Feigning happiness doesn't count as happiness, of course; it won't bring all the positive benefits that real happiness will. But when you paste on a smile there IS something at work that is pretty amazing: facial expressions themselves can actually make us feel.
There are many ways to make yourself look happier than you are, but you can't actually fake the feeling of happiness. While positive feedback from looking happy online may raise your subjective well-being for a while, real and authentic happiness comes from actual changes within ourselves.
“It's called 'smiling depression' because a person can seem to be happy, without cares, but underneath the 'smiling' facade, that person may be sad, unhappy and depressed.”
According to a recent study published in the journal Experimental Psychology, researchers found smiling — even a fake smile — can have a positive impact on mood. Essentially, triggering certain facial muscles by smiling can "trick" your brain into thinking you're happy.
Happiness is an illusion because a cloudy image of your desire can never really materialize. For most being happy is a transient state that is often overshadowed by the next big thing. A lot of people claim they will be happy once they get a promotion, or get married, or finally go on that dream vacation.
Feigning happiness doesn't count as happiness, of course; it won't bring all the positive benefits that real happiness will. But when you paste on a smile there IS something at work that is pretty amazing: facial expressions themselves can actually make us feel.
Instead of pretending to be happy, face your emotions. Grieve, be upset, work through all the negative feelings. This can help you move beyond pretending to be happy. Let yourself feel the emotions.
“Smiling depression” is a term for someone living with depression on the inside while appearing perfectly happy or content on the outside. Their public life is usually one that's “put together,” maybe even what some would call normal or perfect.
Faking Happiness Can Be Harmful
Faking happiness is more harmful than helpful. First, you will not get the help and support you need. Second, and more important, you are deceiving yourself. The first step on the road to mental health and emotional contentment is to be honest about your situation.
Happiness guilt can occur if, like Cadet, you've gone through both positive and negative experiences, and are struggling to balance your joy with your grief. But even if nothing great has happened to you, you may feel guilty if nothing really bad has occurred in your life this year either.
Facial expressions do more than express emotions, they also provide feedback to the brain, which influences our emotions. A new global collaboration led by researchers at Stanford University has shown that even fake or posed smiles can make people feel happier. The study is published in Nature Human Behavior .
Fidgeting, wandering eyes and reducing their responses to umms and ahhs are all a sign that the other person is mentally checking out of both the conversation and the emotional performance.
Signs of Toxic Positivity
Brushing off problems rather than facing them. Hiding your true feelings behind feel-good quotes that seem socially acceptable. Minimizing other people's feelings because they make you uncomfortable. Shaming other people when they don't have a positive attitude.
In a final study, the researchers showed that mind-body dissonance and conspiratorial thinking can both lead to lower levels of trusting behavior towards coworkers. Taken together, research on MBD shows that faking emotions can have significant negative consequences on people's thoughts and feelings at work.
The hallmark of smiling depression is sadness. The smile and external façade is a defense mechanism, an attempt to hide their true feelings. A person could be experiencing sadness about a failed relationship, career challenges, or lacking what they view as a true purpose in life.
The effect is confusing and destabilizing you so that you doubt yourself, and it's often used as a way to exert control over a person or situation. A related term and concept that may not be as well-known, though, is self-gaslighting, and it's perhaps as potentially detrimental.
Sometimes gaslighting happens unintentionally – perhaps because of someone's desire to deflect responsibility for a mistake. But some people engage in it intentionally and regularly, and that's when it can have an especially toxic effect.
A new study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology finds that people who accept their difficult emotions are better off in the long run than those who try to force their way into a better mood. Many psychologists and meditation teachers endorse a practice called radical acceptance.
Authentic happiness comes from within. It comes from making wise choices, including choosing to be happy. When our external situation is going well, it might make it easier for us to choose happiness, but it is not the cause of it. You can be happy even when things around you are nothing like you would like them to be.
True happiness is the combination of positive emotions and having a sense that life matters in some way. This can emerge from things like doing work that we value, engaging in fun activities, making an impact in the world, or building stronger connections with others.
The most important happiness choice is to invest in your closest relationship whether it's a spouse, partner, parent, sibling or friend. We all know that exercising and taking care of yourself correlates with good health. The happiest among us actually do exercise and take care of ourselves.
What Are You Hiding? Many people try to pretend that they are happy when they're actually experiencing symptoms of mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression. Depression is serious but treatable mental health condition that can be addressed with professional help.
Researchers at the University of Arizona found that faking a positive attitude and being obsessed with making a good impression at work to advance in your career not only doesn't benefit you, but it could prove to hurt you.