The Benefits of Laughter & Smiling During TSW

Jennifer Powers
May 9, 2022
5 min read

It's Very Hard Some Days to Even Think About Smiling, But Here Are 5 Benefits of Laughter And Smiling That You Probably Didn't Know Could Help You During TSW (& in Life!)

Topical Steroid Withdrawal is one of the hardest things us sufferers will ever go through. It's hell on earth to put it lightly...

During our withdrawal period of months to years, most days, it's nearly impossible to find the joy in each day when all we want to do is curse out the world or cry or just sleep (oh how I'll never take sleep for granted ever again as long as I live!). It's a constant battle of the mind to try to focus on the good things around us.

It was one day that I was REALLY struggling to find anything to be happy about that I remembered part of an Audrey Hepburn quote that said,

"I believe that happy girls are the prettiest girls"

and I thought about that. I realized that while I didn't have the power to change my outward appearance, or speed up my TSW journey to healing , or take it all away, I DID have the power to change my outlook and attitude (easier said than done, but not impossible).

After some research and testing it out myself, here are a few benefits of laughter & smiling that can help you during TSW and beyond!

#1 - Your Body Releases 3 Good Hormones

When the muscles in our face move to make a smile, our brains interpret that as us feeling happy, which in turn releases these chemicals - endorphins, dopamine and serotonin. Pretty cool right? (I even read that researchers found that the brain equates 1 smile to two-thousand bars of chocolate as far as the same level of stimulation). We feel happy because of the endorphins that are released, and, bonus, they are also what help lower our stress levels! You know that saying, "fake it 'til ya make it?" yeah... there's truth to that. Faking a smile or forcing a laugh works just as well as the real deal since our brains only notice our facial muscles moving the same way. So, our goal should be to release this chemical so we can actually feel happier.

#2 - Natural Pain Killer

Chemicals, like endorphins, act as natural pain killers for the body. The benefits of laughter for people who suffer with daily or chronic discomfort can experience pain relief when laughing and/or smiling. You know how when a little child falls over and the parent or nearby adult starts laughing or clapping their hands and going, "yayyyy" with a big smile of their face so as to trick the toddler into thinking they aren't feeling pain? Yup! Same concept.

#3 - Reduces Stress

The benefits of laughter having major effects on reducing stress have been widely studied and documented. Cortisol, the stress hormone, gets reduced as endorphins are increased. Whenever we feel anxious, nervous or stressed, our cortisol levels are higher and more active. When going through TSW, it's natural to have very high cortisol levels because we have so much anxiety and stress around the products we may want to try, whether we will have a flare up, and what we will see when we look into the mirror. It's imperative that we try to keep our stress down, as stress is one of the main triggers for so many of us.

Laughter decreases elevated heart rate and blood pressure, which can make you feel more relaxed and at ease. Smiling and laughing, though hard to do at times, can truly make a difference in your health and wellness journey.

#4 - Betters Your Relationships

Steroids may not be the only thing you are withdrawing from...

During TSW, you may find yourself withdrawing from people - those you spent time with and are used to being around. The benefits of laughter and smiling naturally connect us to others and strengthens bonds.

"Smile at the obstacle, for it is a bridge." -Medusa

Although you may want to avoid eye contact or face-to-face interactions due to feeling self-conscious, smiling draws people to you. It's important to remember that we are our own worst critics. We tend to be very unkind to ourselves (something I need to work on, too!), but those around us just want to be near us and show their support. We need to give them the opportunity to cheer us on and spend time with them during this very difficult time!

Smiles are contagious, as are laughs, so the more you can be around others and share in these behaviors, the better it'll be for your well-being!

#5 - Live A Longer Life!

There was a study published in 2016 that found that women with strong senses of humor lived longer than others. Having TSW, lots of us fear the risk of getting infections due to our skin being open wounds when we scratch ourselves raw. Get this - that same study found that 83% of women were less likely to die from infection, and 73% were less likely to die from heart disease (the leading cause of death in both men and women in the United States).

There are so many studies of what laughter does to your body, your organs, your heart and more. I won't bore ya with all the scientific studies, but, bottomline, the less stress you experience the better your health, relationships and TSW healing with be!

How to Laugh and Smile and More

So if reading everything above made you go, "ok well this makes sense and sounds great, but how's someone like me, going through the hell fire that is TSW, supposed to do this? I totally get you here, trust me, but here are a few things you can try to decrease the stress and increase the happiness in your life right now - Yes, DESITE going through Topical Steroid Withdrawal:

Watch shows, comedians, movies that are comedic in nature! This is easy enough, c'mon, right? It's hard to focus on your troubles and the pain and anything sad when you are too busy laughing at jokes (My personal favorite? I Love Lucy reruns - you can thank me later).
- Oh and equally important is to avoid shows/programs/movies that bring out sad emotions (ie: a depressing news broadcast).
Fake it or force it! Since we now know that even a fake smile makes our brains feel that we are happy, we need to force it sometimes to feel happy even when we don't actually feel that way in the exact moment.
Spend time with your friends. This will make you happier (as long as you've got good friends)! Being around fun-loving, positive people is always a good idea, but especially when we are looking at ways to smile and laugh more frequently.

And lastly...

...Laugh At Yourself!

Sometimes we just have to make fun of ourselves and the current state we are in to avoid crying about it. I made this little collage image and showed my family and we all had a laugh about it. The reality is, we all know how serious this condition is. They see me suffering with this journey and know it is NOT a laughing matter... but.... sometimes, that's exactly what we need to feel a sense of normalcy, to feel happy and, let's be honest, laughter is good for the soul and the absolute best medicine.