8/18/2023 0 Comments Humorous antidoteStress has been shown to create unhealthy physiological changes. Finding humour in our work and our life can be one way to lift the spirit’s energy level and replenish ourselves from compassion fatigue. Usually this occurs when the nurse’s self-care program has been inadequate. When the spirit is depleted, nurses can experience what is known as “compassion fatigue” - feeling that they have very little left to give. The experience of laughter momentarily banishes feelings of anger and fear and provides moments of feeling carefree, lighthearted, and hopeful. Spirit can influenced by the feelings of joy, hope, and love. ![]() This energy is referred to as “Chi” in the Chinese tradition, as “Ki” in the Japanese tradition, It can be visioned using Kirilian photography, or felt during the application of healing touch. Spirit can be defined as the vital essence or animating force of a living organism, often considered divine in origin. ![]() As Socrates once commented on the medical theory of his day: “As it is not proper to cure the eyes without the head, nor the head without the body so neither is it proper to cure the body without the soul.” Humour and effect on the spirit Bringing together the body, mind and spirit can be healing. The word, to heal, comes from the root word “haelen” which means to make whole. Humour then is flowing involving basic characteristics of the individual expressed in the body, emotions, and spirit. In modern dictionaries, humour is defined as “the quality of being laughable or comical” or as “a state of mind, mood, spirit”. A melancholic humour was depressed and associated with black bile. A phlegmatic humour was apathetic and associated with mucous. A choleric humour was angry and associated with bile. A sanguine humour was cheerful and associated with blood. This energy was believed to determine health and disposition (i.e.”He’s in a bad humour”). In the Middle Ages, humor referred to an energy that was thought to relate to a body fluid and an emotional state. The root of the word is “umor” meaning liquid or fluid. The word humour itself is a word of many meanings. ![]() Historical perspective on humour and health Our sense of humor gives us the ability to find delight, experience joy, and to release tension. The constant experience of these emotions leads to stressful changes within our body.įinding humour in a situation and laughing freely with others can be a powerful antidote to stress. We may have feelings of failure when our efforts are ineffective anger and frustration arise when patients reject our care or are non-compliant with treatment we feel grief when patients die. Nurses are compassionate and caring individuals working with people who are suffering, and thus are at risk for job stress and burnout. Responding to these demands while protecting ourselves from their potential harmful impact will help us remain healthy. Nurses work in stress-filled environments that place demands upon their physical, emotional, and spiritual well being. Stress is an adverse condition during which we may experience tension or fatigue, feel unpleasant emotions, and sometimes develop a sense of hopelessness or futility. Humour is a quality of perception that enables us to experience joy even when faced with adversity.
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