Laughter + MS

The everyday stress of life can be compounded when you’re living with a chronic illness like MS. While stress is normal, it is important to mitigate it when possible. One surprising thing that might help? Laughter.

Laughter can have positive effects on your physical and emotional health, including relaxing muscles, providing distraction, increasing endorphins and lowering blood pressure. These effects, in turn, can help relieve stress. Here are a few ways to add more laughter and humor to your life.

• Follow a funny account on social media. From Instagram meme accounts to silly YouTube and TikTok channels, social media is abundant with humorous content.
• Host a game night or book club. Share a laugh with friends by playing a game or assigning humorous books for your book club to read and discuss.
• Spend time with playful pets. Animals are known for their antics. If you don’t have pets, try volunteering at an animal shelter or spending time at a cat café.