Distress Your Life

Through
Humor/Laughter

Amit Shah
amitshah.in
 What Is Stress?
 Stress is the emotional and physical strain caused by
our response to pressure from the outside world.
Common stress reactions include tension, irritability,
inability to concentrate, and a variety of physical
symptoms that include headache and a fast heartbeat.

 It's almost impossible to live without some stress.

And most of us wouldn't want to, because it gives life
some spice and excitement. But if stress gets out of
control, it may harm your health, your relationships,
and your enjoyment of life.
Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in
 STRESS
A Major Health Problem
Back in 1983, Time magazine called stress “the epidemic of
the 80's”.  But it's even worse now and the adverse health
effects have been proven.

A 1996 Prevention magazine survey found that almost 75%

people feel that they have "great stress" one day a week.
One out of three indicated that they feel stress more than
twice a week. It has been estimated that 75 - 90 percent of
all visits to primary care physicians for stress related
problems. In the same 1983 survey only 55% said they felt
under great stress on a weekly basis.

A national survey on the state of stress in America, to be

released on Oct, 2007 by the American Psychological
Association (APA), finds that money and work are the
biggest stressors for 73% of Americans.
Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in
 STRESS STATISTICS
 The 2000 annual “Attitudes In The American Workplace VI”
Gallup Poll found that:

 80% of workers feel stress on the job, nearly half say

they need help in learning how to manage stress and
42% say their co-workers need such help;
 25% have felt like screaming or shouting because of job
stress, 10% are concerned about an individual at work
they fear could become violent.
 9% are aware of an assault or violent act in their
workplace and 18% had experienced some sort of threat
or verbal intimidation in the past year.
 According to a survey of 800,000 workers in over 300 companies,
the number of employees calling in sick because of stress tripled
from 1996-2000. An estimated 1 million workers are absent
everyday due to stress.

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 STRESS INFORMATION

The flight or fight response, also called the

"acute stress response", was first described
by Walter Cannon in the year of 1929. The
theory states that animals react to threats with
a general discharge of the
sympathetic nervous system. The response
was later recognized as the first stage of a
general adaptation syndrome that regulates
stress responses among vertebrates and
other organisms. In layman's terms, an animal
has two options when faced with danger.
They can either face the threat ("fight"), or
they can avoid the threat ("flight").

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 What Are Your Stress Points?
Where do you hold you stress?

 Head
 Jaw
 Shoulders
 Neck
 Lower back
 Chest
 ??????

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 EXTERNAL STRESSORS
 Noise
 Air pollution
 Adverse lighting
 Overcrowding
 Adverse working conditions
 Negative personal interaction --
family/social/work
 Major life changes, clustering of life events
 Availability of choices -- over choice/lack of
choices
 Overly severe rules for living, self-imposed or
otherwise
 Physical, Emotional, and Social deprivation
Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in
 INTERNAL STRESSORS
 Lack of physical well-being, i.e., nutritional
inadequacy, chemical balance, disease, pain.

 Lack of exercise, sitting for long periods of

time, sedentary lifestyle.

 Hectic life pace and rhythm.

 Conflict in personal psychology / personality,

i.e., emotional state, feelings of guilt,
unresolved emotions from the past, role
conflict or ambiguity, perfectionism, low self-
esteem.

 Suppression of personal interests.

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 ADDITIONAL STRESSORS
 Lack of control over one's  Life style changes
destiny
 Lack of confidence in institutions
 Lack of occupational feedback
and communication  Job security
 Work overload or underload  Setting limits
 Individual factors  Mid-career phenomena
 Training deficiencies  Physical and mental exhaustion
 Society changes  Underutilization of skills

 Informational overload  Physical work conditions

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 COST OF DISTRESS
 Individual  Family

 Physical illness
 Lowered energy
 Decreased productivity
 Decreased satisfaction with life, work,
relationships
 Non involvement in public issues
 Joylessness and meaninglessness
 Wasted potential
 Absence of fun and play
 Lack of career advancement
 Family break-up
 Psychological put-downs
 High health-care costs
 Tension in the air
 Loss of potential earnings by an ailing
family member
 A damper on freedom of expression
 Inattentiveness to emotional and
physical needs of others
 Open conflict
 Low self-esteem of others in the family

 Workplace

 Low productivity
 Worker dissatisfaction
 Conflict with co-worker
 Absenteeism
 Worker turnover Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in
 SO WHY IS HUMOR & LAUGHTER
GOOD FOR US!
 It allows us to be creative, work harder and be
more comfortable.
 It decreases isolation. Laugher allows us to
bond with other people and ease our
loneliness.
 It’s contagious. Laughter creates laughter.
 It’s universal. Everybody can laugh. Human
beings are born with the gift of laughter.
 It reduces aggression and conflict.
 It relieves anxiety. One cannot laugh and be
afraid simultaneously. It’s physically
impossible. Laughter also shrinks the source
and size of your fears.
 Laughter is a natural, physical process which
releases pain, physically and emotionally.
 Above all else, it’s fun.

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 HEALTH BENEFITS OF
HUMOR/LAUGHTER
 Reduce stress
 Lower blood pressure
 Elevate mood
 Boost immune system
 Improve brain functioning
 Protect the heart
 Connect you to others
 Foster instant relaxation
 Make you feel good
 Distracts us from guilt, anger and
negative emotions
 Increases energy levels, improves
sleep, helps alleviate pain.
 Laughter is the Best Medicine

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 HUMOR IN THE WORKPLACE
Humor, the joy of jocularity, has benefits that are actually measurable.

Some of the correlations on the relaxing power of laughter:

100 laughs = 10 minutes of aerobic benefits from a rowing machine

15 minutes of laughter = relaxing effect of meditation for 8 hours
10 minutes of laughter = relaxing effect of 2 hours sleep

We can see the future of medicine now.

”Watch two television comedy programs and call me in the morning.”

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 A TWELVE-STEP METHOD TO FUN

1. Start with yourself.

2. Inspire fun in others.
3. Create an environment that encourages
fun.
4. Celebrate the benefits of fun.
5. Eliminate boundaries and obstacles that
inhibit fun.
6. Look for the humor in your situations.
7. Follow your intuition-Be spontaneous.
8. Don’t postpone your fun.
9. Make fun inclusive.
10. Smile and laugh a lot.
11. Become known as “Fun Loving.”
12. Put fun into action.

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 THINGS YOU CAN DO TO PUT MORE
FUN/HUMOR IN YOUR LIFE?
 2 different shoes  Goodwill-try on funny clothes
 Air guitar  Juggling
 Any eating contest  Karaoke
 Be a kid at heart  Magic tricks
 Belly flop contest  Most embarrassing moment
 Bubble blowing
 Nicknames
 Past pictures on different bodies
 Charades  People watching
 Comedy night  Pig Latin
 Comics  Pillow fight
 Cook funny receipts  Pranks
 Dance funky  Put on puppet show
 Doodle  Roast
 Draw cartoons  Silly hats, tales & stories
 Face & finger painting  Skits
 Food fight
 Slip-n-slide
 Funny costumes
 Smile
 Sound effects
 Funny faces  Surprise someone
 Funny movies  Theme days
 Funny/silly pictures (i.e. baby pictures)  Throwing contest (i.e. rubber chicken)
 Gag gifts Water fight
Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

 HUMOR / LAUGHTER IDEAS
HUMOR KIT
 Funny pictures (family, friends, goofy ones, etc.)
 Collect cartoons (newspaper, magazines, cards, etc.)
 Funny items (Groucho glasses, hates, shirts, etc.)
 Noise makers
 Posters (3 Stooges, Laurel & Hardey, etc.)
 Audio & video tapes (comedy, storytellers, etc.)
 Collect and send funny cards & letters
 Dress funny days at work or running races
 Collect humorous quotes
 Try telling funny incidence
 Read funny books “Erma Bombeck”, “Peanuts”, Calvin & Hobbes”, etc.
 Observe life and people for funny situations and examples

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in

She said, 'If you were my husband, I'd give you poison,' and he said, ‘If you were my wife, I'd
take it.' Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in
 Thank You

Don't take too much stress to understand stress.

Be relax and enjoy week end.

Amit Shah - www.amitshah.in