On the basis of the data, interpreted through the qualitative research process of interview and inductive reflexive thematic analysis, participants garnered a significant level of both intra-and inter-personal support and inoculation against the stresses of life through attendance at a monthly one hour LY session over an average period of 3.6 years....
...Findings of this study support the ‘broaden and build’ theory of positive emotions both broadening outlook in the moment and opening up possibilities for future growth...
The field of positive psychology has provided robust evidence of the links between mental and physical health, identifying various health protective benefits of flourishing...
LY is an exercise, a mind-body activity, in line with the ethos of social prescribing. It encourages positive affect without any active cognitive adjustment away from negativity towards positivity. This cognitive independence gives LY its reported mindful quality.
LY does not seek to promote the tyranny of positivity, rather it seeks to use laughter exercises to facilitate adaptive responses to stress through increasing the psychological distance from distress.
LY is a way of ‘metabolising’ a physical experience of a sense of fun, expressing joie de vivre. LY appears to foster a stronger sense of connectedness and build the perception of an increased ability to cope with the stresses of life. It offers an opportunity of letting go of the “you” that is experienced on a daily basis and being open to growth.
Everybody knows how to laugh and everybody knows how to breathe – two vital essences of what it is to be human. Laughter and breathing are free, accessible and portable potential avenues for positively influencing health, potentially improving levels of flourishing: both ‘ordinary magic', powerful tools for coping with life hiding in plain sight.
