Sometimes laughter really is the best medicine. That’s Donna Oiland’s philosophy. She’s a humor specialist who teaches a course on the power of humor at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland.
“The point of the class is to get people to be intentional about incorporating laughter into their lives – humor doesn’t do anything for you, but laughter does,” she said. “Mirthful laughter is like jogging for the internal organs.”
After facing personal tragedy, Donna found herself resistant to laughter, she found herself taking life too seriously. She began to explore ways to gain perspective.
“Laughter can’t fix everything, but it can give you perspective,” she said. “We all take ourselves too seriously.”
Oiland found the path to laughter through the World Laughter Tour, a group dedicated to spreading the word about the positive effect of laughter on physical and mental health. Soon she trained with the group to share the philosophy with others and she began teaching the Power of Humor class at Evergreen.
“This class is for people who have to deal with traffic, people who have too much on their plate, parents who are stressed, pretty much everyone,” she said. “If you can laugh at it you can survive it.”
Oiland encourages people to take a humor break everyday, and to keep a journal of favorite jokes or funny stories to provide a ready laugh. Learn more strategies for incorporating more laughter into your life by attending the Healing Power of Humor class at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland on January 31 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The cost of the class is $10. To register, call 425-899-3000.