Comments on: Is Laughter the Best Medicine? These Clowns Say Absolutely! https://clownswithoutborders.org/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/ Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:57:38 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.6.1 By: Maggie Cunha, MPH https://clownswithoutborders.org/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/#comment-129 Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:57:38 +0000 https://clownswithoutborders.flywheelsites.com/?p=1246#comment-129 In reply to Lily Bridgers.

What a fun and refreshing perspective! Looking forward to checking out “Just Like Us”!

]]> By: Lily Bridgers https://clownswithoutborders.org/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/#comment-128 Thu, 09 Nov 2023 15:31:27 +0000 https://clownswithoutborders.flywheelsites.com/?p=1246#comment-128 Lately, life has been quite chaotic, and the news is filled with one stressful story after another. It feels like we could all use a break from the heaviness. So, I started thinking about how a stand-up comedy documentary could be the perfect antidote. Even you said that though its health advantages are obvious, it is difficult to deny that laughing is a free, readily available, non-invasive kind of medication. http://justlikeusthemovie.com/

]]> By: Maggie Cunha, MPH https://clownswithoutborders.org/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/#comment-116 Thu, 20 Oct 2022 15:52:05 +0000 https://clownswithoutborders.flywheelsites.com/?p=1246#comment-116 In reply to Chip Daly.

Hi Chip! What an honor it must be to know you had such a profound change in a person’s life. Thank you for sharing your story here with our CWB community. Also, I just read your blog post and enjoyed it. I now know what “inner clown” means. Thank you!

]]> By: Chip Daly https://clownswithoutborders.org/is-laughter-the-best-medicine/#comment-115 Thu, 20 Oct 2022 13:46:16 +0000 https://clownswithoutborders.flywheelsites.com/?p=1246#comment-115 Thank You Maggie! This is a great blog, and well written. As a nurse/clown I too know that laughter works. I have seen it many times in my career. I have many stories of how laughter has helped someone in need. Two of my favorites are…. One, I clown in Russia routinely with my friend Maria who runs Maria’s Children. Naomi knows all about Maria. Anyway, I went to her summer camp in 2007. At this camp, a group of kids from Beslan joined us. I didn’t know anything about Beslan at the time, but I have certainly learned a lot since. I have been to Beslan 9 times now. Their main school was attacked by terrorist in 2004. It was a horrific moment in time. 334 people were killed, including 186 children. On the flip side, there were over 800 survivors who live with PTSD from the tragedy. One particular girl, Ira, was deeply effected by it. I had no idea of course, but I learned later that she would not smile or laugh after the attack. Her brother and sister were killed, while her and her mom survived. So, I can hardly blame her for not wanting to laugh. At camp, she seemed to me to be a very sweet, but shy girl. I had no info of her back story. She was in my family group, so I treated her the same as I did everyone else. I played with her, laughed with her, and smiled with her a lot. It was almost two years later, on my first trip to Beslan, where I met her mother Nadya. Nadya gave me the biggest, warmest hug ever and kept saying “spaciba, spaciba”. This is Thank You in Russian. I had no idea why she was thanking me so profusely. This is when I learned that Ira came home from summer camp 2 years earlier and was smiling and laughing, almost back to her old self. Her mom says I changed her with my laughter, play and smiles. She is like an adoptive daughter to me now and I love hearing about her life. She got married two years ago and seems pretty happy overall. All because a clown would laugh with her! My other story is written in my blog, if you care to read it. It is from 2014, but I think about it almost every day. https://yourdalyhug.blogspot.com/2014/05/seven-words-that-will-change-your.html Anyway, Thank You and thanks to all the clowns that do what they can to spread Laughter and Joy around the world. I for one know how important it is and can be! With Love and Laughter, Chip Daly

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