Cobb issues fourth book on "Fun and Laughter in Recovery"

The ability to laugh in the midst of pain and sorrow is an important part of the recovery process, according to Dr. Ron Cobb in his self-published book “Fun And Laughter In Recovery, Otherwise, Why Recover?”

Cobb is the clinical director of Hope Help Health of Holton. He is a Licensed Clinical Addiction Counselor (LCAC) and has a doctor of ministry.

He said he wrote the 134-page book to encourage people to make a cognitive decision every day, regardless of their present circumstances, to “enjoy life, to laugh and to have healthy fun.”

“I’ve been going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings for more than 30 years, and I finally figured out that I didn’t want to go to meetings that were dull,” Cobb said. “I learned that long-term recovery, especially for newcomers, isn’t going to last unless you go to these meetings where you can laugh, tell crazy stories and have fun.”

The book is composed of 78 short chapters, each with a teaching point about recovery from physical illness, pain, trauma, mental health disorders or substance abuse.

One of his chapters is about a woman who named her colostomy bag Willard. Another includes self-deprecating humor about Cobb’s issues with snoring.

Cobb also includes humorous anecdotes from the Bible, such as Sarah and Abraham having a child at an old age.

“The real theme of the book is laugh at yourself and don’t take yourself too seriously,” he said. “But don’t put other people down.”

Cobb said there is a lot of shame and guilt associated with depression and addiction and that people need to forgive themselves and then other people in order to move forward in recovery.

“Fun and laughter in recovery means you allow yourself to feel the entire spectrum of normal human emotions with others on a regular basis,” he writes.

Cobb said he has been working on the book for more than a year.

“I really wrote it for my patients because I find that many of them are depressed and angry at themselves and others,” he said. “I want them to take a lot of deep breaths and look at the glass as half full.”

The constant theme in the book is that happiness is a daily choice.

“Are you going to have fun in life? Are you going to accept the good and the bad? And when the bad comes, are you going to try to make lemonade out of it?” he said. “It’s about having an attitude of gratitude and praising God through all of it.”

Cobb cites several studies in the book that have proven that fun and laughter greatly improve mental health, addiction and physical issues.

“I didn’t realize there was so much research out there,” he said. “I was really surprised with all the literature available on this topic from a scientific standpoint.”

This is Cobb’s fourth book, and it is available at the Beck-Bookman Library in Holton and online at Amazon.com