Can Laughter & Positivity Help You Live Longer?

Dick Van Dyke (of Mary Poppins fame) is now 100 years old, says that staying positive and not holding onto anger is the secret to staying young - and science seems to agree.

Studies show that optimistic people can live around 11 to 15 percent longer, and in some cases even up to 10 years more.

So today, we’re diving into the power of humour, joy, and a positive mindset.

We’re asking: what genuinely makes you laugh no matter your mood? Who are the people that always lift your spirits? And just how important is humour when you’re having a tough day?

We’ll explore whether laughter can really improve your wellbeing, share the jokes and moments that have stuck with us for years, and talk about our go-to ways to cheer ourselves up.

00:01:22 - Intro
00:02:02 - The Good News: Gila's new electric wheelchair
00:06:54 - What makes us laugh every time, no matter the mood?
00:14:14 - Who makes us laugh?
00:18:38 - How important is humour when we're having a tough day?
00:22:14 - Can humour make us laugh and cry at the same time?
00:27:37 - Final Thoughts

Project Managers: Andrea Rai & Phil Powell
Editor: Phil Powell

Huge thanks to the National Lottery Reaching Communities Fund for supporting our Dis-labled podcast. Learn more about their amazing work: https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk

All enquiries: podcast@communityfocus.co.uk
Website: https://www.communityfocus.co.uk/

Theme Music: Rastko Rasic & the students of Community FocusOther Music: Jazzy Frenchy by ⁠⁠⁠Benjamin Tissot

Transcript

Phillip R 0:05

Communicate focus. Communicate focus We're here for you. Our view at five dog. A weekend with you. We're here for you. Hooray!

unknown 0:32

Hooray!

Carol 0:39

Community Focus is an art centre for children and adults with disabilities. We are based in the borough of Barnett, North London and offer a selection of creative and well-being activities for all ages. Oh sorry!

Havva 0:59

In the room we got Gila.

Jonathan 1:09

Jonathan.

Phillip R 1:10

And Aminia.

Havva 1:12

And Hava. And in the room. Hava.

Intro

Gila 1:22

Today we're diving into the power of humour, joy and a positive mindset. We are asking what makes you laugh no matter your mood. Who are the people that always lift your spirits and just how important is humor when you're having a tough day? We explore whether laughter can really improve your well-being, share for drugs and moments that have stuck with us for years and talk about our goal to race to cheer ourselves up.

The Good News: Gila's new electric wheelchair

Phillip R 2:02

The good news Good off good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Has anyone got any good news?

Gila 2:13

Um this week I've been out in my new wheelchair and it's really good. There's five levels. One is really slow, two is getting a bit faster, three getting bit faster, four is fast, five is swimming and I tend to go on five because I love like just swimming around in my wheelchair and I love my wheelchair so much.

Phillip R 2:53

How often do you charge your your your your chair?

Gila 2:58

Not that often. Um I don't know how long the battery life runs for, but um I feel like we got it down or I got it down to one dot. So there's dots for for battery percentage and whenever it is three dots um I always put it on charge. Just because I don't want to find myself out and have no power.

Carol 3:35

What's your favorite feature about the chat?

Gila 3:38

My five my favorite feature about the chat is going so fast and try and not bump into people or places or anything like that. Um but also I if I do go fast I can slow it down. It has a joystick that um that I use and I can slow it down by using a joystick or I can push for buttons. But when I first got it, I had a lot of training to try to get me used to it and I remember going out with my parents and trying to get used to using the joystick and everything. When it was training, I I did the wrong way, so it was really e hard for my parents. Um usually just w like whenever I got right, that means left or whatever, they they um used to say, Gila, stop it, why are you going this way with a dense trail? And it was really, really, really, really bad. But I got used to it now. So yeah.

Jonathan 5:15

Well so Gila, what is it you can do now that you couldn't do before?

Gila 5:21

So in my manual real chat I couldn't swim past people. Um that and now I can, which is great. Um also I I now I can um have more freedom, more independence, more just more independence and freedom, I think. Today there was someone asking me a student for CL saying, why are you in the real chair? And I had I had to think about my answer. Um but it's my little car. I describe it as my little car. I would say if you are in a real chair or if you're working and then you need to get in your wheelchair, don't take any notice of other people, just be happy who you are and just be you. Um don't take any notice of anyone else because info in because what matters is yourself, not everyone else.

Phillip R 6:48

Today's podcast is all about humour, joy and a positive mindset.

What makes us laugh every time, no matter the mood?

Jonathan 6:54

What genuinely makes you laugh every time, no matter what mood you're in?

Carol 7:00

I would probably say uh uh being around people, like if you're around people, I feel like you have more of a positive mindset and making each other laugh is like can like hype up your mood. Um also I like to watch like reels on social media, like funny ones especially. Um especially that comes with memes. I like to watch memes or read memes, especially in photos or videos. I also like picking practical jokers. They're like uh it's like a show where they go out in public and they do dares, and if they lose they have to face punishment. Um but like most of their their jokes are quite funny because they do it in public and it's mainly them embarrassing themselves, but it makes other people laugh. Um and I think the show is quite good. Um I have my favourite one is when I think they prank Sal because uh they do a prank with him where he's in an elevator and there's a camera but he doesn't know where it is, and he's stuck in the elevator and they put people in there that like his worst nightmare, like um someone coughing or someone having a cat. If you search up on YouTube Sal elevator prank, you'll know what I mean.

Phillip R 8:32

I've got a joke for you. How does an Eskima build their house?

Andrea 8:43

That's really good!

Phillip R 8:45

What an what an egg? An Eskima house about a loo.

Andrea 8:51

I'm not gonna get any more, it's very funny.

Jonathan 8:56

Phil, what genuinely makes you laugh no matter what mood you're in?

Phillip R 9:00

Well, as you all know, ladies and gentlemen, I'm a I'm a real joker. And I like comedy, I like comedy evenings. I like comedy, I'm not I like com um, as you know, comedy I like comedy. Like the two Ronnies, um Stanley and Laurel, Lauren Hardy. There's another fun that you got me into Stanley. And I like um I like all comedians, you know. I like it all I like them all, you know.

Jonathan 9:33

Even the terrible ones?

Phillip R 9:35

Uh yeah, even the terrible ones, Jonathan, yeah. Do you like Harry Hill? Oh I I like Harry Hill. Yeah.

Carol 9:45

Who's Harry Hill?

Phillip R 9:46

Is it com is a comedian? Never heard of him, I never heard of him. Never heard of Harold! You never you never heard of Harry Hill.

Carol 9:55

No, you guys are judging me, I don't know it.

Phillip R 9:59

We're judging you, are we? Harry Hill. Yes we do. You don't want to tell him much, do you? No comedians, do you?

Carol 10:14

I like to watch com like comedian shows, but I don't know much about comedian actors or whatever.

Phillip R 10:21

Radly Wolves is a comedian as well.

Carol 10:24

I don't the only comedian I know, what's his name? Um William William Davis. Who's he? William Davis. The guy who was on X Hector. You know the the the guy with brown hair was an X Hactor. I reckon there are probably a lot of people brown and William Williams David William David William.

unknown 10:45

Really?

Carol 10:48

Oh David William William. That's the only comedian I know. Oh do you? Guys, you know we we listen and we don't judge the heard of him. Okay, right.

Gila 10:59

I wanted to say something, I may didn't may put me in the box, but it's David Wallins a book writer as well.

Speaker 2 11:09

Yeah.

Gila 11:10

Okay, so I'm not going to put myself in.

Phillip R 11:13

Yes, he is a a book writer, yes.

Jonathan 11:23

So yeah, Gila, what makes you genuinely laugh no matter what mood you're in?

Gila 11:30

What makes me laugh is children being funny and um children especially at my at for kindergarten that we that I work at most of the time they will tell jobs um that it's not funny but I we have to laugh so fake it to make it basically.

Jonathan 12:00

Hather, what genuinely makes you laugh no matter what mood you're in?

Havva 12:04

Oh Skippy Doo, they got they got Freddie, they got Milo, they got Wilma, and they got they got another girl gonna girl in with Skippy Doo. Yeah. Daphne, yeah, Daphne. Daphne, Skippy Doo, where are you? You forgot about Shaggy. Oh Shaggy, yeah, Shaggy the dog! Come on, Skippy-doo! I'm fun! I got a sticky snack! Come on, Skippy-doo! Where are you? I got a shiver to do now. I'm gonna And what is it about Scooby-Doo that makes you laugh so much? Oh, because it's funny! They're the funny, they're not protective! They're not protective with the like the dog and Roma and Fred him, Roma the cash the catch the the ghost in the cartoon that make me laugh What do you call a cup of coffee with a pair of trousers in it?

Andrea 13:14

What?

Gila 13:15

A capuccinos And why did Shakespeare always write with a pan?

Carol 13:30

Why?

Gila 13:31

Because pancalls made him ask to be or not to be.

Phillip R 13:44

What is the fastest cake in the world?

Andrea 13:48

What?

Phillip R 13:49

Scone. No, it's gone, but it's gone.

Speaker 2 13:54

I didn't get it.

Phillip R 13:57

I didn't get it. You're too you're too slow. You're too slow. Meah it's gone. It's gone.

Gila 14:09

Jonathan.

Who makes us laugh?

Gila 14:14

Who is someone, friend, family or public figure who always makes you laugh?

Jonathan 14:21

Well, I end up making myself laugh, which um which is uh it's always good when you can make yourself laugh, you know? You know, never and never ending entertainment when yourself is the source of your humour.

Gila 14:38

How do you make yourself laugh?

Jonathan 14:42

I would just say something and just causes a laugh in me for some reason, you know?

Carol 14:48

But like, doesn't it ever drive him the same?

Jonathan 14:51

Yes, it does, actually. Yes, yes, it does all the time.

Carol 14:54

Then why do it?

Jonathan 14:56

Because it's a never-ending cycle.

Carol 15:00

But like, don't you need don't you need like maybe you need friends to go out with to make you laugh? Then you won't be so lonely.

Jonathan 15:08

But I I I often find I'm the funniest person in the room.

Gila 15:12

Oh, oh it's quite close. Shall we have a contest? It's it's a contest!

Speaker 2 15:21

A contest. Okay, I'll be the judge. Go, I'll be the judge. Who wins? Uh gets to go early.

Gila 15:34

Carol, who is someone, friend, family, or probably figure who always makes you laugh?

Carol 15:41

Um, I'll probably say my friends and my family. People that I'm around with that I vibe with, then I get along with them. And if we make each other laugh, then we're vibing. Same with family. Like if we're vibing, then we get along. Um I I guess. What does vibing mean? It means like it's kinda like uh another word of saying like chilling or like like getting along with someone. It's kinda like an aur aurora, but like like it's it's it's you're you're vibing with that person, you're getting along with that person, you know, you feel that energy.

Gila 16:23

Who is someone, friend, family or probably figure who always make you laugh?

Phillip R 16:29

Well, I've got a special friend called Jason that I've known for a long time. And whenever he comes to see me, he knocks on the window and said, in the front room said, Are you in there, Granddad? And he just said, I thought, cheeky monkey. Come with granddad, thank you very much. And Marlene does as well, she's very special to me. You know? Very special to me. I've been with friends with Marlene about with Marlene about 35 years. And Jason about um forty-five years now. A long time.

Carol 17:02

That's that's a really long time. Yes, it is before I was born.

Phillip R 17:05

Yeah.

Jonathan 17:06

Me two?

Phillip R 17:07

Me three. Yeah, but I will say, if you don't if you don't have a love, what's the point of living?

Gila 17:17

Thank you, Phil. Thank you. Hafa? Yeah.

Phillip R 17:21

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

Gila 17:23

Who is someone who always makes you laugh? Family.

Havva 17:30

My auntie makes me laugh. She's very funny. Who makes you laugh, Gila?

Gila 17:37

Probably my dad, um my mum. Um they always when they go into a shutdown or anything like that, um, they always try and help me. Um also my friends try and help me to come out of my low stage. Um and I always thank you. And I always um say to one of my friends, at least I say to my friend, um, can I just see photo of um something funny and she always um finds a photo to make me come out of whatever I'm in?

How important is humour when we're having a tough day?

Carol 18:39

How important is humour when having a tough day? And how do you keep a positive mindset? So, Phil, how important is humour to you?

Phillip R 18:51

Very important to me a to a lot, you know? Because I don't like to be I don't like to be sad, I like to be happy. And if you can't have a laugh, what's the point in living, eh? That's what I always say. Because when I was at home, my mum, I couldn't have a laugh at all. But now I make I'm making up for it now, yeah.

Carol 19:08

Haver. How important is humour when you're having a tough day? And how do you keep a positive mindset?

Havva 19:16

Oh well I watch John Hardy, they make me happy, I don't get sad, and uh they make me laugh. That's my that's my film. Lauren Hardy. John Hardy, yeah, I was watching.

Phillip R 19:29

Yeah, I love them too.

Havva 19:30

I love them too, they're dead. They died in America. They died in America. My favourite film is What's your favourite Laurel and Hardy film? Oh my film is that one of these things done with the donkey.

Phillip R 19:52

Oh, Wild West.

Havva 19:53

Yeah, Watt West, yeah.

Phillip R 19:55

Classic, as well.

Havva 19:56

Classic, yeah. When did you start watching them? Oh, when I was little I watched them. When I was when I was a baby, I watched them. They're my favourite.

unknown 20:07

They're dead.

Carol 20:08

Okay, thank you, Haver, for your contribution. Thank you, Carol. To um the question.

Havva 20:15

Oh, thank you.

Carol 20:16

Jonathan, how important is humour when you're having a tough day and how do you keep a positive mindset?

Jonathan 20:24

Good question. When I'm having a tough day, I tend to do what I can to try and find the humour that can be located within a situation that I'm in. You know, if you look hard enough you can find it, wherever it may be. And uh sometimes y you might look for the irony in a situation, or you might be able to find the humour in it if you can just separate yourself from the situation and look at it from afar. And you'd be surprised how many situations can be just interpreted as very silly and nonsensical, and sometimes that can make you laugh, and it can help get you through the day. It can take a lot of time, a lot of practice, and it can take a sense of self-awareness. Because once you've gotten that kind of self-awareness you can then just sort of shift it away to somebody else's perspective or to just especially good if you can help shift over to someone who cares about you a lot and is willing to help. So that immediately puts you in a better mindset when you know that you're not alone and with their help you know, they can help you get a laugh out of it once you know you've spoken about to them and you both look at the situation. situation together and you're more likely to find something that could get a bit of a laugh going.

Carol 22:06

How important is humour when you're having a tough day? And how do you keep a positive mindset?

Can humour make us laugh and cry at the same time?

Gila 22:15

Can I bat a question to the group and to you who listen in is can humour make you laugh or cry at the same time? Please if you're listening, please write it in the comments below of a podcast.

Carol 22:33

Sorry I mean no I think you can cry and laugh at the same time depending on the situation you're in. For example, if someone's given you an iPhone you're going to be happy and you're going to cry does that align with the question like for example if if it's someone's birthday and they get like a really nice gift they're gonna ha cry and they're going to laugh. So I think it's possible combined with those two reactions you are going to do it. Or for another example if someone's coming home from like vacation or a soldier coming home you're going to cry and you're going to laugh. So it is possible to actually do that at the same time. Gilo why do you look so confused?

Gila 23:25

Because in my on experience when someone comes home that I haven't seen a long time I usually cry and not laugh.

Carol 23:38

You're happy to see them so you're going to laugh basically okay I can't got to come back on that because that is I I I don't know but have you seen like soldier have you seen like videos on YouTube of like emotional experiences between like people reacting with two emotions at the same time like happiness and sadness of things happening to them like combinations of videos I have exactly that that's the point okay I've just got an discompensation here because it's not going anywhere some people get so emotional that they do cry even if it is something positive.

Jonathan 24:34

Although it's not necessarily going to be laughing combined with crying. You know if you're feeling happy you might just be feeling happy that it makes you cry which uh is definitely uh a thing that many people have experienced from what is generally known I'm I mean I mean that's true but like you see a lot of reactions mixed with crying and laughing. Like you they are going to get more emotions of crying but you're also going to feel like happiness at the same time Yeah sometimes if you laugh so much it can sometimes just give sort of an i an involuntary response of tears coming from the eyes you know that's uh that's when just laughing is happening so much that it inadvertently causes crying but then of course when you have a state of ambivalence that is also a situation where someone would laugh and cry but it's uh depending entirely on the specific circumstance. If something like a soldier was coming back from a war I don't think you'd be laughing you'd be happy to see them but I'm not I don't think you'd be laughing unless you specifically laugh when you are happy which I suppose is possible.

Carol 26:04

Yeah exactly that's what I mean like if soldier if a soldier comes home from war right you're obviously going to laugh like laugh with like extreme happiness because they're back and then you're gonna have tears coming down your face and you're gonna be so happy they're back.

Jonathan 26:19

Well it's not necessarily gonna be laughter they might just be s just smiling. They might be hugging the person and then you know that's when they cry.

Carol 26:31

But they're gonna be they're gonna be making laughter going to be making like ha ha ha ha and they cry at the same time like that's like noises of laughter. Well when they initially meet I don't think there'll be much laughter but as time goes on they might be willing to have a laugh with them but I digress it do make you cry like the film it makes you cry makes sometimes makes you laugh sometimes makes you cry and somebody is the horse died it makes you cry because it's sad like Lassie like Chumpman the horse like Black Booty on the making the movie it makes you something happened to the horse it makes you cry and then after he comes back to life he'd be happy again that's when the man had to make the movie thank you for all your responses

Final Thoughts

Carol 27:38

Final thoughts final thoughts ha ha ha laughing from me that's a laughing from me make you happy try not to have any nightmares I think I got infected by the laugh I think I have laughed my laugh out of scheme laughing laughing is contagious it's like a virus where you've been bitten but you're laughing instead until you fall to the floor and you're completely turned into a laughing a laughing um virus.

Phillip R 28:43

A week in with you we're here for you yes hooray hooray hooray hooray