'I rarely laughed but now I'm a laughter therapist'

A laughter therapist who had not "properly" laughed for 20 years said giggling transformed her mental health.

Sunny Turner, from Manchester, divorced her husband in 2014 and came out as lesbian at 45 after she realised she was "not being true" to herself.

"Reactions from loved ones were mixed – some were shocked, and some were wonderfully supportive," she said.

"Laughter yoga has been a good coping tool, and I'm much calmer now, I used to be a real stress bunny and now I sleep like a log and hardly ever get poorly."

Some medical researchers believe laughter therapy improves the heart, circulation and releases endorphins, known as feel-good hormones.

Sunny came out as a lesbian in 2013 and divorced her husband – with whom she shares two children – a year later.

"Making the decision to live fully as my authentic self took about a year of real inner strength.

"It was one of the hardest things I've ever done, but ultimately the only way forward.

"Not being true to who I am was taking a serious toll on me."

She began taking counselling sessions in 2016 and, later that year, discovered laughter therapy, which involved giggling "without any stimulation" and felt like a "huge cathartic release".

"I felt so light after it and when I look back, it was about 20 years since I had laughed properly – that was when I saw Victoria Wood in Sheffield City Hall with my family."

She then decided to train as a laughter yoga teacher – combining laughter techniques with yogic breathing.

The 58-year-old also took part in calls where dozens of people would laugh together for about 10 minutes.

"My children were teenagers at the time and thought it was a load of rubbish," she said.

"I'd hide in the garage to do my laughter calls, and when they had their headphones in on the way to school, I'd do my laughter exercises – I'd have no stimulation and laugh.

"My mum was very supportive and she saw how much it benefited me, and my dad's a natural laugher anyway."

In 2025, she decided to change her name by deed poll from Sara to Sunny, to avoid having to explain its pronunciation and to mark her new identity.

When she tells strangers what she does, they're "curious but sceptical" but when she demonstrates an exercise to them, they always "end up laughing" with her.

"All you need is a willingness to try it," she said.

Listen to the best of BBC Radio Manchester on Sounds and follow BBC Manchester on Facebook, X, and Instagram. You can also send story ideas via Whatsapp to 0808 100 2230.