Just what is Gelotology?

Gelotology is most likely a word you’re unfamiliar with. It’s the study of something most people experience in one form or another each and every single day. Something that has the power to make us cry, the power to make us happy, even the power to make our muscles ache. People sometimes use narcotics to feel it. Some people are born to make others feel it. And it happens in the most unlikely of places, even the dentist’s chair, or in the middle of a warzone.

Know what I’m talking about?

Gelotology is the study of laughter. Laughter, in terms of a medical description is a human behaviour regulated by our brains, it has everything to do with social interaction, and for the most part, fills our over-worked brains with much needed endorphins.  And the old adage ‘laughter is the best medicine’ is no farce: getology forecasts that people who laugh a lot have improved health, a longer lifespan and overall well-being. So just why is it then that so many comedians die young?

Unfortunately for some, laughter is a disease. A condition called laughter syncope actually causes people to lose consciousness. Another condition called pathological laughter, usually employed by that demented tramp everyone has seen lurking around the bottle store, is usually curable by the use of antidepressants. However, if you’re known to laugh in appropriate situations, don’t worry just yet, it’s probably your inbuilt coping mechanism for sadness, angriness and pain.

South Africans are mostly blessed with a well-oiled coping mechanism, because come rain or shine, we’ve always been a nation that is not afraid to laugh at itself. So tell a joke or help someone crack a smile today, and your good deed for the day is done!