Even though the economy is turning around, its still seems like there is lots of bad news surrounding it. Although the average price of homes has begun to creep up, construction is still in the tank. Unemployment is still in double digits. The number of people defaulting on their mortgages continues is rising. The FDIC announced the failure of 4 banks in the last week. I don’t know about you but I really need a break from all of this bad news.

Life doesn’t have to be so dour. In fact if you want to escape all this negativity there is a really simple solution. Visit the internet. What’s that you say? Isn’t the internet where all this bad news resides? Would you like to see how to use the internet to escape all the bad news?

You’ve heard it said before, laughter is the best medicine. Well in the past 30 years or so this old saying has been backed up by both medical and psychological studies. Your brain contains the biggest pharmacy in the world. When you laugh, you release endorphins into your brain. Endorphins are natural narcotics that are not only good for relieving stress, but also give your psyche a boost when you’re feeling a little down. Studies have concluded that people who laugh often tend to live longer because they have a greatly reduced chance of being affected by a stress related illness like heart disease or cancer.

The evidence is in. It is conclusive. Not only is laughter one of the best ways to relieve stress, it is just plain good for you.

You don’t have any comical friends that can make you laugh? Forget about it! Just take a look at some of the joke of the day websites. These websites can go a long way toward helping you in overcoming stress. The people at these websites work very hard to supply you with a daily chuckle. Some of these jokes are pretty good are pretty good.

Here’s one I got from AJokeADay.com (http://www.ajokeaday.com/) that you can probably relate to:

Early one morning, a mother went in to wake up her son. “Wake up, son. It’s time to go to school!”

“But why, Mom? I don’t want to go.”

“Give me two reasons why you don’t want to go.”

“Well, the kids hate me for one, and the teachers hate me, too!”

“Oh, that’s no reason not to go to school. Come on now and get ready.”

“Give me two reasons why I should go to school.”

“Well, for one, you’re 52 years old. And for another, you’re the Principal!”

I’ve heard that joke before but it always makes me laugh.

Anyway when you feel as though the world is just too much, go to one of these websites. A good joke of the day can go a long way toward relieving stress. If you so inclined, most of these laugh oriented sites will even send a daily funny to you by email. This way you just have to check your e-mail for your daily laugh.

The great thing about these sites is that they give you a huge variety of material to choose from. Some people choose politically correct (not) jokes or computer and business oriented jokes. Other people like jokes that make fun of men, women, blondes, body parts, rednecks and just about anybody else you can think of. With most of these sites, nothing’s off limits, including religion and our Chief Executive, Barrack Obama.

Comedy Central’s website (http://www.jokes.com/funny) offers a general joke of the day. You’re also invited to browse all of their categories throughout its massive database.

Your kids aren’t left out either. Yahoo hosts a site full of jokes (http://kids.yahoo.com/jokes) which are posted by kids and suitable for everyone to read. Some of these joke sites have archives as well as links to other sites they believe you might find amusing. If you are so inclined you can even find a file full of knock-knock jokes.

If you are feeling stressed out or down in the dumps you might check out the joke of the day videos or take in a Twisted Puppet comedy show. Some of those are really hilarious. If you’re feeling lazy other websites generate random jokes from their database.

So if you really want one of my best stress relief tips here’s my suggestion. Stop reading the financial news or maybe stop reading the news altogether. When you’re having a bad hair day and getting bombarded with symptoms of stress and anxiety make a concerted effort to find something that will turn it around. You don’t even have to leave your desk. Just go online and look for a joke that will tickle your funny bone.

If you’re still not laughing all is not lost. Try looking for a joke gift shop on line and find a gag gift to send to someone else. Maybe they’ll reciprocate with their own joke of the day cartoon someone else passed to them and then you’ll both have a better day.

Laughter is contagious and that’s a good thing. Not only will you be a lot more fun to be around but learning a new joke a day can be one of the best ways to relieve stress and help you start feeling good again. You might even want to find your favorite joke site now!

Wil Dieck is the founder of Total Mind Therapy and author of “Overcoming Stress Naturally” that you can have at absolutely no charge. Drop byhttp://onlinestressreliefcourse.com/for your copy(s) today.