You’re in luck, because you’ve just stumbled upon a troupe of professional clowns (yes, real-life clowns) who are ready to guide you to joy.

Humor isn’t just about belly laughs; it’s a powerful tool to ease stress, lift spirits, and connect with others. Our clowns have witnessed these benefits firsthand for people in crisis.

This post explores the effectiveness of humor as a coping mechanism. You’ll also learn how to make humor a priority in your life.

Hop in the clown car — it’s time to get this show on the road!

We’ll make the following pit stops:

• Humor: How Does the Funniest Coping Mechanism Measure Up?
• Cruising to Well-Being: Humor’s Astonishing Gifts
• Stress and Anxiety Take a Comedic Detour
• Humor Habits to Avoid Potholes In Your Daily Commute
  • Take The Laughter Challenge
• Using Humor to Cope with Trauma: A CWB Example

Humor: How Does the Funniest Coping Mechanism Measure Up?

Coping mechanisms are as numerous as the number of oversized shoes at a clown convention: there are hundreds of options. But how does humor measure up?

According to Positive Psychology, the literature has identified five coping strategies:

1. Emotion-focused
2. Problem-focused
3. Meaning-focused
4. Social
5. Avoidance-focused

Within each of these strategies, you can tap into mechanisms that are either healthy or unhealthy. Unhealthy coping mechanisms may avoid stress, but the results are harmful. Healthy coping mechanisms provide benefits without harm. 

Can you find the funny in this table of coping mechanisms?

Information in the table sourced from Positive Psychology

Did you see it?

Laughter is listed under the Healthy/Emotion-focused strategy.

However, this list of coping mechanisms is not exhaustive. Can you imagine where else laughter might fit in on the chart?

What‌ does humor as a coping mechanism actually look like in practice?

Humor can shift emotions by changing our body chemistry and reframing situations. It can shift meaning by allowing an optimistic view to emerge. Socially, humor can connect us with others and nurture feelings of acceptance.

Cruising to Well-being: Humor’s Astonishing Gifts

Light-hearted, jolly humor and positive, re-framing humor are our favorite coping mechanisms.

Yes, we’re totally biased. But humor’s benefits are mostly attributed to these types of positive humor.

What are humor’s benefits? Buckle up because this is a long list:

• Physical benefits
  • Produces beta-endorphins (to replace cortisol), dopamine (to feel pleasure and relax), and oxytocin (to feel warm and fuzzy toward others)
  • Fun Fact: Researchers at Oxford have found that our pain threshold actually increases about 10% after laughing for 15 minutes.
  • Fills lungs with oxygen-rich air, energizing the body and improving blood flow, vascular function, and flexibility
  • Circulates more blood, stimulating and protecting blood vessels and heart muscles
  • Relaxes muscles and eases tension
  • Stabilizes blood-pressure
  • Brings a sense of calm
• Psychological benefits
  • Reduces anxiety and increase psychological resilience
  • Shifts perspective
  • Counteracts depression
  • Fun Fact: Carl Jung used jokes to bring patients back from psychotic states.

• Cognitive benefits
  • Improves
    • Brain function
    • Memory
    • Alertness
    • Problem-solving ability
  • Breaks down mental barriers and fosters an openness
  • Increased creativity
• Emotional benefits
  • Intrapersonal:
    • Replaces despair with hope
    • Neutralizes negative emotions
    • Gives courage and strength to persevere
    • Lightens burdens
    • Adds joy and enthusiasm to life
    • Helps us find new meaning
  • Interpersonal:
    • Defuses conflict 
    • Enhances teamwork and bonding
    • Subordinate job satisfaction and commitment
    • Enhances personal attractiveness
    • Enhances feelings of safety

Humor certainly can’t do it all.

As I shared in a post last year, I leaned on humor through cancer treatment and recovery. But my treatment also required analyzing information and taking a thoughtful approach to solve problems (the realm of Problem-focused coping).

Stress and Anxiety Take a Comedic Detour

Feeling tempted to indulge in a comedy binge to ease stress or alleviate anxiety?

Embrace it!

If you’re craving laughter, take it as your body’s way of signaling — in bright red flashing lights — the need for an emotional release, a disruption of stress hormones, or a break in a negative thought cycle.

Hit the Humor Gas Pedal with This Clown Pro Tip

Tip: Give humor a starring role in your life.

Professional clowns prioritize humor by planning for it. Case in point: They spend hours planning performances. To get the maximum amount of laughs at a show, they plan the who (casting), what (rehearsal), where + when (venue selection + dates), and why (learning about their audience).

So, go on and plan that funny movie, comedy show, or Humor Professional Certificate class (no joke). Bonus tip: half the fun is anticipating fun.

With more humor in your life, you’ll get calmer, more relaxed, and even sleep better.

Want to really kick up your laugh life? Incorporate humor into your every day.

Humor Habits to Avoid Potholes In Your Daily Commute

Add a pinch of humor to your daily routine.

What Will You Play Today?

Clowns bloom amidst play, spontaneity, and connection with others.

What tickles your funny bone? Consider engaging in a creative project, declaring a board game night (my family’s go-to lately), or playing an epic match of Capture the Flag.

At work, can you pose a fun activity to get people to think about a recurring challenge in a new way?

Embrace the Unexpected Like a Clown

Clowns approach new challenges with creativity, adaptability, and a fearlessness — to absurdity and to the delight of their audiences.

Welcome the unexpected like a clown. Turn mishaps into moments of laughter and practice saying “yes” to spontaneous activities (like unplanned road trips ).

Embracing the unexpected can lead to personal growth and fresh perspectives as you navigate the unexpected twists and turns of life.

Are You Up for the Challenge?

Take CWB’s laughter challenge and learn how to steer into humor as a habit — one that makes life a lot of fun.

Using Humor to Cope with Trauma: A CWB Example

Clowns Without Borders (CWB) uses humor to bring joy to children and communities in crisis. Our work shows the power of humor as a coping mechanism in even the most traumatic situations.

By providing laughter and moments of respite, we help individuals find strength in the face of adversity. We call it resilience through laughter.

Anya’s Story

Anya, age 8, left her hometown in Ukraine after the war started in early 2022. She resettled in Poland, but life continued to be stressful and scary. Plus, she missed her home, school, and friends.

In November 2022, Clowns Without Borders-USA arrived at Anya’s resettlement center in Brasov and she attended a clown show. Anya played, lept in the air, and laughed. She said,

Conclusion

Humor is a powerful coping mechanism that can transform our perspective and elevate our well-being.

By incorporating humor into your life every day, you can find joy and connection even in the toughest of times.

In the colorful journey of life, may laughter be your constant companion.

For $11 a month, you can bring a new child to a clown show every month of the year.

I Want to Give Laughter Every Month

Clowns Without Borders is a registered 501(c)(3) and our Tax ID is 20-4102508. Check donations may be mailed to PO Box 1353, Bozeman, MT 59771. All donations are tax-deductible to the extent allowable by law.

But for those determined to stay — or unable to leave — recovery feels like running with a rubber band around your waist, yanking you back.

In May 2023, Clowns Without Borders arrived in Puerto Rico for a two-week tour that brought laughter and joy to survivors of storms, Covid, and earthquakes. The tour included CWB artists Arturo Gaskins (Puerto Rico), Leo Maldonado (Puerto Rico), Robin Lara (Mainland), and Bella Schleiker (Mainland). Our partner was Circo Nacional de Puerto Rico.

In this post, you’ll learn what recovery looks like for those trying not to be displaced and see the delight of children who experienced their first clown show.

All aboard!

The Quest for Post-Disaster Recovery: Avast, Is it Sailing the Silly Seas?

Puerto Ricans love their home: the natural beauty, delicious fruits, salsa music, and gatherings with friends and family.

But since Maria, the deadliest storm in US history since 1900, the quality of life for many Puerto Ricans has deteriorated. 

• Power outages are frequent because the infrastructure is old and inadequate.
• There are 150 schools that haven’t received government funding since the storm.
• In some places, decreased access to medical care puts people’s lives at risk.

What Went Wrong?

Yes, Hurricane Maria was a tremendously strong storm. But the US government’s slow and inadequate response made life in the aftermath less safe, more scary, and far more deadly.

A study published by BMJ Global Health concluded that the response to Maria did “not align with storm severity or prevention and recovery needs” when compared to government responses for Hurricanes Irma and Harvey that same year.

And the mortality outcomes show it:

It took 11 months to fully restore power.

The US government’s differential response to Hurricane Maria aligns with a history of using financial tools of colonization, the result of which has entrenched poverty and increased inequality.

No Joke: What Our Clowns Saw

CWB teams in Puerto Rico witnessed the pace of recovery in 2018 and in 2023.

As Puerto Rico team members bore witness to the slow pace of recovery and the lingering effects of Hurricane Maria, they remained steadfast in their mission to lift spirits and bring people together.

Not Forgotten: Lifting Laughter and Spreading Joy in Puerto Rico

Clowns transport people to a world full of magic and play, helping children and families shift their perspectives, connect with others, and heal trauma.

Through lively performances that included unicycle knife juggling, giant-sized underwear, and the thrilling cyr wheel, Team Puerto Rico created a joyful and carefree atmosphere for young and old.

Here’s what happened at three locations:

1. Las Marias, Puerto Rico

Las Marias is a rural mountain community that was cut off the grid for nine months following Hurricane Maria.

The team performed at a school there — one of the 150 schools that have not received government funding since Maria. The community opened the school, anyway! Though just once a week for now, it’s a brave start.

2. Comerío, Puerto Rico

Comerío is a mountain town in the eastern central region where 1,500 houses were destroyed and another 2,400 sustained significant damage. The slow pace of recovery here reminded residents of the second-class citizen treatment they receive from the US government.

Team Puerto Rico performed on a school basketball court. There were a lot of kids, teens, and young moms in the audience.

3. Islote, Puerto Rico

In Islote, a community on the north coast of the island, the team performed at an old school that is now a turtle sanctuary.

During the juggling, children joined us on stage and became part of the act! At the end of the show, all the kids played with our beach balls.

Conclusion

Following the devastating impact of Hurricane Maria, the pandemic, and earthquakes, CWB artists brought a much-needed respite of laughter to 1210 people in 15 communities throughout the island.

US citizens of Puerto Rico showcased the power of shared joy in strengthening bonds, fostering unity, and improving well-being.

To share joy with you, we’re leaving you with this montage of more photos from Puerto Rico.

The science of laughter, called gafology — just kidding, it’s gelotology — has revealed just how important it is to laugh regularly.

Join your clown friends and me on a deep dive into a topic to treasure and spread around: Laughter.

We’ll cover 4 ways laughter really is the best medicine, and also invite you to take our laughter challenge!

First, let’s reflect on your laugh-life.

Is Laughter the Best Medicine for You?

Where does laughter enter your life, and where does it run smack into a glass door before reaching you?

Can you laugh anytime you want to shift your perspective or mindset?

The point, or the question rather, is this: How’s your laugh-life?

Here’s a fun quiz to help you check-in:

Now that you’ve gotten to know your laugh-life, let’s talk about how it benefits your health and relationships.

1. The mental benefits of laughter are no joke.

Do you ever crave laughter?

Maybe you itch to laugh at the end of a tense workday, or you search for a funny movie after a stressful week managing a family crisis. These are great examples of how you’re already using laughter to regulate your mind and body. Well played!

Let’s dig deeper and find out what’s happening before, during, and after a good laugh.

That stressed-out feeling (before a laugh)

When you experience stress of any type, cortisol, “the stress hormone,” surges in your body. Short term, cortisol helps you feel mentally focused and energized. Long term, it can leave you feeling irritable, anxious, and fatigued. Less observable changes include an increase in blood sugar and a weakening of the immune system.

The good news is that your brain is ready and waiting for you to take an action that will trigger the release of feel-good hormones.

What happens during and after mirthful laughter?

You’re stressed out after a long day. Then your kid says the funniest thing and gets you to crack up. Here’s a breakdown of why you feel so pleasant moments later.

Hormone bliss-out

Your brain’s pituitary gland and hypothalamus kick into action, producing beta-endorphins, dopamine, and oxytocin. Within seconds, they’ve spread throughout your body and have overpowered stress hormones (especially cortisol) to get you feeling:

• Positive, optimistic, and less tense (endorphins)
• Full of pleasure (dopamine)
• Warm and fuzzy toward others (oxytocin)

These hormones are not to be underestimated.

At a 15-year follow-up of 53,556 women and men, researchers of the Norway study on laughter found that women whose sense of humor measured on the high end were associated with a 48% lower risk of death from all causes. Men who had good humor had a 74% reduced risk of death from infection. The researchers suspect that a greater ability to cope with stress (and associated hormone levels) may be what contributed most to participants living longer.

Beta-endorphins that replace cortisol during laughter are 18 to 33 times more potent than morphine and are immune system strengtheners (say that 3 times fast!).

1.5 (Surprise bonus!) Is it good for your heart to laugh?

You don’t need a doctor (or clown doctor) to know about the physiological changes that occur when you laugh. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Your lungs fill with oxygen-rich air, which
  • Energizes the body
  • Improves blood flow, vascular function, and flexibility
• The additional blood circulation
  • Stimulate and protect blood vessels and heart muscles
  • Relaxes muscles and eases tension
• Your heart rate increases, then decreases
  • Stabilizing your blood-pressure
  • Bringing a sense of calm

If the benefits ended there, you may feel only mildly impressed since you could get similar results from exercise. But there’s much more to the power of laughter as medicine.

Let’s talk about how it reduces pain.

2. Who said, “laughter is the best medicine?” Someone in pain.

I admit to binge-watching Emily in Paris during my first days post-surgery. I laughed at all the cringe it served up. The point was the laughter, and I got my share.

Maybe you have had a similar experience of being ill or in pain and seeking humor.

Turns out that laughing when in pain helps you feel better — but it’s not only because you’re getting a mood boost. Researchers at Oxford have found that our pain threshold actually increases about 10% after we laugh for 15 minutes. 

Laughter is also a study-proven non-pharmacologic intervention (NPI, see box) to help reduce stress and anxiety.

We know laughter really isn’t medicine, but its health benefits are hard to ignore: Laughter is non-invasive, comes without side effects, plus it’s free and accessible.

Clowns Without Borders (CWB) artist Michael O’Neil believes that laughter is a frame of mind: He brings a rubber chicken on every tour because it gives him a chuckle knowing that the TSA might just open his bag and see it.

Now let’s turn to talk about two ways that laughter can improve your life beyond health and ease.

3. Which comes first: the friendship or the laughter?

During radiation treatment, I listened to two audiobooks: Born a Crime by Trevor Noah and Together by former Surgeon General Vivek Murthy.

Guess which audiobook had me chuckling in the waiting room?

In the not-as-funny-yet-just-as-real Together book, Murthy talks about how people with chronic loneliness are at a higher risk of illness. Chronic loneliness is indicated by feelings that no one is looking out for you, that you are invisible, or that you have to solve problems on your own.

During the pandemic, self-reported loneliness in the US ballooned to 36%, with 61% of young adults and 51% of mothers with young children reporting “serious loneliness.”

I guess it’s good to know I wasn’t alone in my loneliness?

Laughter is powerful medicine for loneliness

One of the most powerful benefits of laughter may be its ability to bring people together.

Sharing a laugh works to connect us quickly because, when you laugh at the same thing, your brain signals that you share the same worldview. And feeling that you’re coming from the same place (metaphorically, as a line of thinking and feeling) is key to developing a relationship.

Laughter transcends

Laughter cuts through social anxiety and social difference, connecting people across languages and cultures. The sound of human laughter is the most recognizable emotion-vocalization: it sounds the same regardless of language or culture. People from other cultures can even recognize the difference between laughter among strangers and laughter among friends.

Clowns Without Borders artists can attest to this reality: Artists have witnessed refugees, diverse in nationality, culture, and language (including Syrians, Afghans, and Iraqis), stand shoulder-to-shoulder and laugh together during CWB performances—just like in the photo above.

You can see that laughter has been key to our evolution as cooperative social beings.

4. Laughter can change your life (red nose optional)

You’ll experience loss, ill health, or loneliness in your life.

Luckily, people like author, playwright, and storyteller Kevin Kling remind us we can survive loss if we can find our humor and move toward an emergence of what’s next. He shares, “When you laugh at something, it can’t control you.”

Our artists used physical humor and nonverbal communication to connect with kids with broken limbs and amputations. A 2020 reflection of the tour speaks to the power of laughter to facilitate healing of traumatic events: “Every day, people would say things like, ‘That’s the first time I’ve seen that child smile since she was pulled out of the rubble two months ago.’”

What are your stories to tell? How can laughter facilitate change in your life?

If you want a few clowns to support you along your path, check out CWB’s laughter challenge, and learn how to make laughter a habit — one that changes your brain and makes life more fun.

So, is laughter the best medicine?

All signs point to yes (and, no, we aren’t just using our 8-Ball).

Never get used to laughing less, because laughter’s not a nice-to-have, but a necessary companion for health, friendship, and creating a life you love.

Take it from CWB audiences around the world: Sometimes all you need is a little boost to get the laughs rolling. Soon enough, you’ll be the one telling the next joke! We see it happen all the time.

CWB works to infuse laughter in places where laughter has been scarce, such as refugee camps or conflict zones. To learn more about CWB start here.

It’s important to remember that global crises of inequity continue, and worsen, amid the pandemic. Clowns Without Borders International wrote in its statement regarding the human rights catastrophe along EU borders:

“As COVID-19 sweeps the globe, all of us are in search of safety for ourselves and our loved ones. Meanwhile, on the borders of Europe, many people are also in desperate need of safety from war and persecution. How much more difficult is their plight now, in the face of the current global pandemic?”

This statement applies to migrant and refugee crises around the world, not just at the EU border. Displaced people often lack access to basic material resources, face discrimination, and are denied human rights, like clean water, health care, or the ability to travel. How is the COVID-19 pandemic affecting some of the most vulnerable people on the planet?

Exposing Weaknesses

According to the UNHCR, over eighty percent of the world’s refugees and almost all internally displaced people (IDP) are hosted in low- or middle-income countries where resources are scarce. If it wasn’t already clear, this pandemic reveals our global community to be as healthy as the sickest person among us and as safe as the most vulnerable. Refugees and migrants often live in crowded conditions where social distancing is impossible, and medical facilities are ill-equipped. The UNHCR has rushed to provide emergency medical equipment and expertise, but it’s a bandaid for a larger wound.

Prevention and Inclusion

The majority of refugees are hosted in countries with weak or inadequate health systems. Stopping the spread of COVID-19 is imperative, and it becomes even more so when few treatment options exist. The UNHCR is using a multisectoral response, which coordinates access to water, sanitation and hygiene, housing, medical care, and more, to support refugee communities and refugee-hosting nations. The agency is also working to stockpile supplies, identify outbreak response teams, and monitor misinformation.

Displaced people experience discrimination and xenophobia, and may even be denied a nationality. Now, fear, a sense of helplessness, and media rhetoric may impact pubic opinion about who “deserves” access to medical care. A coordinated COVID-19 response will not leave anyone behind, no matter their legal status or nationality. A highly contagious disease can only be controlled if everyone is included in prevention and education, and everyone has access to equitable treatment.

Michelle Bachelet, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, and Filippo Grandi, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, write:

“Panic and discrimination never solved a crisis. Political leaders must take the lead, earning trust through transparent and timely information, working together for the common good, and empowering people to participate in protecting health.

Ceding space to rumour, fear mongering and hysteria will not only hamper the response but may have broader implications for human rights, the functioning of accountable, democratic institutions.”

Unity

Whether a someone is confined to a camp or fully integrated into a new community—or something in between—refugees and displaced people are vital members of society. They are teachers, farmers, care-givers, artists, engineers and more, and they are working tirelessly to subdue the COVID-19 pandemic:

• The UNHCR has maintained a list of positive stories, highlighting the ways displaced people and their supporters have come together during this crisis.
• Refugees in the medical field are pushing through fear to serve their home and neighbors.
• Even when resources are scarce, members of refugee camps find ways to care for one another.

The UNHCR released 2018’s total number of forcibly displaced people and the results were sobering and staggering: at least 70.8 million people displaced. Out of that total number, 41.3 million are IDPs or Internally Displaced People.

Internally displaced people are those who flee violence, conflict, natural disaster or human rights violations, like other displaced people. But IDPs remain within their national boundaries, often beyond the reach of aid or other resources. CWB – USA frequently performs for IDPs, whether they are affected by political conflict, natural disaster, or both.

Indigenous people, who have survived centuries of colonialism, are particularly vulnerable. The United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People states that indigenous people may not be relocated without their free, prior, and informed consent. However, the UNHCR definition of IDPs does not automatically include indigenous people, most of whom have been actively displaced off of their ancestral lands.

For many indigenous people, connection to land is more than a matter of livelihood—it holds essential cultural and spiritual meaning, as well. The struggle toward indigenous self-determination is a struggle against internal displacement perpetuated by colonialism. It’s also a struggle on the front lines of the climate crisis.

Two and a half billion people rely on indigenous or communally-held lands for their livelihood, amounting to approximately 50 percent of land on earth. Yet these people legally own only one-fifth of communal and/or indigenous land. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change weighed in, with a report supporting land-tenure security for indigenous and commonly-held lands because they are a significant carbon sink, less likely to be deforested, and more.

In August, 2019, internal displacement and indigenous self-determination took center stage in Brazil and Mexico. The Zapatista community in Chiapas announced a major expansion of their autonomous territories. CWB – USA has a long and warm history with the Zapatistas, starting in the mid-1990s when the communities were engaged in armed struggle against the Mexican government. Simultaneously, the world looked on in horror as parts of the Amazon rainforest burned. Fires have increased 83 percent since last year, and are likely started by farmers and ranchers looking to clear land. Though the fires will certainly cause an unimaginable loss of rainforest biodiversity, they also destroy the homes of indigenous communities dedicated to defending and cultivating their land.

CWB looks forward to working with the resilient Guaraní people and learning more about their ongoing fight for self-determination.

As we drove to our final performance of the tour, I thought, “I’m tired.” I’d spent the break between shows packing and worrying about CWB’s end-of-year fundraising campaign. We were all quiet in the van, taking in our last views of Myitkyina, Myanmar.

Our show format includes a steady parade of volunteers joining us onstage. Anytime a child volunteer comes up, the audience gets more excited. I can feel a little bit of tension, feel the audience wonder, “Will these people make fun of the child?” That’s a fair concern. It’s our job to make sure the child feels supported and validated. It’s our job to make them the star of the show. We have to be worthy of their trust. We invite a chorus of kids onstage for the finale of each show in Myanmar. Together, we say and act out the “Safety Signs.” It’s the moment where the clowns turn the show over to the kids and the kids become the experts.

In our final audience in Myanmar, there’s a young boy with a disability that impacts his motor skills and speech. Throughout the show, he breaks away from the audience and into the circle, momentarily joining us onstage. Sometimes an adult leads him offstage, and sometimes he leaves on his own. There are whole scenes in which he provides the fourth counterpoint to our action. As I approach a section of the audience in search of my final volunteer, the crowd parts to reveal the little boy. He claps his hands and steps forward, but his caregiver holds him back. She’s protective: The earlier volunteers did challenging acts, like holding spinning plates, climbing on shoulders and making foam balls disappear. I make eye contact with her and she looks a little nervous. I feel a little nervous too. I can tell she doesn’t want to set him up for failure. “What if he can’t do it,” we both think.

I kneel down toward his eye level and hold out my hand for a high-five. The whole section of audience is watching the two of us. He eagerly taps my hands, giggling and grinning. We do it again, and the audience applauds.

I know that Leah, Andres, Hla Mo, and a whole crew of volunteers are carrying the show for the rest of the audience, but for me, it’s just about this kid. The section of audience where he had been standing is watching and laughing, acting out the “Safety Signs” along with us. When we take a bow with the rest of the volunteers, that little boy receives a huge cheer.