Play Like Your Life Depends on It…Because It Does!

How would you like to know how to play? Like your life depends on it? Because it does. That's what's coming up on episode 13 of the Cancer and Comedy Podcast. So listen on, my friend. Listen on.

Cancer got you down? Pretty grim, huh? How about a show that turns the grim into a grin? Way to go. You made it here to the Cancer and Comedy Podcast, the show to lift you up with hope and humor that heals. Now here's your chief lifter-upper, Dr. Brad Miller:.

Hello, my friend and my lifter-upper friends. I am Dr. Brad Miller:. That stands for Doctor of Ministry. I'm not an MD, but after 43 years of local church ministry, I retired, and shortly after that, I was diagnosed with cancer. And I just had to laugh to keep from crying. I had to find a way to cope. And I found that through creating the Cancer and Comedy Podcast. You can hear my full story at cancerandcomedy.com, Episode One. But I feel called right now to help you to cope with cancer with healing, hope, and humor and to turn your grimace into grins. That's why we have the Cancer and Comedy Podcast.

I really would like to ask you to join me on our livestream launch party, which we're having for the Cancer Comedy Podcast. You can go to cancerandcomedy.com/live to find out the details. But it's an absolutely live livestream party with comedian Rick Roberts, a clean comedy comedian coming to you straight from Indianapolis, Indiana, Saturday, November 4, seven o'clock PM. You can go to cancerandcomedy.com/live to see how you can connect on Facebook and YouTube to be a part of that.

I love a few things. I love a dumb dad joke. For instance, I have a friend who accidentally swallowed some invisible ink. She's in the emergency room now, waiting to be seen. I also love great quotes, like this one from Ben Franklin: "Wealth is not his that has it, but his that enjoys it." And I'm our own DJ. So one of the things I really love is great lines from classic rock and country songs. And really one of my favorite artists of all time is Johnny Cash. He had lots of great songs, like "I Walk the Line" and "Man in Black," but one of his lesser-known songs I really love is called "Someday I'll Be Old." Here's a line from that song: "Someday I'll be old, but not today. Someday I'll be cold, but not today. Today I'll be young. And I'll play." Johnny Cash says it well. Today, I'll be young, and I'll play. That's our theme today here on Cancer Comedy. We're talking about the power of play to make your day.

Here's a question for you: What do juggling, Play-Doh, dueling, cooking together with other people, and sitting on a whoopee cushion have in common with play therapy for healing from cancer? The answer is they jumpstart your brain and initiate healing from the innermost places of your gut. I want to talk to you for a minute about how you need to play like your life depends on it because it does.

A guy named Doug Hall wrote a book called "Jumpstart Your Brain," and it was really all about how corporations can engage their creativity to increase the bottom line. He uses play therapy in the corporate setting with things like juggling, Play-Doh, doodling, cooking together, and whoopee cushions, among all kinds of other games and activities, in order to increase the productivity of large corporations. So, when we think about getting over and dealing with the grimness of cancer or other profound diseases, maybe we can learn something here.

I want to share with you how play therapy and having fun, playing like a kid, can help you to get better and to overcome and just come to a better place in your cancer or your serious health challenge journey. Here are a few things that play therapy, doing things for fun, can help you do:

Number one is reducing anxiety and stress. A 2020 study found that play therapy was effective in reducing anxiety and stress in children undergoing cancer treatment. The participants in this study suddenly felt happier and more relaxed during their play therapy sessions, and they showed significant improvements in their quality of life.

Number two, play therapy improves mood and well-being. In a 2021 study, play therapy was found effective in improving mood and well-being in adults with cancer. The people in this study said they felt quite a bit more positive and helpful, and they showed improvement in their health metrics.

Number three, play therapy promotes coping and resilience. Play therapy helps with coping and resilience by providing a safe and supportive environment where people are working together just to have some fun together. They help create and overcome problems or situations in a game and a creative way.

The fourth one is play therapy reduces post-traumatic stress disorders (PTSD). Yeah, that's a factor for people with cancer and other bad diseases, and it can be effective in reducing the symptoms of this. Play therapy can for children and adults. By playing out their experiences and exploring their feelings in a safe way with some other folks, they can begin to process this. The 2015 study about this indicates that post-traumatic stress disorders in children and adolescents are reduced by play therapy.

And one more, number five, play therapy strengthens relationships. It can help people with cancer and other major diseases get closer to your loved ones or to your playmates that you have. By playing together, you just get a little deeper trust in one another. I've seen that happen in children's hospitals and other hospitals where people play games together and have some fun together. I've seen people building puzzles and playing chess or checkers, both older folks and children. Others, why do you think they have Ronald McDonald House? That's a place for kids to play, but also a lot of adults talk and play there as well. Play therapy is an effective way to help people of every age to cope with the challenges of cancer and other things like that.

I've learned a lot about this from being at children's hospitals. I've been in a lot of them, including with my own daughter when she was an infant, and I've seen how people play and have fun together. But I've also seen it in other settings as well. And I've learned a lot from my own granddaughters who just love to play. They like to play dress-up, and I like to play on playgrounds. If you ever go to a playground, you'll see that the laughter and the giggling are therapeutic, not only for those people who are having the fun doing it, the kids and so on, but it's therapeutic for everybody else, even those who may have some health challenges that they're facing.

So here's my invitation to you, my friend, my lifter-upper. One way to lift yourself up and to lift up others is to play—play with others. So why don't you make play a way to make your day and play like your life depends on it? Because it does.

Now, let's lighten things up a bit with our Cancer and Comedy segment, Dr. Brad's Bad Joke of the Day.

So, this young Game Warden was new on the job. He was very energetic and wanted to make a big impression on his bosses and everybody else. He heard about this guy who'd been fishing on the big lake they were in charge of and was coming in with loads of fish way over the limit. So, this young Game Warden thought he would be sneaky, go undercover, and catch this guy fishing over the limit. He wore regular clothes, not his uniform, befriended the guy, and asked, "Hey, can I go fishing with you sometime?" The guy agreed. They got in the boat, but all the guy had was a net, a cooler for the fish, and a metal box. He was also smoking a cigar, which made the Game Warden suspicious. He asked, "Where's your rod and reel? Where's your fishing gear?" The guy replied, "Don't worry about it; this is how I catch fish." They went to the middle of the lake, and suddenly, the guy reached into the metal box, pulled out a stick of dynamite, lit it with his cigar, and threw it into the lake. Kaboom! The explosion made the fish float to the top, and the guy started scooping them up with his net. There were dozens of fish, and the Game Warden was shocked. He pulled out his badge and said, "I'm the Game Warden, and you're under arrest for fishing over the limit. How could you do that with dynamite?" The guy reached into his metal box, pulled out another stick of dynamite, lit it on his cigar, and handed it to the young Game Warden. He said, "Young man, do you want to talk or do you want to fish?"

Now, it's time to shift gears a bit for Dr. Brad's Faith It or Break It segment.

In our Faith It or Break It segment, I want to talk to you about playing like a child as an act of faith. In the Bible, in Matthew 18:3, it says, "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." Why did Jesus say that? Well, when you play with the wonderment of a child, you have innocence and energy that can help you respond to something grim like cancer. I've been around youth camps and events for children and seen the joy and energy. I remember one episode where a 16-year-old with leukemia was pushed in a wheelchair up a mountain by his classmates. Despite the pain, they had a lot of fun, and everyone remembered the joy. So, what can we learn from this scripture? First, humility. Children have childlike faith, humility, trust, innocence, and they depend on others. When you're sick with cancer, you need some of that trust and humility. Second, children are naturally joyful and playful. Jesus wants us to have that joy in our lives. So, the idea is to have a change of heart, to be humble, to trust, and to be joyful. Thank you for joining us today on the Cancer and Comedy Podcast, Episode 13. If you've enjoyed what you've heard, mark your calendar for the livestream launch party at cancerandcomedy.com/live on Saturday, November 4, 2023, at 7:00 PM. Our comedian is Rick Roberts, a cancer survivor and incredibly clean comic. The proceeds benefit cancer research through the Stand Up to Cancer Foundation. Share this podcast with those impacted by cancer, and please follow us and leave a five-star review on Apple or Spotify at cancerandcomedy.com/follow. We are here for you, and remember, a cheerful heart is good medicine.

Hey, thanks for joining us on the Cancer and Comedy Podcast with Dr. Brad Miller:. Make sure you visit our website, cancerandcomedy.com, where you can follow the show and get our newsletter. Like what you hear? Then tell a friend about Cancer and Comedy, the show that lifts your spirits with hope and humor that heals. Until next time, keep turning the grim into a grin.