“Laughter clears more than tears,” best selling author and Access Consciousness® founder Gary Douglas is fond of saying.

Science is now finding that this is indeed true.

It was Sigmund Freud who wrote about the necessity of focusing on “grief work” nearly 100 years ago, in 1917.

Recent studies are showing that this focus on grief may not be necessary. Human beings have a built-in resilience. One-third to two-thirds of those suffering from trauma didn’t suffer any of the symptoms that would classify them as traumatized, such as sleeping difficulties, hyper vigilance, or flashbacks. Within six months, the number suffering dropped to less than 10 per cent.

Now a Columbia University psychologist studying resilience is uncovering evidence that focusing on the loss (the tears) “might end up producing more harm than good.” He analyzed the facial expressions of people who had lost loved ones recently and found that they showed not only sadness, but also anger and happiness. They documented that the happiness in laughter was real by analyzing the contraction of muscles around the eyes.

A number of studies done over 15 years of trauma survivors, like the Oklahoma City bombings and the Columbine High School shootings, have shown that trauma debriefing, in which individuals talk about their trauma in an attempt to rid themselves of it, have shown the technique “is not effective and might cause harm.” (Scientific American, March 2011).

The reliving of past traumas stimulates the adrenal glands to secrete cortisol, which when secreted over the long term can cause lasting damage to the body. Laughter, on the other hand, stimulates endorphins, the natural equivalent of the “feel good” effect of drugs.

Could Gary Douglas have known more than science when he said laughter cured more than tears? It would not be the first time that using question and consciousness revealed a reality that science would only discover later!

For those who do suffer from lasting effects of trauma, whether it’s loss of a loved one or a major social trauma such as a hurricane, tsunami, or battlefield trauma, Access Consciousness® offers major tools which can undo this with astonishing rapidity and success.

These tools, including some of the verbal processes taught in the core classes and Access Bars®, were used with such success by one Australian special force member’s wife that the Australian army asked her to teach families of the entire unit how to cope with flashbacks and violence that nothing else could handle. Some of the methods she taught enabled her husband to trust his own awareness in a battlefield situation, allowing him to ask his unit to wait before entering a building, just moments before it blew up.

Access Bars®, the hands on process that erases trauma, is taught in the very first 1 day Access Consciousness® class. Some 2000 people in more than 45 countries can facilitate you in learning how to use this tool. The verbal processes are taught in the 4 additional Access Consciousness® Core classes, facilitated by licensed facilitators worldwide. These are also available for purchase on-line. Dr. Dain Heer and founder Gary Douglas are the only qualified facilitators of Levels 2 & 3, the last 2 of the 5 core classes.