Product Description

There is no doubt that laughter is good for you. But, how good is it for you? And, how is it good for you? This book provides scientific explainations of the health benefits of laughter.Anecdotal stories demonstrate how others have utilized their comic potential to cope with stress and change. You will also find guidelines and techniques to help you develop your sense of humor and use it to attain optimal health.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #771005 in Books
• Published on: 2002-06-05
• Binding: Paperback
• 208 pages

From Booklist
Wooten, a nurse since 1969, discovered she could cope better with the stresses of critical care, hospice, and home health nursing by using her sense of humor. So she worked on clowning skills and created her own wacky characters, Nancy Nurse and her whimsical counterpart, Nurse Kindheart, to educate professional and nonprofessional caregivers about the healing power of humor. She now lectures, consults, and develops therapeutic humor programs for health-care professionals. Her book decries the "dearth of mirth" in many hospitals and extols the power of playfulness and humor's capacity to relieve tension, which Wooten illustrates with examples of POWs and the terminally ill meeting tragedy, death, and disaster with laughter. Wooten describes humor's various uses; explores the differences among hoping, coping, and gallows styles of humor; and holistically connects humor to the interrelationship of mind, body, and spirit. Although Wooten aims her book primarily at health-care professionals, it deserves a larger audience. Whitney Scott

Review
Compassionate Laughter is the ultimate resource for people wishing to understand the health benefits of laughter. Besides presenting an accurate description of the scientitic research, Wooen provides a comprehensive glossary and extensive literature base. a must for those serious about laughter! -- Dr. Lee Berk - Assistant Professor Loma Linda University School of Medicine

Compassionate Laughter: Jest For Your Health is an essential book on healing explaining the effects of psychological feelings of well-being on the immune system. Patty Wooten explains the purpose of clowns and jesters throughout history, then provides tips for caregivers (at home and in hospital settings) on how to keep a sense of humor while caring for others. Peppered with hilarious anecdotes and conversations with Wooten's clown characters, Nancy Nurse and Nurse Kindheart, Compassionate Laughter will delight the reader who wants to learn, laugh, and heal! Readers will learn how to use laughter as medicine for body, mind and spirit; facilitate recovery from illness through laughter, enhance their sense of humor as a caregiver, and develop humor programs with the comprehensive resource guide. Compassionate Laughter is a welcome addition to every hospital, medical center, and community library collection. -- Midwest Book Review

Patty Wooten has illuminated the crucial role of a light heart in healing. The world of medicine owes her a great debt. -- Larry Dossey MD - author Healing Words

About the Author
Patty Wooten is a successful nurse, a renowned international speaker, and an hilarious clown. Across the USA and around the world, Patty's audiences have laughed, learned and experienced the incredible power of humor in healing. gounder of Jest for the Health of It, a company dedicated to the promotion and development of therapeutic humor. Her lecture topics focus on the utilization of humor to reduce stress, cope with change, recover from illness and improve the work environment. Patty is past president of the American Association for Therapeutic Humor and author of more than 50 professional articles about the health benefits of humor. Email her at: pwooten@jesthealth.com

Customer Reviews

The only thing better is attending one of her workshops
For those who have suspected (or are convinced) that doctors don't know everything about getting and staying well, Patty Wooten provides the cure. Using her fine workshop as the foundation of this book, she brings her clown personas, Nancy Nurse and Nurse Kindheart, to life on the printed page. They guide you through the connection between humor and health in a convincing way that has certainly changed my life. If you can't meet Nancy Nurse in person...buy this book!

Good entry point for beginners.
This is a good basic text for care providers who are just entering the field of patient centered needs work. It is a bit tedious if you have been doing the work for a long time, but still has useful reminders...a bit "one size fits all", which I think is part of the problem of this approach if not carefully
monitored and mentored for ways to make things tailored to the specific needs of the individual.