When is the last time that you properly laughed? (writes Psychotherapist Jody Merelle)

Not that polite laughter that might be the response to someone being mildly humorous... but genuine laughter, where for a moment at least you were able to think about nothing else than just laughing?

Hopefully, in thinking about that question you can come up with an example in the very recent past. Chances are though, you might have to think for a few moments before thinking of an answer, and even then, it might have been quite some time ago.

When I ask this question of people I am working with, it’s surprising (and sad) how many say they can’t remember when they last had a proper laugh about anything.

As children, laughing seems to come naturally, but as we get older we often forget how to connect with our playful side. Some of this is down to the fact that as adults we are preoccupied with so many things that can feel hard to laugh about.

We might be burdened with paying the mortgage or not being able to get a mortgage at all. We have homes to find and run, jobs to go to or unemployment to withstand, traffic to negotiate and all manner of other problems to sort out, quite apart from health concerns and the whole covid situation.

Often, laughing can feel the very last priority on our list of things to do. Having said that though, laughing can be one of the best ways to get us through those trickiest of days and has been shown to have long-term benefits too.

Laughter is known to reduce stress and anxiety, strengthen the immune system and can even temporarily reduce physical pain. Research has shown all kinds of other positive side-effects too.

Laughter has been shown to be able to lower blood pressure, act as a natural anti-depressant and improve cardio-vascular functioning. Laughter is also an important way to make a genuine connection with other people. Laughing even burns calories!

In short there are a whole host of reasons to try and create opportunities to laugh as regularly as you can.

One development in this regard is the concept of laughter therapy, where participants get together with the specific intention of laughing as a group. However, laughter certainly doesn’t have to happen in this way, it can be found anywhere. The important thing is to find something that makes you laugh personally. For some this might be watching a sit com or comedy sketch, for others it could simply be spending time with people who share a similar sense of humour.

For me it is often spending time and interacting with animals. The picture shown was taken at Pennywell farm with a goat who, despite having a limited understanding of the concept of personal boundaries, certainly made me laugh until I almost cried.

Laughter is an important way of bonding with people too. Before moving into my new office at work a couple of weeks ago, I had only ever met my new colleagues in passing.

However, the main reason I was able to feel part of the team within just a few days was the fact that we were able to laugh together. The office has become a pleasure to work in as a result and we generally have a good laugh about something at least once a day.

I guess the important message is not to feel that you are only doing something worthwhile when you are in a state of serious concentration. Taking care of your mental well-being is one of the most important things you can do both for yourself and for others.

Try spending some time this week actively looking for ways to make yourself laugh. You might be surprised at just how beneficial this turns out to be.