What's so funny about diabetes?

Do you remember that little Reader’s Digest humor column Laughter, the Best Medicine? Well, it seems like they were on to something. Plenty of experts have been touting the benefits of humor in disease treatment for years, and now diabetes educators are chiming in.

Advanced Practice Nurse, Diabetes Educator and Cartoonist Theresa L. Garnero has a great article from Diabetes in Control on how medical professionals can use humor as a therapeutic tool. (The jist: practice, gauge your patient’s reaction to humor first, and know when not to crack a joke.)

The benefits reach beyond the patient—not only does can the patient experience stress relief and a lower glucose level, but the medical professional fosters open communication and avoids feelings of burnout. What a win-win situation!

Holistic-Online also sings the praises of humor therapy, urging diabetics to keep their sense of humor alive by laughing at their disease.

Does this mean you’re not taking it seriously? Of course not! Take it seriously, but not so seriously that you can’t have a laugh. And don’t stop there--embracing humor also means reducing or eliminating negativity. Says June Biermann, author of The Diabetics Total Health Book:

"For diabetics there are plenty of potential (yet avoidable) disasters that a person can dwell on if so inclined. And just as it's important not to dwell on them yourself, it's important not to hang around with people who want to dwell on them for you,"

Afraid you’ve forgotten how to laugh? Check out this piece from the aforementioned Reader’s Digest on enhancing your sense of humor. Then check out these diabetes humor sites:

LOL Diabetes

Children With Diabetes Humorous Tidbits

Livabetes

Kerri Morrone’s Diabetes Terms of Endearment

Now, does anyone have a funny diabetes (or any other disease, really!) story to share? Come on, now don't be shy...