A long time
ago I had the opportunity to listen to one of Patch Adams conferences in Mexico
City. Yes! The real Hunter "Patch" Adams, the visionary doctor who
revolutionized medicine with laugh therapy.
Laugh improves
mood for any patient but his teachings can help us not only in the field of
medicine, but also to improve our daily lives and stop being so grumpy at work.
In his lectures, Adams provides some exercises
that appear to be simple, but in reality are loaded with significance and are really
good for relaxing. Try some of his techniques and see the difference in your
mood.
The first exercise is to act as furniture, for
example a sofa. "You do not necessarily have to be a living thing to be
happy, I used to take people to the morgue and tell them don’t you feel better than
that poor man?” said Adams.
The second is to act as a statue in a salute position;
the third is to make funny or enthusiastic faces. The fourth is to approach a
stranger and talk about the joys of life (if you don’t have, you must invent
them). "As a doctor you have to know how to love people, I asked my
students to greet everyone and achieve a dinner invitation after half an
hour."
Other activities that
help improve mood are: dance, have physical and visual contact with others,
build strong communities and relationships that give a sense of belonging to
combat loneliness and avoid depression. In addition, develop creativity (e.g.,
inventing things with just a sheet of paper).
Being grateful is
vital. "To be grateful you got to turn and see famine and places like
Africa," said Adams.
Joy is not only a reward for something (like graduating from college or getting a good job); we celebrate being alive.
Aída Ulloa
The Visionaries Media
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