I realized the significance of the trauma.

For most of my adult life, I was a whirlwind of creative energy. In my consumer product company, I moved with breakneck speed from one project to another, putting out one fire after the other.

Focused on surviving those early lean years of the business, I did not realize how little I laughed or smiled. When I did laugh, however, I felt uncomfortably self-conscious.

Once I began my training as an actress, coupled with professional therapy I was going through following my divorce, I gained essential clarity about my mindset regarding work and stress.

The long arduous hours of work and sacrifice compensated for my unworthiness to feel valued and thus, I unknowingly was robbing my inherent right to feel joyful about life.

Without consciously realizing it, I had become averse to laughter, yet I enjoyed the good feelings that came with laughing. Those feelings just didn’t last long.

With much inner work, I discovered most of this stemmed from years of intense, emotionally traumatic exchanges with my mother. When I began to allow myself to laugh more, my life immediately changed for the better.

I found humor in everyday, mundane activities, including the ones that weren’t always fun. As an actress, I made it a point to work with my agents to locate roles where it required an over-the-top, comedic approach.

Therefore, laughter is not just something we do when someone tells a joke. It can help to reduce the intensity of negative emotions associated with trauma and provide a sense of relief.

How to Incorporate Laughter into Your Life

There are many ways you can incorporate laughter into your daily life. To help you get started, here are six proven ideas:

Watch a Comedy Show or Movie

Whether you live alone or with others, watching a comedy show or funny movie brings immediate laughs and improves your mood. When experienced with someone else, it accentuates the fun.

Spend Time with Children or Animals

Spending time with children or animals can help to lighten the mood and bring a sense of playfulness into daily life. If you are not physically around either, search online for funny videos involving them.

Find Humor in Everyday Life

Humor is all around you. Finding it in everyday situations can help shift your perspective and create a more positive outlook.

Humorous Experience from Your Past

Not every experience in life involves trauma. Try recalling a humorous moment and share this with friends or family.

Attend a Laughter Yoga Class

Laughter yoga is a form of yoga that combines breathing techniques with laughter exercises. It’s a great way to experience the physiological benefits of laughter in a group setting.

Share Laughter with Friends or Family

Laughter is contagious. Sharing a laugh with loved ones can help to strengthen relationships and create positive memories.

I’m sure you can come up with additional ways to incorporate more laughter in your life. Please be sure to leave a comment and share what are some of your go-to methods for applying the healing power of laughter to create more joy and fun.

I invite you to join me in the video above, where I will share additional ways to add more laughter to your life. I will also guide you through five journal prompts to help integrate what you are learning.

Let’s Have a Conversation:

How often do you laugh? Have you made laughter a daily experience, or do you find yourself frowning most of the time? What situations, events or people might help you laugh more and find joy in life?