Multiple Sclerosis and How Laughter Can Heal You

LSLLC - is a MS (Multiple Sclerosis) online clothing retail store ran and owned by a 100% disabled Army Veteran, Mom of 5 boys, with MS.

Our outlook on life is simple - "without light and laughter there is no hope". The goal for LSLLC is to spread awareness of Chronic Disease through laughter.

Did you know laughing may be a way to a much healthier Life-style for those with neurological disorders?

That was the premise of the current analyze that came about in Israel.

Neurological disorders, such as Multiple Sclerosis (MS) and Parkinson’s disease, potentially cause stress and slumber troubles, among the other issues.

The scientists in the study, which focused on individuals with Parkinson’s, reported laughter therapy could be a successful way for people with these ailments to really feel better.

There is trial happening right now that will research the results of laughter therapy on individuals with several different neurological problems, like MS.
The study will collect information about depression, fatigue, and anxiety in the participants, as well as the views their loved ones and caregivers have about these conditions.
This new trial came from lead investigator Dr. Ted Brown, director of neurorehabilitation in the Evergreen Health Multiple Sclerosis Center in Washington state.

“The intention with the research is to establish that laughter therapy is successful, which the hypothesis that it's effectiveness is true,” Brown instructed Healthline.

Brown added he also hopes to “spread the term” on laughter therapy, so folks will give it a check out.

Brown started out offering a laughter therapy program for his MS patients beginning in 2014, and speedily expanded the therapy to take care of other neurological issues.

“Many patients are disabled and can’t walk, or even have hand function.” Brown stated, “There are not a lot of exercise options for them, but they can do this. They can laugh. Laughter is considered an aerobic exercise, and 50 minutes of laughter can help build up the core and facial muscles," he said.
The Evergreen Health MS Center sees in between 800 and 900 individuals with MS a year.

Brown found out about laughter therapy by encountering it first hand in a conference.

Experience it would have a favourable impact on his patients with MS, he got together with laughter yoga teacher and coach Julie Plaut Warwick, and introduced it to his clinic.

He reported the results were effective and encouraging enough to build a medical research study.

Why laughter works
"Laughter therapy is not really about being silly or goofy, stated Sebastien Gendryhead of faculty at the Laughter Online University at the Laughter Wellness Institute.

“Any one can fake a chuckle,” Gendry informed Healthline.
What makes this therapy work is that it comes from deep inside.
“[It’s] a shift in attitude that makes the difference,” he said. “Creating distance between what we think is painful and what actually is pain.”
“Laughter does not mean happiness. It is a way to relieve tension,” Gendry said. “It is a simple and impactful way to improve immune function by increasing cardiovascular activity and improving lymphatic function with deep breathing and increased oxygen.”
Terry Schuster is yoga laughter advocate who also has MS. She was diagnosed in 1990 after her overall body went numb at an aerobics class.

After several therapy solutions, Schuster was able to obtain an HSCT stem cell transplant in April in Russia.

“The depression gets real,” Schuster told Healthline, but she “always tries to perk herself up.”

Schuster has used aqua therapy and yoga.

She explained she has also attempted almost every little thing that will help her deal better with MS. She was in the book group til work got in the way. She attends adaptive sporting activities when she is able.

At the moment she uses a cane, but is able to do things like kayaking and other activities.

When asked how laughter therapy has aided along with her MS, Schuster replied that she “feels more energized and more capable. That the energy from the inside goes to the outside. I get the feeling that ‘I can,’ and I walk to the car with a heightened sense of energy.”
Combining laughter and yoga

Plaut Warwick started off her laughter yoga program in 2014, providing it to just people with MS. She rapidly expanded the therapy to treat individuals with other neurological disorders upon looking at the favourable results.

She told Healthline that "It’s incredible to watch as those with these disorders share their life, how they alter their perspectives to take pleasure in existence, and have a renewed feeling of Power."

Plaut Warwick shared a Tale of somebody combating disabling exhaustion who “went home after laughter class, and did laundry — all of it, then cooked the entire dinner, then took a nap.”

"But studying laughter is difficult," she explained. "First of all, the person has to be willing to laugh, and be willing to open themselves up in front of strangers. People also don’t breathe deeply or take time to meditate. The therapy can be difficult physically and emotionally. When participants are emotional, then breathe deeply and laugh, they can end up vulnerable. They could be happy or sad or could cry." Plaut Warwick said. “The point is to get it out.”

She works by using stories from her clients as her litmus test for telling how the therapy is going. She has uncovered that her individual patients are able to be a little bit more flexible and shift their limbs somewhat more.

She also found participants were able to change their ways of thinking and be more positive about themselves when they leave class.
She explained that, “Through laughter exercises we are oxygenating our body — creating endorphins, and reminding our body that it is still here and alive.”
… Unconditional laughter, when no joke is needed... Just laughing to laugh.