Expert: Margot RN BScN CGN - 6/17/2004

Question
Hi Margot,

I'm looking for medical reports on anyone who has healed him/herself through laughter.  I read a website which claimed there was a report in the British Medical Journal on a man who healed himself of a terminal illness through laughter, but I haven't been able to locate this report.

Are there any databases or online catalogs I can use to make a search of the literature?

Many thanks for your kind help.

Best regards,
Usuff Omar
Australia

Answer
Hi Usuff and thanks for writing,

Funny (excuse the pun) you should ask me this question today as I just returned from a conference yesterday and attended a speaker on that very subject Dr. Jim McNeill from Ladysmith BC (Canada) who I believe can be reached at "drjimmcneill@shaw.ca".

The most famous case was Norman Cousins in the USA who cured himself from a "uncaurbale" illness with laughter. He wrote a bookd called "Anatomy of an Illness as Perceived by the Patient" ... here's a link http://www.potentialsmedia.com/NormanCousinslinks.html

Heres a few other links I hope are helpful:
http://www.helpguide.org/aging/humor_laughter_health.htm
http://people.howstuffworks.com/laughter6.htm
http://www.aim-digest.com/gateway/pages/moderate/articles/laughter.htm

I hope this helps, good luck with your papers.

Margot