Clown in nursing homes The doctor for the mind

More and more clowns are now being used in retirement homes and clinics to promote the health of the resident or patient. Some studies point to the positive effects of laughter. If you laugh a lot, you'll get better faster too.

06/05/2013

The everyday life in old people's homes is often gray and empty. Many residents do not even receive a visit from their relatives. More and more facilities are now about to engage professional jokers. Clown instructor Udo Berenbrinker said that on the occasion of the World's Day, he was a clown „a job with a future“.

Many studies have already shown: laughter helps against the feeling of loneliness and protects against illnesses. For this reason, elderly care facilities are increasingly using Clows to give people in need of care a little more pleasure.

Doctor of the mind
Dietmar Max Burger is a clown with heart and soul. Recently, the master of laughter not only occurs in daycare or events, but recently also in clinics, workshops for the disabled or retirement homes. Apparently, the job of the clown is a promising job. More and more hospitals and elderly care homes are calling for healthy laughter. „This distracts from the pain and worries“, confirms Bettina Schmidt, nurse from Hanover. „Our patients forget their suffering in the moments, some laugh again for the first time in weeks“. Burger calls himself „Doctor for the mind“. Joy is still the best remedy for him. Time and again, when he is a clown in nursing homes, he is amazed at the joy of the inhabitants. Because to laugh „nobody is too old“, and the sometimes very elderly people would blossom again through humor.

Medic and thoroughbred clown
Burger does not just know the art of laughter. He had previously studied medicine and also worked as a doctor. Partly bad experiences and impressions of geriatric medicine have made the professional clown to think. He is now for several years „Doctor of the mind“ and also trains other physicians as humorists. Because „A good dose of humor has been proven to help the process of recovery. There are studies that showed that health clowns could significantly reduce the use of psychotropic drugs. Humor changes people. It does not matter how old the audience is. A clown is able to positively change the atmosphere and care facilities, places of disability and hospitals. This promotes health and encourages people to have more fun in life again. (Sb)

Image: pixelio.de/Jörg Sobel