Meaning
The proverb ‘laughter is the best medicine’ means that laughter is beneficial to health. Laughter boosts up the immune system and improves the flow of blood to the brain and vital organs, thereby improving physical as well as psychological health. Laughing is an instant antidepressant and makes you feel good about yourself and also the people around you. A good laugh will let you instantly feel happier and better, like nothing else.
Expansion of idea
The proverb ‘laughter is the best medicine’ implies that laughter is the best way to recover from an illness or depression or sadness, etc. Medicine in the proverb means a curing ability like commercial medicines have for a specific ailment or disease. Unlike the medicines that treat a specific disease; laughter on the other hand is useful for treating physical as well as psychological health.
Laughter has been proved to reduce pain and helpful in treating depression and sadness. While commercial medicines may have side effects; laughter is a medicine that provides a win-win situation with no side effects at all.
Laughter on the other hand can be used as an additional cure along with traditional medicines.
Short Stories on ‘Laughter is the Best Medicine’
A story is the best way to understand the exact meaning of a proverb and the message behind it. I am giving below a couple of stories based on the proverb ‘laughter is the best medicine’. You can go through the stories and enhance your understanding of the proverb.
Short Story 1
Once upon a time, there lived a very rich man on an island. Everyone on the island knew him as he was very disciplined and kind as well. He had a daughter named Kia and his wife had died early due to some health issues. Kia was 12 years old but was quite different from other children. She was having a health issue for long and no medicine was able to cure it. She started remaining quite depressed due to this. She thought that her whole life will be consumed by this illness.
The businessman tried all kinds of treatments but just failed to cure her disease. He even brought her gifts, took her to restaurants, amusement parks, thinking that she may feel good about herself.
The business had a close friend as a doctor, who seemingly had different thinking differing from usual doctors. While in conversation once, the doctor told the businessman that, he doesn’t think that Kia actually had a disease or something like that.
Though glad to hear that, the businessman was still confused. What do you mean? He asked his doctor friend. The doctor said – let’s try something new. If it works then you will know what I mean. Businessmen had no choice but to agree.
The next day, the doctor sent in a caretaker for the girl. He wasn’t like other boring type caretakers. There was something funny in his expressions; the way he spoke, walked, and all. He was also a fantastic joke cracker.
Things went on pretty much the same way for a couple of days. One day the businessman returned from office and heard giggles and laughter of a girl coming from his house. He thought that he had a guest because he doesn’t remember when his daughter had laughed last. But as he entered the room he was surprised to see that his daughter was laughing with the caretaker. He immediately took the girl in his arms and called the doctor to thank. The doctor said that now you know what I meant that day – ‘laughter is the best medicine’.
Short Story 2
There lived a boy named Shree in an Indian village. He was a very jovial and funny kind of person, but everyone else in his family was serious. Only Shree used to laugh in his family, and everyone, even the villagers knew it. He also loved cracking jokes, writing funny stories and things like that.
Shree had an uncle who lived in the family. His name was Pramod. He had a huge loss in business a few years back and was always sad, not so happy kind of guy. The memories of loss were still with him and he was ill most of the time. No serious disease or ailment, but he remained ill, refusing medication. He also had difficulty in sleeping and couldn’t sleep well.
The boy Shree loved his uncle and was worried about his degrading health. He wanted to help him. He made a plan and wrote a funniest possible play with dialogues. He even prepared masks representing various characters in the play.
One night before his uncle was struggling to sleep, Shree requested him to just watch his play. Half an hour of play had Pramod laughing his heart out. At the end of the surprise of everyone, he went in a deep sleep just within five minutes of laughing.
The man, whom medicines couldn’t get to sleep, finally was sleeping like a child. That’s only because he laughed; thanks to Shree. That day everyone in the family realized that laughter is the best medicine and started laughing often.
Examples
An example is the best way to understand the proverb. I have given some examples based on the proverb ‘Laughter is the best medicine’ to improve your understanding of the proverb.
“The doctor told to the man – you will be alright, there is nothing to worry. Just try to be happy and be in the company of happy people. After all, laughter is the best medicine.”
“After spending some time with old friends, Prakash forgot all his worries and realized that laughter is indeed the best medicine.”
“Have you ever seen people gathered early morning in a park and laughing their hearts out, throwing their hands up in the air? They do so because it is a proven fact that laughter is the best medicine.”
“My school routinely organizes funny magic show for the children, as the management believes that laughter is the best medicine.”
“Ronil was depressed and no medicine was working on him. The doctor introduced some of his funniest friends to Ronil. Within a month Ronil started showing the signs of recovery. Indeed, laughter is the best medicine, thought the doctor.”
Origin
The exact origin of the phrase cannot be told yet it is a credit to several sources. In 1300, Henri de Mondeville, a professor of surgery found out the advantages of humor in treating ailments. He started experimenting with humor as a medicine for post-operative treatments.
Another professor and journalist named Norman Cousins also started experimenting with mood-elevating techniques by laughter. Cousins’ experiments reveal that just ten minutes of laughter is enough for relaxation up to a couple of hours.
Some even credit the origin of the proverb to the Old Testament in which it is written ‘a merry heart is like medicine.’ Later the proverb was also popularized by a monthly magazine Reader’s Digest which routinely printed a humorous article with the same name.
Today, the proverb has become an integral part of global culture and is popularly used in conversations as well as practice.
Importance
Laughter is the best medicine is a proverb that not only promotes good physical health but also mental health as well. It encourages us to adopt a happy lifestyle and be in the company of happy and healthy individuals.
Many medical professionals have engrained the concept of laughter is the best medicine in their work culture. Today, a number of doctors advise their patients to spend time in activities that make them laugh or at least spend time with friends with a pinch of humor.