Humour on a daily basis is totally necessary for our well-being and general state of mind. Where would we be without it?

We all know at least one person who seems to have been born with an almost non-existent sense of humour gene. It’s the person who rarely smiles, the person who doesn’t get’ jokes and who is constantly moaning and complaining. I would hate to be like that.

I have suffered from depression for a few years now, and I hate the down’ days when everything seems so sad and I can’t shake off the why am I here, what is the point of it all’ way of thinking. The best part of it for me, is knowing that in a few days time things can change, that suddenly the cloud will lift and I see humour in simple, silly things. It’ s a fantastic feeling when that happens.

Humour can help in so many ways. It can diffuse a potentially difficult situation. Something silly or funny happening, or someone making a witty remark can alter the outcome of what could turn out to be a nasty incident. Humour is a very powerful thing.

Life is difficult these days in so many ways. There are bad people out there, we are sometimes afraid for ourselves and our children. We have the credit crunch, we have global warming, there are wars, natural disasters, many situations which make us question our very existence on this earth. Yet humour can change the way we feel, can help us to be more productive and feel more positive. Of course, we all hate sick’ jokes and would never dream of making fun of the awful things that are happening in the world today, but a few minutes of laughter about a totally different subject can deflect away from the negativities and give us strength by reinforcing the idea that we can work at things, we can smile in the face of adversity and realise that life is in fact, a beautiful and precious thing.

The great veteran comedian Ken Dodd, always says that people have a chuckle muscle’ and that this muscle should be exercised as much as possible. I have to agree with him. Forget the 6 pack, and the pumping iron, now and again just exercise that chuckle muscle and see how good it feels to laugh and forget the ills of the world for a moment. Laughter is contagious too, how many times have you laughed simply because the sound of some-one else’s laughter has given you the irrepressible urge to giggle yourself and laughing along with other people is a fantastic bonding’ tool. It breaks down all barriers.

This is why I think that a daily dose of humour is as vital as breathing, eating and drinking.

In fact, it would be great if we could have it injected into our veins, so that just for a few short moments each day, we could feel great and positive about ourselves and our surroundings and know what it is like to be totally care-free.