Laugh Your Stress Away

Date: 3/26/2007

When you're trapped in a situation you are unable to change, such as a traffic jam, try using humor to relieve stress in the healthiest

possible way. You may not feel like much of a comedian-especially when really stressed-but these tips can help you feel some comic relief:



The Seinfeld Maneuver.

If your favorite comic or cartoon character were here, what would he or she do in your situation? Pretend your predicament is a sitcom plot-what could happen to make you laugh and feel less annoyed?



The Balloon Trick. Exaggerate the event. Make it absurd; totally blow it out of proportion. In that gridlocked traffic, don't say

"I can't believe how stupid this is. I Hate this." Take the situation to the ridiculous extremes; "I'll never get home. My husband and kids will have to hire a private detective, but they won't find me because I will still be sitting in this car. If they ever do discover me, I'll have white hair and need an earhorn to hear

them." This refocuses your stress and puts your seemingly impossible situation into

perspective.

Safe Targets. Embarrassing

situations are best defused by making fun of yourself. Instead of laughing at you, people will laugh with you. Inanimate objects like the copy machine or your

computer also provide a safe target for humorous blame.

The Cartoon Clip. Begin a folder of cartoons and jokes that keep you in stitches. Hang them near your phone, on your bathroom mirror-anyplace easily accessed.

-The Washington Post



Sincerely,

Chris & Dan

Laughing Co-Publishers



P. S. We wish all of our readers & advertisers a happy and successful Spring!