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]
Mind if I Laugh?
May 12, 2009
Mind If I Laugh?
originally published 2007
Following the events of September 11, 2001 and the terrorism that ensued, I continued traveling around the country, addressing groups about the healing power of humor and laughter. I heard a variety of comments:
“I really want to laugh, but I just can’t bring myself to do it.”
“I can’t bear to watch another news report—it’s sucking the life right out of me.”
“I feel like laughing, but I’m afraid other people will think I’m being inappropriate. Is it really okay to laugh yet?”
Abraham Lincoln may have said it best: “With the fearful strain that is on me night and day, if I did not laugh I should die.”
Now more than ever, we, as individuals and as a country, need the healing power of humor and laughter to deal with the tragedies we experience. Reports showed that the country is in poorer health overall than it was prior to September 11th. Accompanying the levels of higher anxiety and stress are people suffering from a myriad of stress related illnesses and conditions: Headaches, stomachaches, general malaise, fatigue, difficulty sleeping, muscle aches, difficulty concentrating, depression, and the list goes on.
People find many ways to cope with their stress including unhealthy means, such as abuse of drugs, alcohol, food, sex and work among others. A healthy person needs a variety of coping mechanisms at his disposal, as there is no single coping mechanism that will be right for every situation. Humor should be one of the many tools one carries in his repertoire, as it is recognized as one of the healthy coping mechanisms we have available at our disposal.
Humor relieves anxiety and tension, serves as outlet for hostility and anger, and provides a healthy escape from reality. It lightens heaviness related to critical illness, trauma, disfigurement, and death. It comes as no surprise that many people are utilizing humor to deal with the trying times. But is the humor timely? Is it appropriate?
“When tragedy and death cloud our lives, they darken our humor as well.” (Karyn Buxman, This Won’t Hurt A Bit)
Much of the humor that saw after 9/11 is what has been referred to as gallows humor, dark humor or black humor. In her book, Humor and the Health Professions, nurse researcher Vera Robinson explains, “(Black humor) is a humor that people have always used when they feel hopeless and helpless, when there is nothing we can do to change what has happened. Black humor is a defense against the horror against whatever it is we fear and is a way to master it, and give us a sense of control by laughing at it.”
The truth is that we all experience tragedy on a variety of levels. For some of us, it may be on a personal level. At times, it may be on a community level. And periodically we experience tragedy on a national or even global level.
On a personal scale
None of us will escape experiencing personal tragedy: Illness, accident, loss of job, divorce, or death in the family. These painful ordeals can sometimes evoke humor that allows us to ventilate our frustrations about such unfair events in life.
Sometimes when we use humor to cope, others discourage us with comments about the inappropriate nature of the humor. One patient told me that when making a joke about his cancer his daughter admonished him by saying, “Dad, you must not understand just how sick you are or you wouldn’t be cracking jokes about this.”
Author Allen Klein asked terminally ill patients about the use of humor and laughter during their illnesses. Over three fourths of those surveyed said they wished their care providers and support persons would use more humor and not discourage them (the patients) from using humor.
On a community scale
Communities experience tragedies such as floods, earthquakes, fire, natural disasters, loss of industry or politicians caught in compromising situations.
1993 marked ‘The Flood of 500 Years’ on the Mississippi River. Communities along the entire river experienced flooding, destruction of property, loss of homes and jobs, and sometimes death. Yet, humor marked the will of people to keep their spirits afloat, not to be oppressed and depressed by the Muddy Mississippi. In Iowa the Des Moines Register held a contest, “I’m a Floody Mess,” where contestants tried to one-up one another with descriptions of their misery. When the local water system failed as a result of the flood, and running water for drinking and bathing was no longer an option, one contestant wrote, “I smell so bad that my Sure deodorant is undecided.”
Following the 2007 fires in San Diego, in which almost half a million people were temporarily displaced and thousands lost their homes, healing and recovery once again were marked by signs of humor—sometimes literally. In front of one home which had been reduced to ashes, the owner posted a sign that said, “Fire Sale! Everything Must Go!”
On a national scale
Unfortunately we will witness events that have national ramifications, such as the Shuttle Challenger explosion, and even global ramifications, such as the loss of the World Trade Center in New York. With the technological advances in mass media, events that might once have been local tragedies now impact people near and far: The shootings at Columbine, the Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Katrina: These events hit home through television, radio and print around an entire nation and beyond.
At times, the humor demonstrated after these events was a ‘hoping humor’, a “let’s hang in there together and we’ll get through this together” kind of humor. The focus of the humor was more situational and unrelated to the tragedy; the humor was used as a relief mechanism from feelings of sadness and feeling overwhelmed. One survivor of the Oklahoma City Bombing commented, “I laugh because I’m cried out.”
While we certainly see many examples of ‘hoping humor’ related to the tragedies of recent terrorism, we also see ‘coping humor’ or the humor that is used to express anger in a socially acceptable way. By targeting humor at the ‘enemy’ or the oppressors, we are able to whittle them down in size and feel more powerful, more superior.
Some of the humor after 9/11 was grotesque, such as computer exercises allowing us to shoot Osama bin Laden in virtual games or blow up terrorists with a keystroke from the comfort of our own computer. Some humor was less violent, yet still targeting our enemies. An example is an e-mail forwarded to me:
“The nonviolent solution currently being circulated is to say to the Taliban: Give us Osama bin Laden or we will take all of “your” women and send them to college.”
The Internet provides opportunities galore to express our frustration and disgust through games, cartoons, websites, jokes, discussion boards, chat rooms and e-mail targeting bin Laden, the Taliban and the like.
The challenge: What is stress relieving for some is stress producing for others. While some find gallows humor to be a positive means of dealing with their stress, others find these expressions of humor to be salt rubbed into an already irritated wound. What’s appropriate? What’s not? There is no clear-cut answer. Gallows humor can be a positive means of coping with anxiety, but it helps if certain guidelines are followed:
Establish a bond: Gallows humor is less offensive when there is a bond between the initiator and receiver of the humor. Often this is a type of ‘inside humor’ that is utilized within certain the boundaries of a certain group of people. There is an almost unspoken agreement: “I’ll not be offended by your sick humor if you agree not to be offended by mine.”
Be aware of the environment: The trick is to keep the humor within the confines of said group. Once the dark humor escapes the confines of the group, it then may become hurtful. Anyone who hears, sees or experiences the humor is part of the audience, whether you intended them to be or not. Think twice before hitting the ‘forward’ key on an e-mail or blurting out a joke you just heard. Will it be hurtful if unintended audience members intercept?
Be sensitive to the timing: H. G. Wells once said, “The crisis of today is the joke of tomorrow.” Generally it takes time for people to see any humor derived from pain or discomfort. Some people never will. Every person’s situation is unique and determined by their own set of circumstances and life experiences.
Despite its multiple benefits, humor is always risky business. Try as you may to be politically correct, there will almost always be someone waiting in the wings to be offended. The humor or laughter provides an excuse for him to ventilate about an unspoken and deeper issue. That being said, if you choose to use humor to cope with difficult times and are mindful of the feelings of others then, more than likely, most folks won’t mind if you laugh. Indeed, they may welcome the respite.
Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar
November 5, 2008
They met as freshmen at Harvard 51 years ago! Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein have been longtime friends and colleagues. Not too long ago, they checked into a hotel with a pile of joke books and a pile of philosophy books and the result: Plato and a Platypus Walk into a Bar… Understanding Philosophy through Jokes. (Well, actually the original title was An Existentialist and A Horse Walk into a Bar—no joke, but I digress…)
Forty publishers rejected their book. Fortunately, the forty-first, Abrams Image, was savvy enough to spot a winner. A New York Times Best seller, as a matter of fact.
For those of you, like me, who managed to escape taking Philosophy in college (nurses aren’t encouraged to philosophize, especially while performing CPR), you would be pleasantly surprised at how the great insights of philosophers such as Kant, Aristotle, Descartes, Nietzsche, and Marx (Karl and Groucho) can be explained in such an understandable and hysterical way. The wit and charm of this book make it a must have for your library (even if your library is in your bathroom).
But as great as the book is, it cannot compare to seeing these two guys live and in person. I had the pleasure of laughing with them as they did a reading and signing at Warwick’s in San Diego. Fortunately for me, these guys are not aspiring to be full time speakers and entertainers (whew!). Fortunately for you, they are aspiring authors and have one sequel completed (Aristotle and an Aardvark Go to Washington… Understanding Political Doublespeak through Philosophy and Jokes) and another on the way.
Check out their humor and their website where you can buy their book and tell them I send laughs from San Diego!
Life in the Fast(food) Lane
November 5, 2008
A wise person once said, “Wherever you are, be there.”
Have you ever found yourself collapsing into bed at the end of an exhausting day wondering, “What did I do all day?” Think about it for a second… How many ‘hats’ do you wear in a 24-hour period? For instance there’s the parent or grandparent hat, spouse hat, the hats of chauffeur, parishioner, volunteer, friend… just to name of few. For some of you, the list may go on and on. Think I’m exaggerating? Perhaps your day goes more like this:
Waking up from a peaceful sleep, you begin the day sipping a piping hot cup of coffee in bed while scanning the morning newspaper. Then you follow a tantalizing aroma to the kitchen where your significant other has prepared and serves a delicious but low-fat breakfast that you consume at your leisure. Next, you slip on your sharpest outfit, stroll to your luxury car and breathe in the smell of fresh interior. Noting your teenager left you with a full gas tank, you ease out of your driveway, cruise to work, and relax to your favorite music.
Seated at your immaculate desk, you dive into your work. Then, after a productive morning, you take a well-deserved lunch ‘hour’ with a few favorite colleagues. Returning to work, the company president pats you on the back, gives you a knowing wink, and says something about the bonus coming up in your next paycheck.
Once home, your family rushes to greet you, asking, “How was your day?” You pick up the newspaper, settle into your overstuffed chair, kick off your shoes, and channel surf to your favorite television station, while the family prepares your favorite dinner. After a mouth watering meal, you retreat to your spot in the den and enjoy three hours of television while the family cleans up the kitchen, straightens the house, completes homework, and puts laundry away. You complete your busy day with a leisurely hot bath, surrounded by scented candles while you sip a glass of wine in complete silence. Feeling refreshed and energized, you slip into the bedroom for an hour of passion and romance, then after a restful night’s sleep, you leap from bed and enthusiastically greet another day.
Yeah, right… As for me, the average American*, reality looks more like this:
I toss and turn throughout the night, struggling to organize tomorrow’s schedule. After fumbling with the snooze alarm twice (the average American spends 24 years sleeping), I shuffle to the bathroom mirror, bleary eyed and grateful that America does not see me like this. I then stumble to the kitchen where I microwave the remains of yesterday’s coffee (the average American spends $35 on sleeping pills and $3,342 on coffee). Kids scramble around sticking papers in my face that need to be signed… what’s this note from the teacher thanking me for packaging candy this afternoon? The chaos continues as the family trips over one another in and out of the bathroom (the average American spends 7 years in the bathroom) and into the kitchen where they grab granola bars and cold cereal. Snippets of conversation go something like this:
“Do I have any clean underwear?”
“No. Just turn yours inside out. It’ll last another day.”
“Can you iron this shirt for me?”
“No, we retired the iron years ago. Throw it in the dryer on fluff. If that doesn’t work, you’ll have to throw it in the wash and start over.”
“My t-shirt’s inside out.”
“That’s the way I found it in the laundry basket. You have 2 choices: Start turning your clothes inside out before passing them on to me; or wear them inside out– then the next time you pull them off, they’ll be right side out again!”
After kissing everyone and scooting them out the door, I throw on an outfit and scramble for 2 matching shoes (the average American spends 1 year and 6 months getting dressed). I look in the mirror, then the clock, and decide to settle for a bad hair day. I race to the car and breathe in the essence of cold fries, spilled milk shakes, and an obscure dirty sock. A quick check of the gas gauge confirms my fears. Maybe if I coast down hill, I can make it to the nearest gas station. Realizing breakfast is a figment of my imagination, I fly through the fast food lane, juggle a cup of scalding hot coffee between my knees (the average American drinks 56,044 cups of coffee), and stop at the first intersection where I finally apply my lipstick (the average American spends 4 years traveling in the car; of that time 6 months is waiting for the light to turn green). Thank God for traffic lights or I’d never finish putting on my makeup!
At my desk, I struggle to find where yesterday’s paperwork ends and today’s begins. The computer beeps constantly with reminders of tasks unfinished and projects yet to do. I stay at my desk through lunch, savoring my healthy meal of stale leftover Halloween candy (the average American eats 1,483 lbs of candy, including 801 pounds of chocolate, 240 Hershey kisses and 11,113 M&Ms) and wash it down with a soda that has no calories, no caffeine, no sodium, and no taste. Dashing to the restroom, I spy a memo from the boss tacked to the bulletin board, displaying a nebulous message about possible restructuring and right-sizing. Great…
At the end of the workday, it’s time for the ‘second shift’ (i.e., duties performed after work, women usually putting in approximately 31 hours per week, about twice as many as their male counterparts**). With my mom/chauffeur hat in place I begin the after-school shuffle: football/baseball/weight lifting practice, karate lessons, and religion classes, etc. (the average American makes 42, 481 automobile trips). Finally back home, I attempt to serve a meal that doesn’t come in a bag or a box (the average American eats out at restaurants 14,411 times including 1,811 trips to McDonald’s). While nibbling on an Oreo (the average American eats 35,138 cookies; of those, 10,532 are sandwich style), I snag various leftovers from the refrigerator, whisk them together, dump the contents into a greased pan and crumble onion rings over the top. Voila! A casserole that defies all logic (move over, Julia Child).
I prepare to sit down to eat with the family (the average American spends 17,307 hours eating meals at home) only to find everyone else wolfed down their meal and they’re already headed for homework and channel surfing (the average American, while watching TV, changes the channel 325,393 times). Three hours later, after finishing dishes (the average American spends 16,961 hours preparing meals and cleaning up), laundry, and helping with homework, I discover it’s already time for bed. There’s a vain attempt for a quick hot bath when I hear a quiet tapping on the door. “Mom, I forgot, I’m supposed to bring 27 cupcakes in the morning to school ‘cause I’m the student of the week this week… okay?”
Easing out of the tub, I throw on my favorite flannel pajamas (the average American man has 166,148 sexual fantasies; the average American woman has 83,074 sexual fantasies), kiss everyone goodnight, and head back to the kitchen.
What did I do today? In its proper perspective, it was the best day yet, with many magic moments. However, with so many places to go, people to meet, and tasks to coordinate, it’s easy to lose touch with the miracle of now, to get sucked into life’s fast lane and miss the scenery along the way. I don’t know how many hours the average American spends replaying mistakes from the past (I should’ve said… If only…), or how many hours the average American wastes worrying about what might go wrong tomorrow… or the next day. But I do know that if I take a mindful step outside the fast lane and take a moment to be still, I become aware of all the gifts that surround me. Life is an amazing journey. Live each day amazed and amused and take time to enjoy the trip.
Sources: * In An Average Lifetime, by Tom Heymann; ** ABC’s PrimeTime