Janet,
Interesting to see this, especially while I'm reading Norman Cousins',
Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by a Patient. It's about a man who
overcame a life threatening chronic condition with a daily regimen of
laughter. The author, after a lengthy period of substantial job-related
stress, suffered a serious collagen illness -- a degenerative disease of the
connective tissue which left him barely able to move and only with
significant pain. He believed that the stress caused the illness and
reasoned (to put it simply) that the opposite of stress, laughter, would
cause his body to heal itself. He ordered a supply of humorous films,
records, and books. After his first session (10 minutes of the Marx
brothers), he was able to sleep uninterrupted for two hours for the first
time since the onset of his ailment. Eventually (gradually over a number of
years) he was cured.
I don't know what laughter therapy can do for PD, but it certainly can't
hurt. It's enough of an excuse to put me on a buying binge of tapes and CDs
of all my favorite comedians. I'm also getting some that my wife would like
(for when she sees the VISA bill).
Rees Jenkins
