A successful experiment! Laughter helps relieve pain…

Almost all of us girls are familiar with this type of examination table… POUAH! and we’re not usually particularly happy about having to sit on it! Even less so when we know the exam is going to be painful. That was my case today.

So, as a precaution, knowing that it wasn’t going to be comfortable, I went for a 30-minute swim – just to get my body moving and stimulate the relaxation hormones – then took two Advil tablets as recommended by the nurse.

The time came to undergo the procedure and, despite the gynaecologist’s delicacy, I found myself with a level of pain so much higher than expected that I immediately went into a sweat… (swimming as in sweating!)

Faced with this pain, I decided it was time for me to put into practice what I teach: laugh out loud to stimulate the secretion of endorphins and release my mounting stress. Fortunately, I was in the presence of an open-minded woman! She almost encouraged me to continue! hahaha!

Except that… She had to do things differently and start all over again… three times. Before she was able to remove the tissue she needed to fetch. EXCRUCIATING PAIN! So I redoubled my efforts to laugh! Linda laughed and laughed and laughed! LAUGHED AND LAUGHED!

So much so that I’m happy to report that, the last time I had to go through all this, the pain had reached the level of 8 out of 10 on my scale during this little procedure. But today, it didn’t go beyond 4 out of 10!!!!

My conclusion: the fact of laughing out loud (even if I laughed silently, I laughed very loudly believe me!) released my tensions, occupied my mind since I was laughing without thinking about what was happening “below” (I laughed to feel myself laughing whereas nothing that was happening was funny! on the contrary!) and the gynecologist was able to finish her work in peace! hahahahaha!

Now, don’t get me wrong. I wouldn’t go back tomorrow! But I’m certain that the fact that I CHOSE to laugh consciously to reduce the pain and tension made my experience less… traumatic, let’s say!

It’s a pretty intimate sharing, I know. But that’s life!

Laughter, joy and HEALTH!

Linda