Fear of Funny: What Scares Us About Humor by Karyn Buxman We come into this world laughing.  Any parent can tell you about the joy of babies laughing, for no known reason save the joy of it. As children age, they keep on laughing: on average, kids laugh 300 times a day.  Yet the older we get, the less we laugh. The average adult laughs 15 times a day ...  95% reduction from the carefree days of childhood. Image via Wikipedia Where have the giggles gone? Did the chuckles canter away, le...

Laughter, Health and Well-Being Image via Wikipedia by Elaine R. Ferguson, MD Medical studies document the relationship between laughter and health. Dr. Herbert Lefcourt, a renowned psychologist researched the consideration that laughter and how it can alter our reaction to stress. In his research, the participants reviewed the occurrence of significant stressful life experiences happened over a six month period, as well as their negative emotions and disruptions were reviewed. He then ad...

by Amanda Li The world has been too sad recently with all the clamor, stress and distrust. Can we just take things easier and laugh more? Laughter is said to be a panacea, and is also infectious. This is healthy to us and also can improve our moods. Image via Wikipedia Laughter is like any cold or flu, it is contagious! However, it is harmless and it even connects people together. When we laugh, we feel relaxed. There is no longer sadness nor depression. Laughter do exert positive effects...

Image by leodelrosa... via Flickr by Karyn Buxman Cancer. It's not the type of thing you ask for -- usually. Who'd want it? A life-changing, sometimes life-ending disease. Cancer's so scary that there are people who won't say the word aloud...but I was saying it regularly, begging God to let me be the one with cancer. My son, a strong, smart, energetic 22-year-old junior at the University of Missouri, woke up one morning with an aching chest. It turned out to be a malignant tumor, and ...

Image via Wikipedia by Karyn Buxman We come into this world laughing.  Any parent can tell you about the joy of babies laughing, for no known reason save the joy of it. As children age, they keep on laughing: on average, kids laugh 300 times a day.  Yet the older we get, the less we laugh. The average adult laughs 15 times a day -- a 95% reduction from the carefree days of childhood. Where have the giggles gone? Did the chuckles canter away, leaving humor high and dry? Have our high-str...