May is mental health awareness month and we know now more than ever just how powerful our minds can be. Whether we’re feeling on top of the world because we washed our hair today, or feeling rock bottom because we didn’t sleep last night, our ability to cope with the stress of the pandemic directly affects our overall health in so many ways.
While sending and receiving great custom gifts and feeling loved by your company and clients is powerful, there’s also a really unique gift you can give yourself that can alter your entire mindset for the better. So address this gift box to yourself, because it’s a good one…
Laughter.
Laughter is a mental healer! The Mayo Clinic has done studies on the stress relief that comes from a good sense of humor. Short term effects of having a good laugh include stimulating your organs with an intake of oxygen, releasing endorphins, decreasing your heart rate and blood pressure, and relaxing muscles. Long term effects of laughter include boosted immune systems, pain relief, an improved mood, and most of all: an easier ability to cope with difficult situations. YES, we are here for it!
The coolest thing about laughter is that you can actually train yourself into having a sense of humor. Yeah, that’s right. You can teach yourself to laugh more! Here are some simple tricks:
Dig through your photos or trinkets and find things that make you chuckle. Things that remind you of funny moments, hilarious movies, or good inside jokes. Put them up around your house so you see them regularly and never forget that time Jessica sneezed in the group photo and created photo gold.
Laugh at yourself. Even if it feels forced. There is a practice called laughter yoga where you start fake laughing and it turns into full on real laughter. The best part is that it’s contagious, so laughter yoga in a group can escalate quickly! *spread laughs not germs
Call up your funny friends. You know who they are! Take note of your energy when you talk to them and try and make others feel that way when you’re around them, too. Even if you don’t think you’re funny, you’ve got some funny stories to tell no doubt! Like how you thought the word “shin” was a bad word up until the age of 15 so avoided talking about your legs for a very long time…
With these small steps, and a whole lot of not taking anything too seriously, you can feel just a bit more at ease. Take care of your mind, because mental health matters. And keep the corners of your mouth turned upward, your mind will thank you!
