Health staff prescribe comedy for patients with depression

Published on Tuesday 3 November 2009 08:50

THEY say laughter is the best medicine – now a group of health professionals are putting that theory to the test by "prescribing" comedy DVDs to patients with depression.

The health workers are putting on a stand-up comedy show – headlined by top comic Patrick Monahan – next month in the Queen's Hall, which will be filmed and handed out to GP surgeries across the Lothians.

Organised by the Edinburgh-based Centre of Health and Wellbeing, a charity delivering services for people with long-term illnesses, the aim is to give people suffering from depression an alternative to anti-depressants. The charity believes there are a number of ways other than medication to treat the condition, with comedy and laughter being one of the best.

Dr Lubna Kerr, a pharmacist and director of the Centre of Health and Wellbeing, said: "The Scottish Government is very keen to reduce the number of anti-depressants that are prescribed.

"I would like to give the DVDs to GPs and practice nurses so they can give them to patients with depression. I also want to run workshops for people with depression and measure their level of (stress hormone] cortisol then show them the DVD and measure it again after to see what impact watching two and a half hours of comedy has on stress levels. We know laughter is the best medicine, we just have to prove it."

Some audience members at The Laughter Show – which also stars Charlie Chuck, Tiernan Douieb and Jojo Sutherland as well as Scottish Comedian of the Year 2009 John Gavin and last year's winner Scott Agnew – will also have their salivary cortisol measured before and after to see if the level falls after having a good laugh.

Billy Watson, chief executive of mental health charity SAMH, said: "SAMH welcomes the Centre of Health and Wellbeing's approach of using comedy to help ease the symptoms of depression and believes that laughter can have a positive impact on a person's mental health."

The Centre of Health and Wellbeing is a relatively new social enterprise charity, set up by Dr Kerr and her colleagues. The volunteer NHS workers are paid by companies to carry out "health checks" such as blood pressure and cholesterol testing on employees.

The charity then uses the money to take their workshops to deprived areas of the city.

For tickets to The Laughter Show, on 14 November, call 0131-668 2019 or visit www.queenshall.net. Evening News readers are being offered tickets for the event for just 10 each by phoning the Queen's Hall and quoting the password "why".