Above image courtesy of Alamy Stock Photo available for download at:
https://www.alamy.com/stock-photo-doctor-discussing-with-a-female-patient-83055955.html
An article in the New York Times this past week by Lisa Selin Davis peaked my interest as it was dealing with the subject of women’s bodies changing through middle age.
Specifically, Lisa challenges the current medical establishment to have ‘The Talk’ with their female patients who are heading into this new frontier of how their body is shutting down in some respects.
As a Laughter Mechanic I couldn’t help but notice the glaring omission in the article about laughter being a great antidote to aging, and, in many respects, the best medicine for some of these aging ailments.
Here is my take on a fictional talk between an attractive 40 something female patient we’ll call Lisa and her doctor we’ll call Maggie.
Both characters are completely fictional.
Enjoy!
‘Maggie, so great to see you, Doctor!’
‘Lisa, likewise, how are you?’
‘I’m good, feeling better since our last visit. Been exercising and watching my sweets intake.’
‘Great! That’s wonderful! Lisa, let’s spend some time today talking about some things that you and your body are going to be going through over the next few years, and see if we can come up with some options to deal with these things. Sound good to you?’
‘Sure. Let’s do it!’
‘Ok, for starters, since you’re almost 45 years old, your menstrual cycles may start to become more frequent and dynamic. This scares alot of women, but it’s nothing to fear; it’s simply your body shutting down its reproductive capabilities. Make sense?’
‘Umm, sure. Yes, yes it makes sense.’
‘Now it won’t be the most pleasant thing to go through this change, but know that you’re not alone and that lots of women are going through this particular change. And I’m going to share something with you now that may seem a little crazy, but trust me, I’ve tried it and I can tell you it’s worked for me. I’m not going to print anything out on this for you, you’ll just have to take notes and write down this person’s contact information as he’s not licensed and not a registered health professional. I hope you can understand in a moment why I need to treat this situation like this?’
‘Oh absolutely. No worries. Thanks for letting me know about this…this…whatever it is thing that you’re about to share.’
‘Well, my husband and I were at a party a few months ago and I was relaxing on a couch and had kicked off my stiletto heels that were killing my feet. I elevated my bare feet above my head resting them up on the couch’s armrest. I was really tired and dealing with cramping and bloating issues surrounding these irregular menstrual cycles we just discussed. My husband thought it would be funny to sit on my feet and let some other guy have his way tickling my exposed barefeet with his fingers. I was mortified! I am SO ticklish, Lisa! SO ticklish! This guy worked his fingers up and down my arches and soles and toes for what seemed like hours. In all honesty, it was just a few minutes of harmless fun at my expense, but still, it really seemed like an eternity.’
‘Oh my God, it sounds awful!’
‘In the moment I thought so too. But here’s the magic, and the why of why I’m telling you all this; you see, Lisa, before I went to that party with my husband I was dreading it as I was in alot of pain due to this cramping and bloating. But after this guy tickled my feet for a few minutes, all of the cramping and bloating just somehow melted away! I’m not kidding! It left my body, Lisa! I don’t quite know how to explain it. There could be endorphins involved, dopamine, physical-muscular exertion during the tickling experience that kind of put my body into a reboot system mode, I’m just not sure. What I am sure of is that after this guy tickled my feet I felt like a new person. And the feeling has lasted for weeks! Weeks I tell you!’
Wow, Maggie that’s amazing!’
‘I know! And here’s something even more amazing. Two weeks after this party incident, I get a knock on my door from this same guy. Apparently my husband and he know each other and this guy has a side hustle as a laughter mechanic.’
‘A what?’
‘Yes, a laughter mechanic. He’s a laughter mechanic. He helps people by making them laugh through the act of tickling them. I know it sounds so bizarre and so strange, but apparently it’s a thing now. So this guy’s at my door, I recognize him immediately and my body instantly remembers my husband sitting on my ankles and this man running his fingers all over my bare soles turning me into a hot mess of hysterical laughter. He says to me in the kindest voice imaginable, ‘Maggie, are you ready for your next treatment?’ And I subconciously recoil a bit thinking that I’m not quite ready. But my body is starting to cramp again and I instinctively know that having my feet tickled again may help my chances of relieving these perimenopausal symptoms, so I follow up with a, ‘Uhhh, I guess so’. And with that we’re on our couch in my home and this guy is tickling my feet for a few minutes straight. Again, seemed like a long time, but when it was done, no pain! I’m serious. None. Again, just the strangest thing how the body works when placed under a little stress like foot tickling and responds with copious amounts of laughter.’
‘Wow, Maggie! This is amazing! So just two short intense sessions of having your feet tickled has releived your bloating and cramping symptoms?!’
‘Yes! And it seems like the way my cycles are working I need to have this laughter mechanic come by every two weeks.’
‘Wow, so how much does this cost? Can’t you just get someone to tickle your feet for free?’, Lisa asks laughingly.
‘Sure. But I’ll tell you that this guy, this laughter mechanic guy, is the real deal. The day before this guy came to my house, I’d had the same thought as you,!and just asked my husband to go ahead and tickle me to see if he could relieve my symptoms. Unfortunately, something about the way he was doing it just wasn’t providing me the necessary relief. Hence, my husband called his friend, this laughtermechanic guy,!to come to the house. I was not disappointed. Just like before, a few minutes of tickling me on my feet and my perimenopausal symptoms were gone!’
‘Wow, Maggie, again, just amazing!’
‘So here’s his contact information. He likes to work off email. He goes by the name, John Smith. I’m sure it’s not his real name. He has a website where you can sign up to be a patron on his Patreon account and donate whatever you think it’s worth to you to have him come tickle your feet. I started out just donating $10 per session, but now I’ve doubled that. You have to find what works for your situation, and he’s very kind and gentle and won’t pressure you for payment. He simply wants to help you feel better, and he doesn’t come right out and say it, but I think it’s pretty obvious that he has a thing for women’s feet, he’s a foot fetishist.’
‘Oh ok, yes. I know about this. Yes, there are lots of guys into women’s feet. I had a boyfriend once who loved to massage my feet. It was wonderful! Now, Maggie, I have to ask, you didn’t feel unsafe at all did you?’’
‘Oh God no! This guy’s again a kind and gentle soul. He and my husband have known each other a long time. My husband really doesn’t like feet that much and he’s happy to let some other guy do this dirty work if you will. I actually kind of like my feet and think they’re not half bad to look at. I had a boyfriend too once who was into feet. His foot massages were legendary!’
‘Oh Maggie, this is such great news! I’m going to contact John and see if I can book a foot tickling session with him very soon. I’m already experiencing these symptoms and could most assuredly use some relief.’
‘Fantastic! Next time you come in we’ll talk more about some of your other symptoms and how maybe this laughter mechanic may be able to help with these as well. Thanks for coming in today! Oh, I almost forgot! If you want to get the maximum benefit from your foot tickling experience, I highly recommend getting a pedicure the day before. Having soft, exfoliated feet makes the tickling experience much more enjoyable and impactful.’
‘Good to know, thanks, Maggie!’
‘Good luck and may the tickle force be with you, young Jedi!’, Maggie laughingly recounts a reference to her favorite science fiction movie.
The Laughter Mechanic 