Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/812910
C h e c k o u t A B M P 's l a t e s t n e w s a n d b l o g p o s t s . Av a i l a b l e a t w w w. a b m p . c o m . 77 something that's just cute or charming can be appreciated by most everyone. THE SCIENCE BEHIND HUMOR Another question we should ask ourselves is, "What are some of the reasons for bringing humor into our therapeutic practice?" There are actually many, some more scientific and some more intuitive, but all of them are equally legitimate motivations for embracing humor. In a 1996 paper "Humor in Medicine," R. C. Wender asserts that, "Humor helps individuals narrow interpersonal and cultural gaps, communicate difficult messages, express frustration and anger, and cope with anxiety." 3 Wender also suggests that "primary care providers need to be able to interpret humor used by patients and can learn to use humor to create a healing environment." 4 While Wender's paper focuses on the use of humor by physicians, it can be reasonably assumed that the funny to you, some of your clients might find it to be offensive and off-putting. In our profession, we tend to be fairly comfortable with bodily functions and nudity. But remember that something we encounter every day and are very used to can potentially make others uncomfortable. And it's not worth losing a client over something that may be interpreted as a crude joke. • Keep the humor related to massage. I have displayed a number of décor items that feature my "A Touch of Humor" massage therapy comics throughout my massage space. They keep the humorous element centered on massage and don't stray into anything that might stir up strife (politics, religion, race, gender, sex, sexual orientation, etc.). • When in doubt, sometimes it can be safer to not aim specifically for humorous or funny, but rather for cute or charming. Humor can be lost on someone who doesn't share your sense of it, whereas implementation of humor in a massage therapy practice is similarly advantageous. Capitalize on the fact that humor eases pain and relieves stress. Oxford researchers conducted a series of experiments to better understand the effect of laughter on people's ability to withstand pain. 5 They discovered that authentic, heartfelt laughter causes endorphins to be released in the brain. Endorphins, of course, are chemicals that cause us to feel less pain and fewer negative effects of stress. Endorphins offer pain- killing and euphoria-producing effects. The researchers found that viewing laugh- inducing, humorous content therefore led to an increased pain tolerance. These study results, along with many similar emerging research findings from equally well-regarded institutions, suggest that we would be ignoring a powerful pain relief technique by neglecting to