Taking Your Medicine?

by Ann Musico
(Wallkill, NY, USA)

Proverbs 17:22 NLT: A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person's strength.

Much has been said about the power of laughter to heal. There have been numerous studies linking positive mental and emotional states and better health. Some studies have shown that positive emotions cause the body to produce more immune cells, while negative ones tend to suppress one's immune system. The specifics of how attitudes contribute to health are still not fully understood. We do know that the body's immune system is influenced by brain chemistry, which is in turn affected by emotional experiences.

Emotions such as happiness, stress, anger, anxiety and fear affect us at a biochemical level because every emotion has a frequency. Every emotion produces a specific and distinct biochemical reaction that affects the entire body.
Many degenerative diseases, and most certainly cancer, have multiple causes. That being so, many factors contribute to one's risk profile, and a multi-faceted approach in preventing and dealing with disease is always most effective. We cannot ignore the spiritual and emotional connections. We overlook their importance to our own detriment.

Consider another finding. Pro-zeranine is a powerful chemical substance that is actually able to reverse addictions naturally since they are due to a lack of this substance. It has been found that laughter actually produces pro-zeranine in the body!

While we cannot control circumstances and situations we may be faced with, we can control how we respond to them and we certainly can take control of our attitudes. Cultivating a cheerful heart is one of the most pleasant medicines I can imagine taking! As always, Father really does know best.

How often to do you laugh each day? Do you find opportunities to laugh every day? Intentionally find opportunities to see the humor in your everyday situations this month and make sure you laugh every day!