Stress is
a Laughing Matter is
a phrase used by Judy Carter, author, and comedian. This was also the title of
a workshop Judy facilitated at the Erma Bombeck Writers Workshop (October 2022).
Judy encouraged the audience to look at our problems as punchlines. She speaks
and writes about finding happiness when you’re stressed.
You may be
wondering how stress can be a laughing matter. Well, it’s actually how you deal
with stress that involves laughter. Whether you want to perform stand-up
comedy, add humor to your writing, or just make it through a challenging time,
laughter helps. Laughter as well as storytelling that can be healing.
I’m in the
process of turning a problem into a punchline. Here’s my story, it’s a tale of
aging.
The radio in
my bathroom was blaring with the latest pop song. The volume was cranked up so
I could hear it over the pulsating shower water. I hummed to the tunes as I
lathered, rinsed, and began to dry off. I pulled the shower curtain open, and a
cool breeze tickled my nose, which caused a gentle sneeze…that threw my back
out.
I was
standing there alone, just me, the radio, and my towel; standing bent over in excruciating
pain each time I tried to stand upright. All I could do was tilt my head upward
as I thought, what just happened? Did I sneeze and throw my back out? Am I
about to die clean, but ashy?
Of course, I
was being a drama queen, but I needed a distraction form the pain. The situation
was in no way funny at the time. A couple of days later after an Aleve and a
lidocaine patch, I took a few minutes to reflect.
I took that
painful incident and added it to a comedy set that I was working on. Using the
art of exaggeration, the situation was made to appear ginormous (gigantic and
enormous). I’m not sure that’s a real word, but it added an element of humor.
How can you
turn stress into a laughing matter? Give it a try. Think of a situation that
was not funny at the time it was occurring. Share your story with a friend, but
retell it using exaggeration, and acting it out. You’re on your way to using
laughter to relieve a little stress.
Stress is a
laughing matter, that’s my point of view…and Judy’s, and I’m sticking with it.
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