Laughter Really Is Medicine
June will mark my last days on the Foundation Board of the country’s largest mental health teaching hospital.
The Foundation, which supports the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, is a force for change, dedicated to raising awareness and funds to build a new hospital, hire talented new medical practitioners, and reduce the stigma around mental health.
My route to this Board started in 2019, onstage, when I opened a keynote with a single image: an alarm clock, its numbers ticking somewhere just after 2:00 in the morning.
I asked the room one question: What kept you awake last night? It wasn’t a consulting briefing question; it was a question born out of reflection on the fact that people in my world had recently been lost to me dying by suicide. An industry legend. A volunteer football coach. A former business partner.
It was time to ask why
Shortly after that keynote, a CAMH executive in attendance asked if I would consider joining the fundraising effort for their new hospital.
It was an easy yes.
Around 450 million people across the globe live with mental illness, making it the leading cause of disability worldwide. CAMH reports over 2,300 global research collaborations spanning 193 countries. CAMH led the launch of Canada’s 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline, recorded over 16,000 emergency department visits, and treated more than 40,000 patients.
Like many experiences in life, my time on the Foundation Board was influenced by the people. Warrior-like people such as Sarah Chamberlin, Dan O’Shaughnessy, Sandi Treliving, and Meghann O’Hara Fraser. Those dedicated to society above self, such as Cam Fowler, Dr. Juveria Zaheer, Dr. Aristotle Voineskos, and those providing steady hands at the leadership till, including Valerie Pringle, Gina Daya, Maureen Dodig, and Alain Mootoo. I also got to know the amazing Dr. David Goldbloom, and I highly recommend his book, How Can I Help?, an invaluable primer inside the mental health tsunami the world is facing.
My move away from the board will not mark the end of my advocacy for the cause. My next opportunity to contribute is now on my doorstep, as soon we will be announcing a unique partnership with the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival, as the Mental Health Partner for SponsorshipX
All the credit for this idea belongs to Mike Anderson, the founder of Trixstar Live, whose tagline, "Events with Purpose," is part of his DNA.
Mike first conceived of something “big and grandiose, like a comedy Coachella” back in 2018. That vision was deepened when he lost his mother and found therapy in comedy while processing his grief. “If I didn’t laugh, I’d cry,” he has said.
The festival was built on a desire to “safely bring people together again and also support the community we call home,” with proceeds directed toward local organizations and community partners. From its inaugural Edmonton edition through its expansion across Canada, the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival has always been about more than laughs. It has been about connection. About belonging. About showing up for each other.
This is a partnership I’m proud to be part of. It is also backed by science.
Laughter triggers the release of dopamine, serotonin, and endorphins, the brain’s own pharmaceutical cabinet. It reduces cortisol, which is the hormone your body floods with when you are scared, overworked, or grieving. It is anti-inflammatory. It lowers blood pressure. The physical act of laughing exercises your diaphragm and cardiovascular system, likened by researchers to a short burst of aerobic activity.
The mental effects are even more interesting to me. A good joke requires your brain to hold two conflicting ideas at once and resolve the tension between them. That cognitive act, combined with the emotional release, functions like a nervous system reset. It pulls you into the present moment. It interrupts the loop.
And then there is the social dimension. Shared laughter is one of the most powerful bonding mechanisms among human beings. It builds trust. It dissolves hierarchy. It says: we are in this together, and for a moment, we are okay in a world that increasingly feels designed to isolate us, to fragment us into anxiety and algorithms that a moment matters more than we can measure.
Comedy, done right, is not just escapism. It is resilience. It is a way of saying that the darkness does not get the final word.
We are living through a period of profound precarity. Economically. Socially. Emotionally. The structures people have relied on, institutions, communities, and social contracts, are under enormous strain.
In this environment, I believe we have both an opportunity and an obligation to build partnerships that do more than drive commercial return. The best sponsorships are those that improve the world while also making business sense.
As you build your next partnership, think of what the Great Outdoors Comedy Festival is creating and imagine where your resources can create a lifeline for those in need.
MH3
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please reach out. In Canada, you can contact CAMH directly at [camh.ca](https://www.camh.ca) or call or text the 9-8-8 Suicide Crisis Helpline (available 24/7). Globally, the World Health Organization maintains a directory of crisis resources at [who.int/mental_health](https://www.who.int/mental_health/en/). The International Association for Suicide Prevention at [iasp.info](https://www.iasp.info/resources/Crisis_Centres/) lists crisis centres in over 50 countries.
You are not alone in this.