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GET MORE LAUGHTER IN YOUR LIFE!
David Granirer - North America's Psychotherapist/Stand-Up Comic
Volume 3, Issue 4
Editor: David Granirer, david@psychocomic.com
Publisher: David Granirer
www.psychocomic.com

Please help us grow by forwarding this e-zine on to others!

IN THIS ISSUE
1. Welcome from the Publisher
2. Joke
3. Humor And Pain
4. What’s Good Stories
5. An Opportunity To Help
6. Classified Ads
7. Contact Information


PRIVACY STATEMENT: WE WILL NOT DISTRIBUTE YOUR
EMAIL ADDRESS TO ANYONE. PERIOD.


1. WELCOME FROM THE PUBLISHER

****We’re Back!****

My comedy nights start again on Friday January 11 at Flori’s Coffee Centre, 3851 E. Hastings in North Burnaby, 2 blocks east of Boundary. To reserve (604) 294-8505.

On Friday January 18, CBC TV is coming to do a piece on that night’s headliner, and one of my star comedy students, 69 year old Mavis Pickett. It’s a great story of how taking a risk (In her case taking my stand-up comedy course) and confronting her fears changed her life. Mavis took the course twice and is now a professional comic. One day she’ll probably be a star, and the great thing is she has no investment in it! So come on out and laugh with her!


****Comedy Course****

If you’ve ever had a dream to do comedy, my 8-week Stand-Up Comedy Clinic Course at Langara College starts on the evenings of February 5 and 6. (I’m running 2 sections this term, a Tues. and Wed. class). To register call Langara at (604) 323-5322. To see testimonials from people who have taken the course go to http://www.psychocomic.com/ComedyCourse.htm

2. THIS MONTH'S JOKE

To help you lighten up, Iíve decided to start every issue with a joke. If anyone has some good clean jokes that are reasonably short, feel free to email them to me at david@psychocomic.com

Thanks again to Eva Sharell for the following example of real life comedy that writes itself:

When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that
ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat this problem, NASA
scientists spent a decade and $12 billion developing a pen that writes in
zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass
and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to over 300C.

The Russians used a pencil


3. HUMOR AND PAIN

A 1993 study measuring the effect of humor on people’s pain thresholds took two groups, one with high humor traits and one with low humor traits, and subjected them to pain, in this case transcutaneous end nerve stimulation. (Note: I have no idea what transcutaneous end nerve stimulation is, I’m just assuming that it’s some clever form of torture invented by scientists.)

Both groups got to watch a funny video while they were subjected to the pain. The study found that people with high humor traits coped well with pain with or without the assistance of the funny video, but that people with low humor traits were more vulnerable to pain and less able to cope without the assistance of the video. The study also found that watching the funny video raised the pain thresholds of both groups.

Boiled down to its practical implications, the study suggests that the more able you are to see humor in things and the more receptive you are to humor, the more able you are to cope with pain. So if you combine a dentist who jokes to put patients at ease, along with patients who choose to be easily amused (Being receptive to humor is a choice we make consciously or unconsciously) then you have the best possible situation for minimizing the pain of dental surgery. In this context, the dentist and patient act as a team. The dentist provides the humorous stimulus and the patient chooses to be receptive to it.

And the humor doesn’t even need to be all that funny. Neurobiologist Robert Provine of the University of Maryland found that 80% of laughter has nothing to do with humor. It merely punctuates statements like “Can I join you?” or “Are you sure?”

As we age, we need more medical care that can often be painful and invasive. In light of the 1993 pain study, it makes sense to seek out doctors, dentists, counselors, and other caregivers with a sense of humor. And if you’re a caregiver, the good news is that you don’t need to be all that funny to get laughs. With clients who choose to be receptive, probably all you need is a smile and a cheerful attitude.

And for all of us who have been or will be clients, we now have science telling us what we’ve known all along - that when it comes to reducing pain, laughter really is good medicine!

If you would like to print one of my articles on humor in the workplace in your newsletter free of charge, email me at david@psychocomic.com and Iíll send you a complete summary of all the articles Iíve written.

For other free articles about laughter go to www.psychocomic.com/Articles.htm

For free back issues of this ezine go to www.psychocomic.com/Newsletter.htm

*****GET MORE LAUGHTER IN YOUR LIFE!*****
Check out David's tapes, posters, buttons at www.psychocomic.com/Products.htm
 

4. WHAT'S GOOD STORIES

It's so easy to see all the bad things around us, that sometimes we forget about all the great things that go on. And we need to hear about good things because that gives us hope and inspires us to go out and do more good things.

In this section, I want to hear from you. What's happened in your life that's good? What things have people done that inspire you to be kind to others? What funny things have happened?

Email your short stories to me at david@psychocomic.com, and if I publish yours, you get a free copy of my tape "I'm OK But YOU Need Professional Help!"  
 

Nick Perrin from the Calgary, Alberta contributed this month’s story.

One day, a little girl is sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at
the kitchen sink. She suddenly notices that her mother has several strands
of white hair sticking out in contrast to her brunette hair.

She looks at her mother and inquisitively asks , "why are some of your hairs
white, mom?"

Her mother replied: "Well, every time that a little girl does something
wrong and makes her mother unhappy, one of her hairs turns white."

The little girl thought about this revelation for a while and said: "You
must have really upset Grandma, eh?"

5. AN OPPORTUNITY TO HELP

ARTISTS WITHOUT BORDERS brings psychological relief to the victims of war in the form of art and/or entertainment. They send performers and artists to refugee camps and zones of conflict. Theyíve been to Kosovo, East Timor, Chechnya and more. If youíd like more information, or to help out, (Theyíre a non-profit organization and could use donations) go to their web site http://www.artwit.org .

If anyone has a good cause they'd like to promote please email me at david@psychocomic.com
 

6. CLASSIFIED ADS

Speakers: Learn how to incorporate stand-up comedy into your presentations. Check out David's stand-up comedy skills coaching for presenters at: www.psychocomic.com/ComedyCourse.htm
 

7. CONTACT INFORMATION

David Granirer gives laughter in the workplace presentations helping hundreds of organizations throughout North America reduce stress, increase wellness, and cope with change. For more information on his presentations, stand-up comedy, products, and articles call (604) 205-9242 or go to www.psychocomic.com

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