Laugh more, stress less

When the going gets tough it can be hard to find a reason to laugh. But humour is crucial for recharging your batteries. Build a funnier, more energised life with this guide.

I spent most of last year stuck alone in my tiny flat in three-day-old clothes, missing friends and family, clearing out my Netflix queue, and stressing about the state of the world. Look, things were bleak. But I did have one lifeline: funny people online (and no, I don't mean the people you went to school with who are involved in marketing schemes on social media).

I'm talking about folks such as Caitlin Reilly, who does spot-on impressions of all the characters you love to loathe, like the self-obsessed celebrity trying to connect with her fans on Instagram Live who just keeps staring blankly into the camera and fixing her hair, or the out-of- touch mum on the verge of an emotional breakdown despite living in a mansion.

Or Brittany Broski (a.k.a. Kombucha Girl), who started as a meme and is now a certified TikTok legend with an infectious laugh that can turn around the gloomiest of days. Or Ali Weiss, the comedian and refreshingly honest self-help podcast host, whose chats with her grandma Jean are pure joy.

These women have become my own personal superheroes. I never would have found them had I not been spending way more time on my phone, in search of a drop of serotonin.

Their ability to make me giggle, articulate an observation I couldn't quite put my finger on, and simply transport me out of my reality for a bit was exactly what I needed to keep my mental health from completely unravelling. They made me feel seen and gave me permission to laugh when it felt as if the only acceptable reaction was to cry.

I didn't realise how much I needed laughter in my life. Turns out, we all do. 'When we experience stress, our brain releases cortisol and adrenaline, which cause our blood pressure and heart rate to go up, muscles to tense, and the immune system to take a hit,' says Karyn Buxman, author of Lead With Levity: Strategic Humour for Leaders. And humour is an antidote to all those negative effects: 'When we laugh, the brain releases happy hormones that lower inflammation in the body, boost cardiovascular health, relax your muscles, and enable you to concentrate and connect with others,' says Buxman. But that's not all. Finding something funny reduces pain and kick-starts the chemical immunoglobulin-A, a powerful fighter of respiratory illnesses, says Steven Sultanoff, a clinical psychologist and professor of psychology at Pepperdine University, California.

When the sister-in-law is prettier than the wife herself

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Slept on the road

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Suddenly the doorbell rang. Maya rushed to open it without high expectations. However, when the door opened, she was surprised to see a figure of a man standing in front of her. The man is his old friend who had long moved out of town. Maya glued for a moment with the hand still holding the door, between believing and not believing.

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Ruru is a normally shy design student. One day, she decided to step out of her comfort zone by dying her hair bright blue—the color of her dreams for a long time. She wore her favorite outfit: a navy blue shirt with a big bow and a classic brown skirt. She wanted to capture the moment of change in a independent photo session in her apartment.

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The beginning of the life of a young girl named Akane who chose life as a gamers. He spends most of his time in a messy room, playing games and rarely interacting with the outside world. For her, the room was her safest place, and casual clothes (such as sweatshirts and white tees) were her daily uniform.