FAKE smiles are unhealthy
One of my frequent sayings is "Keep your smile on" and I often encourage people to be happy. This whole philosophy of happiness is just that, a way to a happy living, but there is a catch. Today I will try to explain why is it unproductive, unhealthy and ill-advisable to fake your smiles and your mood. For those of you who like to read, read on, and for you who prefer listening, just click play.
I know, hearing me try to pronounce the word "gastroenterologists" was the best thing you heard all day, It was funny to me too :)
It is OK not to be OK
There are no good and bad emotions, and whatever you feel is important just as it is important to let those feelings out. IT is perfectly normal that you sometimes get sad, and sometimes angry. The biggest mistake you can make is to fake it and pretend like everything is fine. You are an emotional being and you react to your circumstances and surroundings. No one is happy all the time. A lot of people lie about it and pretend that they are but they are not. Be sad and be angry, feel those emotions completely, just don't stay in that state. The more you ignore them the bigger they get.
I have seen people trying to be happy 24/7 and then get really bad for not being able to do it. They feel a little sad and then get depressed for feeling sad or they get a little angry and become furious at themselves for feeling angry. Don't do that, don't beat yourself up for being a human, because that is what you are, a human. There is a difference between feeling bad in the moment and feeling bad all the time. The thing you should do is
try to feel better.
A journey to feeling better
If you are depressed in one second you will not be enthusiastic in the next one. That is a big emotional jump that you can not take so don't even try. What you can do is feel a little better in every moment that comes. There are emotions that will give you a relief from those which you were feeling just a moment ago. For example, if you are depressed, an emotion that will make it easier for you is anger, you will feel a little weight come off your shoulders and be better. Your journey up the emotional scale can be longer or shorter, depending on how strong are your feelings. If you feel just a little sad, you can be very happy very soon, but if you are diagnosed with a clinical depression don't get even more depressed for not being able to pick yourself up right away. It is a process and you are doing fine by being better with each new day.
Feel good
I mentioned relief earlier and how different emotions will give it to you, and I have mentioned in the beginning of this post that there are no bad or good emotions. No one will give you a medal if you are smiling all day. You can not say that bad feelings are not productive and good for humankind, some of the best works of art were born out of sadness and sorrow. Why do we, and why do I, then promote philosophy of happiness and try to teach people how to live happy lives? Because happiness has the highest frequency and gives you the most relief. You can even say that relief is the only constant in emotions. When we are saying that some feelings are bad and some good, we are talking about the relief they give you because there is not a single emotion that is good or bad. They are all important and valuable.
What happens when you FAKE it?
It is important to state the obvious sometimes. Your health will reflect on your faking. The first organ that will take a punch is your stomach. The stomach is very sensitive to stress and gastroenterologists around the world will advise you that you need to change your diet but MUST change your life in order to be healthy again.
People who are loud when they get angry or those who use swear words, sports or any other method, to express their feelings are not the ones who have digestion problems. Those people who are faking it are in trouble. When you are suppressing your feelings and ignoring them, you are not making them go away but tying them in a knot.
"Digestion is controlled by the enteric nervous system, a system composed of hundreds of millions of nerves that communicate with the central nervous system. When stress activates the "flight or fight" response in your central nervous system, digestion can shut down because your central nervous system shuts down blood flow, affects the contractions of your digestive muscles, and decreases secretions needed for digestion. Stress can cause inflammation of the gastrointestinal system, and make you more susceptible to infection." SOURCE: Everyday Health
You CAN be all that you WANT to be
Take it easy. You are capable and strong enough to be the best that you can be. You have that power in you. Strive for the best and be positive in every moment. Being positive is not the same as being happy. You can be depressed and positive actually because being positive means you have hope, will, courage and determination to be better than you are now. Try to be happy whenever you can but most importantly strive for happiness. Decide that positivity and happiness will become a part of your being and that you will look at life through new eyes, honest and happy eyes. Keep your smile on, but don't fake it. It is better to admit that you are not ok and try to be better than it is to pretend that you are ok and suffer the consequences of faking it.
There is something good in every situation, even if it is just a lesson to be learned. Do not be afraid to enjoy life and have fun. Your life is here for you to live it, not watch it go by.
Highlights of today's video
In this video I have covered the following:
- accepting all of our emotions
- why faking is bad for you
- emotional scale
- winner of the best comment to the previous video: @maxabit
- made a question for all of you to answer and get a chance to win 1 SBD
For more information about what philosophy of happiness is and some posts that I have made on this subject please follow these links:
- A land of mental disorders
- Embarrassment weed
- Monsters are real but...
- Why and how do we learn
- How to train your brain
- Do you KNOW how to love?
- What is philosophy of HAPPINESS?
On first sight people who fake emotions and smiles looks pretty cool and like "people you want to hang out with". But all you wrote there is true. You just can make a damage to your physics and psyche state. Every emotion is important and should be expressed. I'm not saying that when you're angry that you should brake everything around you. You should know how to control your emotions, but every emotion should be released. Don't be scared of your emotions.
Balances are required and as my good friend @positivity420 said, maybe balance means half of bad and half of good (perfection) not 100% of good.
I find myself pretty simple man in respect of emotions and things I do. I think that you should satisfy your needs, if you're hungry you eat, so why do you smile if you're sad? That's just not naturally. Be yourself and love yourself, the rest will come with time.
There are ways of letting go of our emotions without breaking stuff. A lot of people think that being angry is wrong because you are at risk of hurting yourself or others but that is not true. There are different techniques that do give a sense of release. The only way to achieve balance is to figure out that nothing is bad, and nothing is good. Things just are, and we are the ones who are defining them. I agree with you on the simplicity. If you are hungry - eat, if you are sleepy - sleep, if you are sad - cry.... Thank you for your lovely comment 💚
I always like to read your honest posts and give my opinion cause you accept opinions and that's nice :)
Hi thanks for posting this Petra, I just wanted to add something about what you said especially when it comes to the depression.
I am diagnosed with PTSD but it rarely affects me, and these past few months I felt depression sink in more and more. I think it was a few things, new home, new country and I hated my job. But one of the things I noticed, that I had never noticed before was that I could snap at any time. I had such a short fuse, which after speaking to my sister I am now seeing the doctor about my Thyroid gland as my homones might be out of whack just wondering what your thoughts are on this???
Yup, those are hormones, and do not worry it can be fixed. Do a Thyroid test, they will take your blood and run tests on it, that is the first stage, at least it is in my country. Snapping and having a short fuse can become a character trade if you are not careful in dealing with it from the start, but since you noticed it in time you have nothing to worry about. If you have a need to snap, snap away and later on when you are ok try different meditations and self-reflection on why are those things bothering you as well as some empowering exercises that will build you up in a positive way. Since you had new home and country it is normal that those stress factors are affecting you, give your self a break. your spirit is dealing with them the best it can. Indulge yourself a bit and thank your body and soul for being so good with everything, they could be worse. Be grateful and do something for yourself out of love, a bubble bath, nice dinner or dessert, a nice walk or a movie. Give yourself a present and congratulate yourself for everything you have done and do a little exercise of gratitude every day. Set aside about 15 minutes every day and list all the things you are grateful for then make another list of things that you are not grateful for and try to think of reasons why you should be grateful. Find the positive stuff in negative stuff, it is there, you just have to look. 💚
It is OK not to be OK! Absolutely love this phrase! I agree with you completely.
If we go deeper into philosophy there are no bad or good emotions, there is nothing bad or god, nor white or black. We like to perceive things in that two ways and it is how we are used to doing it now! The most important thing for us humans is to understand this and find a balance in between. Just want to add this short thought of mine! :D And once again nicely done video zen!
That phrase is the best! People need to be reminded that everything they feel is ok. Thank you for your thought, they are appreciated 💚
I like the most - You CAN be all that you WANT to be - part :)
Good post full of happiness !
Happy fairy always bringing happiness :)
It is lovely to see you on my posts. Thank you! 💚
Ok so yesterday I heard and upvoted, and today I read and commenting ;)
Love it love it love it! As I told you my moto on Steemit is...'don't forget to smile' ;)))
Sometimes they say 'fake it until you make it' but I was never fake in my life so I don't really know how that works... but it's true that it would be nice not to let bad stuff get to us and keep our positivity !!!
I am so glad and proud of you for never being fake! 💚💚💚
Thank you for stopping by with your lovely comment.
Congratulations! This post has been chosen as one of the daily Whistle Stops for The STEEM Engine!
You can see your post's place along the track here: The Daily Whistle Stops, Issue # 73 (3/14/18)
The STEEM Engine is an initiative dedicated to promoting meaningful engagement across Steemit. Find out more about us and join us today!
You honor me once again, thank you 💚💚💚