Be Sure to Laugh Even if You're Chronically Ill

When you're challenged with a chronic illness and are trying your best to feel better, it can seem like a lot of work, and sometimes there's no payback for a long time.

That can get frustrating and it can seem like there's no joy in your life. From my own past experience when I was sick, I know that's true.

Conciously Choose Some Fun:

I was working at my business, trying to keep my house in order, and in my spare time I was scouring the internet for solutions, and reading everything I could get my hands on. And suffering with severe migraines and major digestive problems.

I really didn't have much fun in my life. I eventually realized this.

I had to make a conscious effort to add some fun in.

I'm not someone who would normally like a comedy movie, but it was something I would do on purpose, to get a good belly laugh.

The movie would end and the laughter would end, but it was something that made a positive impact. Even now, 20 years later, I remember some of the "On Purpose" fun things I did during those years I was sick.

What funny movies or comedy shows do you think you'd enjoy? If you don't know any, ask your friends or coworkers. Whether it's your "thing" or not, a good belly laugh is worth sitting through a dumb movie for. The movie isn't necessarily for intellectual stimulation, but just for the sheer funny or silly things that will make you laugh out loud.

Another thing that I love to do is to "go for coffee" with my friends. I made regular time to do that, even when I was busy.

Do you have a favorite thing you like to do with your friends, that's simple? Go out to lunch or go for coffee or go shopping or just go throw seeds for the birds with your friends in the park.

Ideas for Fun Things To Do:

Find some things that bring joy to you. Not just pleasant things. But joyful or really fun or really funny things.

It can be something adventurous, such as sky diving, or surfing, or motor biking, or off road 4 wheeling. Find some activities that you've enjoyed in the past, and haven't done in a while that are semi close to you. Plan an outing with whoever is game for a bit of adventure.

It can be something juvenile, like having a dress up party and inviting some people over for a theme night dinner and some laughs. Or it could be getting together with some friends and go to a local theme park or water park. You can go on rides and scream and laugh and just be plain silly.

It can be something family oriented like planning a barbecue and inviting a bunch of people and including some games. It can be things like a water gun or water balloon fight. It could be playing backyard games, and getting all the adults involved - there's nothing funnier than watching grown ups to do a 3 legged race or any other normally kid centered backyard activity.

Another family oriented one can be having a camp out in your back yard, complete with tents and an open fire pit and some of your adult friends and their kids. You can plan to have all the adults tell some silly scary midnight stories that will scare the kids a bit, but make all the adults laugh. And you can laugh at all the adults as they make their way into the house to sleep, instead of the tents.

It could be a family style outing, that you can include another close family you know. Such as a trip to the zoo, or to go play some mini golf.

It could be a family game night, and include at least one other family, preferably more. You can set up one or more game tables, with the silliest games you have. Get your friends to also bring their silly fun board games over as well, and you can have a bunch of different tables going on. You can even play something like pictionary, where everyone simply looks silly trying to act out whatever their card is.

It could be a night out of entertainment, with the goal of being funny or silly. Such as getting a group of friends together to go to a Karaoke sing along. Even if you're not a good singer it's a lot of fun and bound to be silly and fun and will get some good laughs happening.

Friends are Required:

You'll notice that many of the things I noted included other people. There's a couple reasons for that.

First, if you had laughs in your home already, you wouldn't need to consider trying to have some fun. Outside influences bring in a different dynamic. If you choose at least some of the friends for their sense of humor, you'll get a nice chance to bring some joy back into your life.

Second, friends are important. When we're sick, it's pretty common for us to withdraw a bit. Making a conscious effort to keep our social connections alive and active brings that joy to our life. Even if we're still sick, we can have fleeting moments where we add in some fun and laughter. It's better to be sick and laughing once in a while than to just be sick and miserable all the time.

Plan Some Fun Events:

If you're looking for some fun and are planning an event at home, check out our Recipe section for some whole food treats everyone will enjoy.

If you're looking for some more ideas, check out these Pinterest searches I found, that might give you some inspiration:

• Crazy things to do with friends
• Fun things to do with friends
• Silly things to do with friends

Laugh, eat and laugh some more!

Thora