Go Ahead, Laugh it Up

Expert Column

Kay Paggi

Edlercare Consultant
As a licensed professional counselor, certified gerontological counselor and certified geriatric care manager, Kay...read more

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Geriatric Care Manager: K. Paggi

November 21st, 2007

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Last month I wrote about the physical and psychological benefits of laughter. What makes you laugh? Who makes you laugh? Whoever the people and whatever the activities, make sure they’re a constant presence in your life. Keeping your sense of humor will help you get through even the most stressful situations—and with the holidays just around the corner, I wanted to share a few ideas for keeping humor in your life. Read on for my recommendations.

Books to Bust a Gut Over

I give My Middle-Aged Baby Book to all my friends who turn 40 or 50 or 60. It’s blank like a baby’s book, with pages for you to fill in as you keep track of significant “firsts.” Page titles include “My Bottle,” shown with a martini olive in it, and “Memorable Firsts,” including first gray pubic hair, first colonoscopy, and first reading glasses. Some of my other favorites include:

Forever Fifty and Other Negotiations and Suddenly Sixty and Other Shocks of Later Life by Judith Viorst
My Middle-Aged Baby Book: A Record of Milestones, Millstones and Gallstones by Paul Meisel and Mary-Lou Weisma
Maxine: Yelling it like It Is: A Fine Whine with the Queen of Attitude by John Wagner
You’re Only Old Once: A Book for Obsolete Children by Dr. Seuss

Movies That Will Make You Laugh ’Til You Cry

Whether you’re an old-movie buff or you prefer more contemporary films, you surely know movies that will make you laugh. Here are a few that always work for me:

Roommates (1995)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Father Goose (1964)
That Touch of Mink (1962)
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies (1960)

CDs and Audiotapes—No Reading Glasses Required

These are great because you can take them on the road with you, listen to them while you’re in the bath, or play them in the background while you’re making dinner.

Who’s on first? (Abbott & Costello)
Bill Cosby is a Very Funny Fellow Right!

Finally: Avoid the “But First” Syndrome

In the twenty-first century it seems that we’re all leading busy lives no matter what path we’re on. Many of us are also afflicted with the "but first" syndrome. You know, when you decide to do the laundry, start down the hall and notice the newspaper on the table. Okay, so you’re going to do the laundry...but first you’re going to read the newspaper. As you sit down to read, you notice the pile of mail. All right, you'll read the newspaper...but first you’ll look through the mail and pay the bills. When you pause to remember where you put the checkbook, you notice an empty glass on the table. You’re going to look for the checkbook, but first you need to wash the glass. You head for the kitchen and notice the plants need watering. You put the glass in the sink, and darn it, there's the remote for the TV on the kitchen counter. You’ll just put it away...but first you need to water those plants. Head for door and...argh! Stepped on the cat. Okay, you’ll put that remote away and water the plants. But first you need to feed the cat.

You can see where this is going. By the end of day the laundry is not done, the newspapers still haven’t been read, the glass is still in the sink, the bills are unpaid and the checkbook is still lost... And when you try to figure out why nothing got done, you’re baffled because you know you were busy all day!

The busier you are, the more you’re at risk for stress. Keep it at bay by keeping your sense of humor and avoiding the “but first” syndrome—your to-do list can wait.

Posted in Geriatric Care Management: Kay Paggi

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