The proverb, ‘laughter is the best medicine’, means that ‘laughter is the best way to recover’. The implication of this proverb is that ‘laughter is better at curing us than other things (like pills)’.
Medicine here means more generally a cure, or something that makes us feel better. That could mean a cure to a physical ailment. Or, it could mean a cure to a psychological ailment.
Of course, it would be dangerous not to take the prescriptions given to us by doctors. However, scientific studies have borne out this proverb. They have shown that positive thinking, smiling and laughing can help to speed up our recoveries. And, even if you just have a cold, managing to laugh at something makes you feel better.
Why Laughter is considered the best medicine?
- Positivity: When we laugh, a positive attitude can brighten us up. Further, it can spread positivity to others.
- Forgetting cares: laughing at a joke banishes cares momentarily from our minds.
- A physical reaction: the physical act of laughter relaxes our body.
- Helping traditional medicine: studies suggest that cures are more effective when we smile frequently.
Whether or not laughter is the best medicine is, according to these studies, somewhat debatable. Perhaps it is better to say that laughter makes medicine work at its best. In some cases, though, nothing can cure us except a smile.
Conclusion: Enjoying life is possible – even when we are ill.
Laura, edited.