Observations placeholder
Cousins, Norman - Pain and healing laughter
Identifier
000579
Type of Spiritual Experience
Background
Norman Cousins suffered from arthritis and heart problems and developed a recovery program incorporating huge doses of Vitamin C, along with hope, a positive attitude, and laughter induced by Marx Brothers films.
Cousins died of heart failure on November 30, 1990, having survived years longer than his doctors predicted: 10 years after his first heart attack, 16 years after his collagen illness, and 36 years after his doctors first diagnosed his heart disease
A description of the experience
"I made the joyous discovery that ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free sleep. When the pain-killing effect of the laughter wore off, we would switch on the motion picture projector again and not infrequently, it would lead to another pain-free interval."
The source of the experience
Cousins, NormanConcepts, symbols and science items
Concepts
Pain [physical]Symbols
Science Items
Activities and commonsteps
Activities
Overloads
Heart failure and coronary heart diseaseRheumatoid arthritis
Suppressions
Healing yourselfLaughing
Vitamin C