What’s So Funny About Diabetes?
December 20, 2011
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – no, not the time we get to break into Santa’s stash of sugar-free candy canes (although that’s pretty awesome too!) It’s book release season! I’m super excited to tell you that my latest book, What’s So Funny About Diabetes? A Creative Approach to Coping With Your Disease is now available!
What’s so funny about diabetes?
Maybe nothing. Then again, maybe everything.
Especially if you understand the premise that so much of our humor comes from pain and discomfort—our own, or somebody else’s. And let’s face it; if you’re a diabetic, you’ve got more than your fair share of pain and discomfort.
Currently one in 10 US adults has diabetes, but those numbers could go as high as 1 in 3 by the year 2050. A long-term solution can only come from getting people to change their lifestyles: better diets, exercise and coping mechanisms to deal with this serious illness.
The good news: Humor and laughter have been shown scientifically to have positive benefits for diabetic patients. Laughter has been shown to lower blood glucose in diabetics, as well as decrease hormones that can be harmful. Humor is recognized as a healthy coping mechanism. And humor has also been proven to increase the retention of information.
For these reasons, and more, author Karyn Buxman has written the first in a series of books for patients with chronic illness: What’s So Funny About Diabetes? When you’re a diabetic, you need to arm yourself with all the tools that you possibly can to become the healthiest person that you can be. You need a large repertoire of skills. Humor isn’t the be-all, end all; it’s not meant to replace your medical regime, but rather to be a complement to all the efforts you’re already making.
Now Karyn Buxman shows you how you can strategically use humor everyday to better manage your diabetes and live a healthier and happier life. And you don’t need to be funny. You just need to be able to see funny.
“If we took what we now know about laughter and bottled it, it would require FDA approval,” says psychoneuroimmunologist, Dr. Lee Berk. The perfect gift for yourself or someone you love, this book is filled with wise, witty, and life-saving advice. Whether you are a diabetic, a pre-diabetic, or the cheerleader for a diabetic, there is something in this book for you.
What’s So Funny About Diabetes: The Book!
December 20, 2011
It’s the most wonderful time of the year – no, not the time we get to break into Santa’s stash of sugar-free candy canes (although that’s pretty awesome too!) It’s book release season! I’m super excited to tell you that my latest book, What’s So Funny About Diabetes? A Creative Approach to Coping With Your Disease is now available!
What’s so funny about diabetes?
Maybe nothing. Then again, maybe everything.
Especially if you understand the premise that so much of our humor comes from pain and discomfort—our own, or somebody else’s. And let’s face it; if you’re a diabetic, you’ve got more than your fair share of pain and discomfort.
Currently one in 10 US adults has diabetes, but those numbers could go as high as 1 in 3 by the year 2050. A long-term solution can only come from getting people to change their lifestyles: better diets, exercise and coping mechanisms to deal with this serious illness.
The good news: Humor and laughter have been shown scientifically to have positive benefits for diabetic patients. Laughter has been shown to lower blood glucose in diabetics, as well as decrease hormones that can be harmful. Humor is recognized as a healthy coping mechanism. And humor has also been proven to increase the retention of information.
For these reasons, and more, author Karyn Buxman has written the first in a series of books for patients with chronic illness: What’s So Funny About Diabetes? When you’re a diabetic, you need to arm yourself with all the tools that you possibly can to become the healthiest person that you can be. You need a large repertoire of skills. Humor isn’t the be-all, end all; it’s not meant to replace your medical regime, but rather to be a complement to all the efforts you’re already making.
Now Karyn Buxman shows you how you can strategically use humor everyday to better manage your diabetes and live a healthier and happier life. And you don’t need to be funny. You just need to be able to see funny.
“If we took what we now know about laughter and bottled it, it would require FDA approval,” says psychoneuroimmunologist, Dr. Lee Berk. The perfect gift for yourself or someone you love, this book is filled with wise, witty, and life-saving advice. Whether you are a diabetic, a pre-diabetic, or the cheerleader for a diabetic, there is something in this book for you.
What’s So Funny About Wednesday: Happy Thanksgiving!
November 23, 2011
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all! I’d like to wish each and every person reading these words a wonderful Thanksgiving. May your holiday be a wonderful celebration with family and friends – and of course, some great laughs!
Thanksgiving is a time for reflecting on our blessings. This year, we’ve had lots of blessings (and a few blessings-in-disguise). We’re grateful for *most* of them and for *everything* we’ve taken away from the experience. Most of all, it’s you we’re thankful for. Without such great people to work and laugh with, the world wouldn’t be such a fabulous place.
Using Humor At Thanksgiving
Are you headed for a holiday dinner where younger children will be present? Try memorizing a few silly Thanksgiving riddles. You’ll be giving the kids something to laugh about, keeping them entertained (and out of trouble!) and it may just turn out that their good mood is infectious. There are worse things than having a whole room full of people enjoying Thanksgiving puns.
(Our favorite? Why did the police arrest the turkey? They suspected it of fowl play!)
Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!
And for today’s chuckle (and to give a little comic relief to those of you who are facing down 18 pounds of frozen turkey this very minute) check out these real questions asked on the Butterball Turkey Hotline:
- Is it OK to baste my turkey with engine oil?
- Can I poke holes all over the turkey and pour a can of beer over it to keep it moist?
- Should I carve my turkey with a 16in Redmax or should I get out my Stihl Electric Chain Saw?
- How do I get my Chihuahua out of the turkey. (Her dog jumped up on the kitchen table.)
- Should I leave the giblets in their plastic bag during cooking?
- I’m a truck driver. Can I cook the turkey on the engine block of my semi while I’m driving? If I drive faster, will it cook faster?
- How long should I cook my turkey on the car radiator?
50 minutes at Mach 1 should do it!
What’s So Funny About Poop? Using Humor in Health Education
November 11, 2011
It’s no secret: I believe in the power of play. When we set aside our serious resolve and a little bit of dignity in order to have a good time, we free our minds to absorb information in a fresh and effective way. Play awakens the imagination and the intellect. “Humanity has advanced,” Tom Robbins said, “when it has advanced, not because it has been sober, responsible, and cautious, but because it has been playful, rebellious, and immature.”
That sense of play is on full display at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan. Check out this NY Times Article, “Where Children Discover Their Inner Child.” Eat,Sleep,Play: Building Health Every Day is an interactive exhibit that harnesses the power of play to teach children about their bodies, and what they can do to stay healthy. The exhibit includes the Royal Flush, which uses an over-sized toilet and Mary Poppins style voice to talk about bodily functions. As you can imagine, it’s a big hit. Kids find poop inherently humorous. (A trait they share with more than a few health care professionals!)
Using play as a teaching tool is great for kids. It’s also an effective strategy to connect with adults. We live incredibly busy, scheduled lives. Our brains are working all of the time. We wake ourselves up in the middle of the night, thinking of the six million things that need to be accomplished the next day. (Or is that just me?)
Play interrupts. When we are playing, everything else – work, chores, errands – simply falls of the radar. (Think back to how hard it was to ‘remember’ to do your homework in fourth grade – especially during kickball season!) Play frees our mind to be receptive and open to new information. At the same time, play is fun. Learning information while you’re having fun creates a positive association in the mind. It is easier to remember things we learn while we’re having fun.
What are some of the best ways you’ve seen the power of play used in education?
Extra Reading from JNJ: Check out Shirley Trout on Humor in the Classroom!
What’s So Funny About Wednesdays: Adding Humor To Your Daily Routine
November 9, 2011
Quick, what do Winnie the Pooh, tractor trailers, and your morning commute have to do with more effectively managing your diabetes? You can learn the answer by reading this post!
About WhatsSoFunnyAbout.com: WhatsSoFunnyAbout.com is your premier source on info about my latest book, What’s So Funny About Diabetes? A Creative Approach To Coping With Your Condition. Everything’s still under construction, but I wanted to give you a sneak peek at this exciting new material! So pop on over, and tell me what you think!
Understanding Why Patients Use Humor When They Talk To Nurses
April 15, 2011
I work in a neurologist’s office. We try to get really complete histories from every new patient but the patient I was working with, Mr. K, hadn’t checked anything on his intake paperwork. No history of heart disease, no high blood pressure, no cancer scares – not a thing. That’s so rare among our patients (Average Age 78!) that I had to ask him about it.
“Medical history?” He shrugged. “Can’t say there’s much. Of course, I’ve had amnesia as long as I can remember.”
This little grin pushed up the corners of Mr. K’s mouth, and his eyes suddenly started twinkling. I burst out laughing, and so did he. It turns out he did have a little bit of medical history, and he shared that with me after our laugh.
I was dropping off the file when one of the other nurses stopped me. [Read more]
My Pain is Not Like Your Pain!
April 8, 2011
This comic made me laugh out loud, and I’m guessing that if you work in health care, you laughed too. There’s no denying that every patient’s pain is real to them. It’s the way that that pain gets reported that can be a source of humor.
How many times, for example, have you had a patient report Level 14 Pain – when you can get them to take a break from the animated conversation they’re having on one phone and text-fest they’re having on another? That patient is almost inevitably followed by a seriously injured person who protests that they’re “Just fine – can I go home now?” Talking them into having at least a few stitches to keep their innards in the usual places is a job in and of itself.
Humor To Help Keep Perspective
Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.
Mel Brooks
Sometimes the humor in a situation is immediately apparent to everyone around us, but we, ourselves, are having a hard time finding the funny. Other emotions – embarrassment, irritation, chargrin – are taking up all of our mental energy. Given time, however, when those emotions fade away and you have a fresh perspective, things can be funny in retrospect.
It can take a while to get to that perspective. There was one spectacular mishap in the mid 80′s that I’m still trying to find the funny on…but that’s a story for another time.
How Humor Helps: Pediatric Patients
April 4, 2011
“You either love working peds or you don’t work peds.” I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard this nursing ‘wisdom’. There’s more than a grain of truth to it: generally nurses who specialize in pediatrics tend to love their work passionately.
However, enjoying what you do doesn’t mean that you don’t have challenges on the job – and if you’ve never attempted to make a bed with one hand, while holding a baby in the other and figuring out dosages by weight in your mind, you don’t know challenging! (And if you can master that, try finding scrubs that don’t show formula stains!)
Luckily, humor can help ease some of the challenges of pediatric nursing. Here are three ways humor helps make life with pediatric patients easier: [Read more]
@KarynBuxman on Twitter…
August 31, 2010
- Happiness is good health and a bad memory! (Tnx Lorna!) #
@KarynBuxman on Twitter…
August 24, 2010
- Mark Twain said 20 yrs from now you'll be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. Karyn's going for it! #