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Cop humor is iconic but it is disappearing and we should try to figure out why. \u00a0In fact, those in police psychology understand the importance of laughter and laughing to our overall well-beings (particularly in helping cops deal with stress). A Now before you get all upset and yell that this isn\u2019t true, let me explain myself. I\u2019m 60 years old, and I have an 9-year-old daughter. I\u2019ve noticed young parents with kids her age don\u2019t laugh with their kids as much as my parents did with me, or as much as I do with my daughter. And this sets in motion a vicious cycle in which children laugh less and less as the years and generations go on and on.\u00a0 What is going to happen to them?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0Gone are the days when teenagers used to rank on each other for fun. Now it\u2019s bullying to rank on someone who is even your best friend. Gone are the days where you could walk around the city or your office and see the friendly smiles of the people around you.\u00a0 In fact, often in a psychologist\u2019s office, people are on edge, yelling at each other for doing this or that, or just overall unsettled with their life.\u00a0 But, strangely, that was never the case in my office or with\u00a0 my partner. Our clients tend to laugh, make jokes with us, and take a joke well also.\u00a0 They have an overall sense of fun. Many say, \u201cI don\u2019t laugh like this anymore.\u201d\u00a0 Well, generally no one does, my friend, no one does anymore..<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0I used to receive 25-30 emails every week from different police officers who had a good joke they thought I would enjoy.\u00a0 That doesn\u2019t happen anymore (although Bruce Kaitlyn Jenner created a mild resurgence of cop humor).\u00a0 I remember, at the time, I didn\u2019t particularly look foreword to these emails because I usually got the same joke multiple times (and how many times can you really<\/em> laugh at a \u201cknock-knock joke\u201d?). \u00a0I still have those same email lists, but now my inbox is empty. No longer do I wake up each morning to find out why the chicken crossed the road this time, or what happens when two priests and a Rabbi enter a bar\u2026now my inbox is full of work messages, and business information. And I\u2019ll tell you right now, I would give a whole lot to be able to go back to old days where laughter was paramount and I could always count on my clients for a good joke. So, when I say we don\u2019t laugh anymore, I mean that as a culture we have stopped placing such a high premium on smiling and joking around and good ol\u2019 having fun with each other. And if I understand that laughing as been in the decline, I\u2019m sure other individuals have noticed it as well. We understand that laughing has been in the decline, much to the detriment of society.\u00a0 This is an extremely bad situation because there are so many good effects of laughter. They say \u201cLaughter is the best medicine,\u201d and while you probably shouldn\u2019t substitute laughter for your antibiotics when you have an infection, a little laughter certainly never hurt anybody. Research shows laughter can boost you immune system, increase blood flow, decrease stress hormones, reduce the tension in you muscles, and even help in the treatment of diabetes and high cholesterol. It can also have an analgesic effect which came through in one study with cancer patients that 10 minutes of laughter can have a strong analgesic effect for up to two hours.\u00a0 Aside from that, laughing can make you feel good about yourself, and it can make other people feel good when they\u2019re with you. It\u2019s so much easier to interact with someone who is always smiling then someone who looks like they have a rain cloud over their head. Also, for you workout warriors, research has shown that 100 laughs a day is equivalent to 10 minutes of rowing or jogging. So a half hour of Three Stooges may be the aerobic exercise you need and it is a lot more fun that a rowing machine.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n So if there are so many benefits to laughing, why is this behavior slowly disappearing? I have two possible answers for this: First, our culture is very worried Another reason people don\u2019t laugh as much anymore is because of the high-stress lifestyle many of us lead today. Many people hold down a job (or two), have to care for children, parents, or siblings, have to pay all the bills, and make ends meet in general. And, we all have to worry about someone else getting overly stressed. It\u2019s really hard to remember to smile when all that\u2019s going on in your head is:\u00a0 \u201cDid I remember to text Bob back? And I need to get home already so I can go to Suzie\u2019s play tonight. And I can\u2019t forget to pay the electrician and make time for writing up that report that is due tomorrow. And I hope my wife is in a good mood today because I don\u2019t want any argument.\u201d\u00a0\u00a0 It\u2019s clear our over-packed days have caused a dearth of laughter in the world.<\/span><\/p>\n So what can we do about it? How can we bring laughter back into our lives?<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n![\"Girl](\"http:\/\/i1.wp.com\/policepsychologyblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/07\/Girl-Laughing.jpg\")
<\/a>nd yet, we don\u2019t laugh anymore. There, I said it. <\/span><\/p>\n
\n<\/span><\/p>\nThe Benefits of Laughter<\/h2>\n
Why is Laughter Disappearing?<\/h2>\n
about being appropriate and not offending anyone.\u00a0 This political correctness makes people afraid to laugh or spread jokes. While it is generally a good idea to be politically correct, everyone has to learn the boundaries of correctness. While there is definitely something to be said for not insulting anyone for the purposes of humor, making fun of yourself, or ranking on the people you know can handle it shouldn\u2019t necessarily be avoided. <\/span><\/p>\n<\/a>3 Steps to Stimulate More Laughter in Your Life<\/h3>\n\n
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