Contest: Share your best smile with us

Hello steemians, I am happy to join this community and to make my very first post here. Thank you for organising this contest.
I call laughter the natural remedy of the soul. It has long been regarded as good antidote to life's problems.

Laughter relieves depression. What is your opinion?

I believe this is a subject matter that resonates with many people. I am of the the opinion that laughter can alleviate depression due to my own personal experiences. This is because when we laugh our brains releases endorphins, this is chemical that makes the body feel good. These chemicals promote an overall sense of well-being and can temporarily relieves us of physical or emotional anguish.

The American psychiatric association define depression as:

(major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act.

It often involves a complex interplay of chemical imbalances in the brain, negative patterns of thoughts and effect of the environment. Laughter is not known to provide a permanent relieve to clinical depression but it's temporary and immediate impact on the mood of the individual is undeniable. It momentarily lifts the heavy weight that depression imposes on an individual.

Share your two best smiling photos. Describe why you laughed.

_{Picture 1}

This picture was taken on the 8th January which was my birthday. I was very happy and grateful to be able to celebrate a birthday. You can see that with the smiles on my face. Also I received a birthday gift from my friend @vudeme123 and that made me really happy too. I was also able to take myself out and eat some delicious rice and chicken with salad.

_{Picture 2}

This picture was taken on the 2nd of January 2024 after we had crossed over into the new year. I was sitting with my friend and we were smiling because it was good to be in a new year. To be safe, health and okay is something anyone should be happy about.

Excessive smiling can have any benefits/losses? Give your opinion.

I believe that too much of anything is bad, too much sleep can lead to laziness, to much play can lead to being unproductive. In that same way excessive smiling, although generally associated with positive emotions, can also have both benefits and losses.
When a smile is true, it is an expression of happiness which can enhance personal relationship, change the atmosphere to a positive one and makes us have a good mood.
It is also a popular knowledge that smiling is contagious, our smile can change the mood of others positively. For example the smile of my mom is likely to make me smile and be happy.

When a smile is fake or a laughter is used to mask ones true emotions, it can lead to emotional exhaustion and a sense of dissociation from self. It can hinder one from acknowledging and processing his feelings which will lead to internal conflict.

Also if someone is seen to laugh too much the person will be taken unseriously. We should do things with caution.

So when you go out today do well to smile, laugh when it is necessary and let your soul be delighted. I am inviting my friends @heriadi, @mesola, ekemini01 and @bossj23 to participate in this contest and drop their feedback.

All pictures are taken from my phone, tecno spark 10T.

My introduction post