The Lighter Side of Transformation

with Lisa Wessan, LICSW

Sep 13

Laughter is a Creativity booster

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

“At the height of laughter, the universe is flung into a kaleidoscope of new possibilities.” ~ Jean Houston

When I present keynotes on laughter therapy, I always enjoy seeing the looks of surprise on my audience’s faces when I describe how laughter affects the functioning of our brains.

When you have a good laugh, three important neurological events occur:
1. You oxygenate your brain; the increased oxygen feeds the neural network and helps it spark more efficiently.
2. Laughter increases the communication between the left and right hemispheres, across the corpus callosum. This helps integrate your linear and non-linear thinking, as it were.
3. The overall effect of this brain stimulation is increased memory, retention and cognitive ability. Problem solving and creativity are significantly boosted as well.

Always working as an evidence-based consultant, I have the medical citations from peer-reviewed journals for these studies. The question remains: how come this information is not widely known? Why don’t we have a laughter coach or trainer in every school, institution and hospital?

Next time I’m going to share some of my case studies from presenting laughter therapy in advanced Alzheimer’s units… to share the remarkable way residents with Alzheimer’s Disease snap into lucidity when they laugh with me…yes, I have stunning evidence that needs to be published…first here, and later in a journal.

© 2010 by Lisa Wessan. All rights reserved.

Laughter Therapy Longevity Resiliency

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Aug 29

“There is a crack in everything, that’s how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

Leonard Cohen’s quote triggered in me the many ways and opportunities we have to turn ourselves around. Here’s one recent example :

One of my clients was recently going through a tough time…let’s call her Tess. Tess received many financial gifts from her mother — who attached huge cables of control to each gift. Tess had fought with her mother for years about her spending habits, and was in tears about their most recent crisis level.

Her mother had insisted Tess see a specific financial consultant to help her sort out her finances and get more organized with her money. In order to continue receiving financial support from her mother, Tess was forced to share the details of her spending with this man and felt this was a huge violation of her privacy. Her pain was deep, as a 40-year-old woman, she felt humiliated by her mother’s intrusive ways. She felt weak, exhausted, angry, frustrated and depressed from the fights with her mother.

Towards the end of the phone call, Tess said she felt she was falling apart from it all. She feared she was having a complete breakdown from her mother’s brutal words and actions. I was silently listening and saying small phrases of acknowledgment and endorsement while she spoke.

Finally, Tess declared that she would rather be estranged from her mother than keep going through this agony with her over money. At this point, Tess announced she would sell her large condo, move into a smaller place, and become financially independent from her mother. My comment was, “So, you’re not having a breakdown, now you’re having a breakthrough….this may be for your greatest good…what do you think?”

When I said these words, Tess lit up and became so excited…she had revealed her cracking up process to me, and now a little light was coming through the crack. Plus, she was now being empowered by this emotionally depleting situation to realize that for her to have complete freedom — even her own financial freedom — she would need to detach from her mother’s money.

This is what living and practicing conscious transformation is all about, how do we turn our defeats into a victories? How do we use these cracks in our lives for the evolution of our consciousness?
“There is a crack in everything, and that’s how the light gets in,” resonates for me on many levels…So next time, I want to discuss what it means when we are “cracking up…” The good news, the bad news, the view from therapeutic laughter research….yes, more on “cracking up” to be continued….

© 2010 by Lisa Wessan. All rights reserved.

Detachment Resiliency

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Aug 1

Advice from the Sun

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

I was recently at a meeting at St. Joseph’s Hospital, Nashua, NH, and saw this posted on one of the bulletin boards in a hallway. It made my day brighter, so I want to share it with you:

ADVICE FROM THE SUN

Keep it light
Rise to the occasion
Look on the bright side
Set your sights high
Renew your energy
Keep a sunny disposition
Be brilliant!

~ Author Unknown

Intentions

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Jul 13

“The Beauty of Hoarding”

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

There is an exceptionally good article posted in THE WEEK, May 7, 2010, “The Beauty of Hoarding,” excerpted from STUFF: Compulsive Hoarding and the Meaning of Things by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee. Copyright © 2010 by Randy O. Frost and Gail Steketee. Learn how hoarders are making social connections and staying in touch with the world via their hoarding patterns…

We need to understand that people who are hoarding see endless opportunities in their stuff – for themselves and others. This is a breakthrough concept that needs further exploration.

It has been my experience when I work with clutterers and hoarders that we need to do a step by step process I call “Face it, trace it and erase it.” Every object in your home has special and unique emotional connections and memories attached to it. Once those connections are revealed — and deconstructed – it then becomes possible to release and let go of the unwanted stuff. This happens through talking, writing/journaling, role playing, meditating and going a bit deeper, using art and other forms to get behind the reasons for holding on. This can have an element of fun and playfulness – it does not have to be grueling work.

To get an experience of this process, check out my next clutter program 9/21/10 in Westford, MA (see calendar of upcoming events at http://www.MirthMaven.com for details.)

Clutter Connection

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Jul 12

What is the Internet is Doing to Our Brains?

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

I know I’m not alone in wondering how the internet is changing the way I think, write, respond and create in this world. But I choose to believe that it’s all for the good, that this is part of our evolution. I might be wrong.

More and more documentation is showing that advanced internet use does decrease our attention spans, although it may improve our analytic skills. I’m at the point where I can’t write as smoothly in longhand (and my penmanship is nearly an illegible code), whereas in front of the keyboard I feel lucid and quick. I used to think I was just a kinesthetic learner — but there’s more to it. I need to be able to sit at a keyboard to think about certain subjects with maximum focus. I am clearly conditioned to work with several web pages open at once, fact checking and spell checking as I go.

The research is mounting….pros and cons…this is a good overview of the issues in this recent clip from Scientific American (June 15, 2010).

Addictions Connection Internet Addiction

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Jun 18

Nashoba Valley Medical Center chooses laughter therapy to celebrate Nurses Week

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

I know my group has hit the sweet spot when people are laughing and crying, maybe even a little drool is running down their faces, from learning to have an extended, massive laughter session without a stream of funny jokes….learning to “laugh for no reason” is key in this work.

The Nashoba Valley Medical Center, Ayer, MA, invited me to be their keynote speaker in honor of Nurses’ Week. So May 12, 2010 we had a large gathering at the Groton Country Club in order to experience “Therapeutic Applications of Humor and Laughter for Caregivers.”

Everyone starts out serious – because laughter therapy is part of a serious multimodal stress reduction program that aims to lower cortisol levels and blood pressure, increase immunoglobin A to prevent flus and colds, and release all kinds of stress in the muscles and joints, oxygenate the brain and leave everyone feeling refreshed and energized. That, plus much more. What is beautiful is to watch a group of intelligent, noble, dignified people give themselves permission to let their guards down for a few minutes to experiment and have a roaring good time. The psychological benefits are so numerous – increased cohesiveness in the group, open to forgive, enhanced compassion and team building strengthened. I will continue this in a separate article.

Mary Mathieu, the Director of Case Management at Nashoba Valley Medical Center summed up her experience of my keynote: “Lisa Wessan, ‘The MIrth Maven’ was invited to be the speaker for the Nurses’ Day dinner. She presented a program, ‘The Therapeutic Benefits of Laughter for the Healthcare Professional.’ Having been to many Nurses’ Day dinners in my 21 years as an RN, I enjoyed this presentation the most. She began by providing evidence-based research on the physical and psychological benefits of laughter and the second half of the program was lots and lots of laughter…I laughed until I cried….I laughed on the way home…the next day…and thinking of the event still makes me smile. I look forward to attending many more of her events in the future. I very highly recommend her!!!”

In the meantime, it was my honor and privilege to participate in this expansive event. Nashoba Valley Medical Center joins with several other large hospitals and organizations in Massachusetts that are clearly on the vanguard of a growing movement to include laughter therapy and team building with laughter as part of an empowered management strategy. Based on my short time here, it is evident that New England health care facilities seem to trust that laughter therapy will help prevent burn-out, reduce turnover, and keep their professional caregivers high functioning and more productive.

My professional goal: to have a full time certified laughter therapist in every hospital!

Connection Intentions Laughter Therapy Resiliency

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Jun 17

The mirth diet

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

“It’s been said that laughter is good medicine, but it also may be good exercise, says LiveScience.com. In a series of studies, researchers at Loma Linda University in California found that repeated bouts of “mirthful laughter” offer some of the same benefits—including lower blood pressure and lower cholesterol—as moderate exercise. In their most recent study, researchers found that volunteers who laughed while watching videos experienced changed levels of the hormones ghrelin and leptin, which are known to regulate appetite. Those hormones are also affected by exercise. The findings, says study author Lee Berk, suggest that some sort of “laughter therapy” might be an option for patients who cannot use physical activity to normalize or enhance their appetite.” (THE WEEK May 6, 2010)

Diet Ghrelin Laughter Therapy Leptin Mirth

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May 7

My Love Affair with Tango

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

The tango changes the way we relate to strangers, and to the world at large. There is a safe intimacy with tango, a possibility for oneness and separateness that works well. Loved this article in THE WEEK (2/26/10) for it captures a novice tango student’s growing relationship with tango, her body and the other dancers in Central Park.

Connection Intimacy

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Apr 8

Give it a rest! What are some progressive new ways to observe the Sabbath concept?

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

Love this fresh interpretation of sabbath observance, “Powering Down for Shabbat” (3/18/10) from The Jewish Week…

Spiritual Renewal

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Mar 30

What are mirror neurons?

by Lisa Wessan, LICSW

For years I didn’t know how I knew certain things…numerical answers in a math teacher’s verbal pop quiz, the answers to a tour guide’s question, “How many floors are there in this building?” and other strange trivia that would just pop into my head — was I telepathic? A psychic? Well, now there is emerging research concerning “mirror neurons,” and I’m very excited because this would explain how I have done some bizarre learning in my day.

The most freakish experience was being in Egypt, and understanding Arabic so well — without ever studying it. I thought perhaps this was evidence of past life experience –but now, it could just be that I have a whopping dose of mirror neurons! I’m going to study this and see where it goes…

If you’re in the same boat, here’s a good overview of current mirror neuron research from the New York Times

For those of us with a high emotional IQ, e.g. deep empathy and strong reaction to others’ emotions, we need to be extra careful that our mirror neurons don’t harm us from exposure to intense toxic emotions or violent scenes….we need to be discerning about our film, television and media choices. And what about difficult people? We all need more protection from abrasive humans…but if we are loaded with mirror neurons we really need to avoid spending too much time with these folks, or our health is seriously at risk.

For addictive personalities with a high load of mirror neurons, this would explain the real danger in being among people, places and things that are using the substance du jour. Smokers, food addicts, alcoholics, cocaine and narcotic abusers are particularly vulnerable to be in proximity of their substances if their mirror neuron load is high…

Not too far in the future there will probably be an index or scale for measuring mirror neuron activity on our brains. This will help all of us — especially addicts — to practice better self-care with NO GUILT. For today, isn’t it nice to know you can sleep better and be healthier by monitoring your mirror neuron exposure…Yes, once again I am reminded that “There are no victims, only volunteers!”

Addictions

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