Laughter ?

Fidelis

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/science/2001/0628/sci4.htm

Dave

Interesting, i have to agree totally on the theory that laughter is contagious, I read an article in this months focus on this topic too, if im not too lazy i'll type some in.

-Dave

WhiteWashMan

and very good for depression i might add.
absolutely no scientific connection here, but laughing while you are recovering from a serious ingury is suppose to make you recover a whole lot faster.
wonder if there is any truth in that?

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

Yes WWM, there is a great deal of truth in that- the recovery process is helped a lot by the placebo effect generated by a positive mental attitude. Endorphin release from hormonal centers helps to ease pain, and other enzymic placebo effects are more commonly spotted with major illness. Laughter may not be the best medicine (amoxycilin probably is the most valuable), but it's certainly very helpful to keeping a positive attitude and generate a positive placebo effect.

There are good studies which suggest this- some of the best work is being done at the Gesundheit hospital at Vermont falls- the founding of which was popularized by the disgusting saccharine film Patch Adams. Though the film makes light of the scientific purpose behind the idea of laughter assisting medical care, the work is very much a serious affair (well, except for the guffawing in the wards).

Placebo pharmacology is a fascinating area, and one we are only beginning to understand.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus
=Caveat Emptor=

Sir Digby Chicken Caesar

there was something about laughter in scientific AMerican a few months ago..
I will have a looksie for it in my room, I don't guarantee that I will find it , but if I do i might type out soime of the main points
it was a fairly cool article(s)

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

I remember that too Mordeth (Jeraal Mordeth aka Padan Fain? Yikes another RJ WOT fan! )

I'll try and find a link to that article and post it up here tomorrow- for now, I'm tired, sleep beckons.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus
=E Pluribus Unum=

WhiteWashMan

well i have to say, that a good pick me up is go to see the film shrek
having had a good personal friend of mine drop dead over the weekend, i was feeling a little bit under the weather. but after last night, i feel a lot better for seeing this. i laughed so much. from now on, if im upset or in a bad mood, a good comedy is going to be my medicine. oh, and my inhaler. cant do without that...

Clintons Cat

You have my deepest condolences WWM

Following on the discussion is there any medical evidence that people suffering from a history of clinical deppression have a poorer health/injury recovery/immunity systems than patients with a positive outlook I could see that this could be tied into nutritional deficiencies caused by suppression of appetite vis a vie Anorexia/Bulimia.

Lucy_la_morte

<font face="Verdana, Arial" size="2">Originally posted by Clintons Cat:
Following on the discussion is there any medical evidence that people suffering from a history of clinical deppression have a poorer health/injury recovery/immunity systems than patients with a positive outlook I could see that this could be tied into nutritional deficiencies caused by suppression of appetite vis a vie Anorexia/Bulimia.</font>

I'm generally a happy person, I smile and laugh alot.. I don't think too much or 'moap' around. I've suffered from Anorexia twice in the past, true that once I was actually diagnosed my spirits went down but in the build up to actually being diagnosed I was definately a happy person. An odd case perhaps? Or just the point that mood does not dictate appetite.

---

It's just a tail, but I'm sort of attached to it.

Lucy la morte.

Bob the Unlucky Octopus

Absolutely right Lucy- mood isn't always an indicaton of appetite- appetite can be an indication of mood however. Eating disorders aren't necessarily tied in with depressive conditions at all: in fact, in many cases it has nothing to do with it. The heart of the psycology of eating disorders is a dissatisfaction with one's physical appearance. It's rarely due to apathy or depression, though it can happen that way.

There is a lot of evidence CC that a placebo effect causes depressive patients to recover more slowly, just as recently there has been good evidence to show that a positive attitude actually constitutes a pharmacologically viable placebo. Part of this is due to depressive patients being apathetic and generally non-compliant, but a large part of it is due to a psychosomatic response. I'll dig up some links/literature if you want to read more about it, but most of them are hard technical reading with loads of jargon

Bob the Unlucky Octopus
=Carpe Diem=