Fake It Till You Make It (or Smile – It’ll Do Ya Some Good)
Creative Commons Zero – CC0 courtesy of Max Pixel
Recent research indicates that smiling, even when you don't feel happy, may do you some good. In a recent Nature of Things episode, Harvard University social psychologist Amy Cuddy discussed posture therapy for people suffering from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. In a nutshell, walk like you are happy, smile even though you aren't and you will feel happier.
Watch the episode Body Language Decoded.
Watch Amy Cuddy's Ted Talk: Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are.
A few years ago, North York Central Library had a couple of Laughter Yoga sessions. I felt ridiculous but forced myself to laugh and take part in various laughing exercises with the audience. I was surprised at how happy I felt at the end of the session and strongly recommend attending a laughter class at the library. Researchers have found that laughter therapy helps to boost the quality of life of nursing home residents. Another study looked at the effects of laughing, smiling and howling on mood. While smiling substantially improved mood, laughing resulted in an even greater positive boost. Howling had no effect.
One last reason to smile–according to this study, a person receives more help when smiling!
For more information on smiling, the mind and mental health, check these out:
2 thoughts on “Fake It Till You Make It (or Smile – It’ll Do Ya Some Good)”
Excellent post, always enjoy your writing which is informative and funny, one might almost say hilarious…
Thank you Gord. I strive for informative–being funny is an unintended bonus!