TONIGHT with WFL "Seven Days Without Laughter Makes One Weak" with Steven & Friends!

Join our Volunteer, Air Force Veteran, Peer Support Specialist, and Writer/Author Steven Bates TONIGHT for "Mid-Week Musings!" edition of Warriors for Life (WFL) Online, sponsored and presented by Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV).

We are asking everyone to share who we are and what support that Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV) is providing via WFL. If you know someone who is a veteran, first responder or a family member/caregiver, please ask them to join us for at least one meeting so they can learn more about what we do and how they can share their wisdom with others who may be able to learn from them.

TONIGHT's Topic:  "Seven Days Without Laughter Makes One Weak"

"On Sep 3rd, in El Dorado, Kansas, Addison Morton Walker was born as the third of five children to an architect father and an illustrator mother.  By the time he was in elementary school, Addison was drawing for the school newspaper!  He had his first comic published at the early age of only 11 years old and sold his first cartoon at age 12!  Drafted into the Army in 1943, Addison served as an intelligence and investigating officer and was in charge of over 10,000 German POW's in an Allied camp in Italy.   Discharged in 1947 as a Second Lt., Addison went to  the University of Missouri where he was the editor and art director of the college's humor magazine.

In 1950, Addison, under the name Mort Walker, created the comic strip "Beetle Bailey", changing the image of military life to the world in a completely humorous outlook.  Mort lived by a philosophy in his creations, and that was that "Seven days without laughter makes one weak"!  He once said that "Laughter is the Brush that sweeps away the cobwebs of your heart." 

As persons struggling with PTSD and depression, we need laughter on almost a daily basis.  Laughter is indeed the best medicine.  It has immense healing and therapeutic properties.  So how do we laugh when we are depressed ? How can we find laughter when we are down and out?"

Laughter can feel inaccessible when dealing with PTSD and depression, but it is possible to find your way back to it. The goal is not to force yourself to feel better, but to create opportunities for genuine, spontaneous moments of humor, which can gradually shift your perspective and alleviate stress.

Laughter can serve both as a positive coping mechanism for people with PTSD, offering tension relief and promoting connection, and as a symptom of distress when it's a nervous or distracting response to trauma disclosure, reflecting shame, self-blame, or a past environment where emotions were unsafe to express. Recognizing which type of laughter is occurring is crucial for providing appropriate support and facilitating genuine healing. 

10 Benefits of Laughter

Join Air Force veteran, author, and Peer Support Specialist Steven Bates as we talk Laughter during the Warriors for Life Mid-Week Musings Peer Support Group tonight and hopefully get a laugh or two in to prevent a "weak" from happening!

Warriors for Life (WFL) Online "Mid-Week Musings!" edition presented by Victory for Veterans, Inc. (VFV) — Wednesday (TONIGHT), September 3, 2025, @ 4:30 PM PT, 5:30 PM MT, 6:30 PM CT, & 7:30 PM ET

Join Zoom Meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87440882846 

Thank you,

Steven Bates

Air Force Veteran, Writer/Author, Peer Support Specialist, &

Volunteer Facilitator, Victory for Veterans, Inc.

“Honor & Respect Always — Warriors for Life!”