Corona Judgement Twenty-Part 1
I want to start by expressing that I am not making light of the extreme levels of fear and anxiety that exist around the world. I am well aware that many people have lost their lives over the last few months due to circumstances that are historical and of course are unlike anything the world has ever seen. I also must stress that I am not a licensed doctor and I am not detailing medical advice and should you chose to utilize the information within this text, consult the expertise of your doctor.
However, like the subtle hint that the photo suggest, you must maintain a sense of humor as according to the book Anatomy of an Illness by author Norman Cousins.
The book tells the story of how Cousins worked with his doctor while hospitalized and began to utilize humor to boost his bodies ability to heal from a life threatening disease.
Professor of Psychology Rod Martin and his colleagues at the University of Western Ontario dedicated clinical research to finding out how people used humor in everyday life. Apparently, Professor Martin was inspired by the work of Mr. Cousins.
The end result of this research would become the work that Martin is most known for: The Humor Styles Questionnaire, the first scientifically validated measure of humor. In 2003, Martin and his colleagues published the HSQ in the Journal of Research in Personality.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656602005342
The Humor Styles Questionnaire assesses four dimensions relating to individual differences in uses of humor. The style I tend to use is called Self-Enhancing Humor which is an optimistic, coping humor, characterized by the ability to laugh at yourself or at the absurdity of a situation and feel better as a result.
I will never suggest that a person simply laugh at their pain and the pain, stress and anxiety will simply go away. No…I am simply stating that humor can create a base for less stressful self reflection and from that base individuals can think clearly about the next step.
No one can make a clear minded decision from a base of clouded and stressful judgement. Thus, I will end this piece with a video from the legend Richard Pryor. My next piece will not be so warm, fuzzy and funny however…
