Using Laughter
Did You Hear the One About...?
By Tim Gard
Dec 19, 2006 - 10:04:27 AM

Using laughter to balance the serious side of life...

You had to be there. "Fed" funnyman Tim Gard's standing-room-only stand-up session on developing a Comic Vision needed to be experienced in person.

Flying packages of M&Ms and Pop Rocks bribes to encourage audience participation... a "nose flute" symphony performed by Gard and two "volunteers"... Far Side Cartoons on the overhead projector... Gard wearing a rubber clown mask and wig and threatening reluctant participants with a machine-gun style water pistol... Well, it was a multi-sensory experience that doesn't easily translate into words.

Fortunately, the message behind all the bells and whistles does translate into these words: "You can take your work very seriously but yourself very lightly."

"People who work in the human services field often suffer from 'compassion fatigue,'" says Gard. He ought to know. He worked for the State of Montana as a social services eligibility technician and an eligibility investigator. He also worked as a federal fraud prevention expert with the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service in Denver, Colorado.

His state jobs were particularly stressful, he says, because they involved making decisions that profoundly affected people's lives. "So many things can cause you stress. The more you care about your work, the harder it can be," he says. "You cannot always control the things that happen around you, but you can control your perception of those things by developing a Comic Vision."

So, what is a Comic Vision and how do you develop one? "Having a Comic Vision is choosing to laugh at the things we can, be serious about the things we have to and actively using laughter to balance the serious side of life," Gard explains. "It's choosing to see the humorous side of situations that would normally irritate us and put stress into our lives."

As a stressbuster, humor can't be beat. "Just as negative feelings follow being upset, laughter produces positive feelings," Gard says. "When we laugh, our brain responds and releases endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. These endorphins induce a sense of well-being." He adds that "laughter also increases oxygen to the brain, reduces muscle tension and promotes relaxation."

Gard gives an example. "I use my Comic Vision as a 'Fed' every day," he says, explaining that his office starts off each day with a "Sniglet" from their Sniglet calendar. (Sniglets are made-up words that describe things there really are no words for - like that circling motion a dog makes right before lying down. Gard calls that "houndwounding.")

It's also helpful to surround yourself with things that make you feel good, such as a copy of Life's Little Instruction Book, a box of "Betty Crocker Road Kill Helper" or a big cutout of a fishbowl and a fish swimming in it. "Put a little container of fish food in front of it, and folk'll leave you alone!" he says.

Or you may want to take out your frustrations on a "Damnit Doll," or make a list of stressful things on a strip of toilet paper and then walk around the office with it streaming from your shoe. Or you can take up playing the nose flute, a small kazoo-like instrument that you blow into with air from your nose. (Gard's instructions on how to use a nose flute: "Little end up, big end down - much like myself!")

Of course, open humor is not always appropriate. When a boss, co-worker or client is giving you a hard time, don't make funny faces or weird sounds. A favorite of some participants was making a fishy face while slowly emitting "Wong, wong" sounds and suggesting big wavy ears with floppy hand motions. "But be sure to do this in your mind," Gard warns. "If you want to keep your job, you have to do it in your mind!"

Without a Comic Vision, "we often react negatively to stress," he says. "We fixate on bad things. Stress is a response to a real or an unreal stimulation, and even trivial stimulation can cause stress. You need to be able to laugh at the absurdity of the situation."

For example, you can take advantage of the fact that some people view federal, state and local government employees as lazy and nonproductive. "When they tell one of those state employee jokes, you have a choice," says Gard. "You can get angry - or you can tell better jokes!"

The benefits of developing a Comic Vision go beyond helping you survive life's tough spots. Humor promotes teamwork. "People can't be forced into accepting or respecting you, but sharing humor and a Comic Vision can unite you in a way you wouldn't believe possible."

So, stop taking yourself too seriously. Remember, you always have a choice in how you respond to the stressful things in your life.