There’s a famous psychology experiment in which the subjects have to hold a pencil in their mouths. Half are told to hold the pencil pointing forward like a cigarette, so it draws the features into a frown. The other half are told to hold the pencil sideways, so it forces the features into something like a smile. Pencils in place, the subjects do psych mood tests, the results of which show that the sideways pencil group are miles more cheery. No joke.
Patrick old bean you are so right.In eight years of riding around on various electrical contraptions I’ve noticed that in general the disabled are a right miserable crowd.I’m now destined to remain on a powerchair, so even though the pain is mighty I get out every day and surprise people when I can make them laugh.Being ‘Half man half wheelbarrow’ is a pest,but ho hum pig’s bum.
Wb
ps Alison,I’ve just had one of my front teeth taken out, so there is no rat face when I hold a cigarette in the toofy gap
I was going to say what Alison said. When we smile & laugh, our brain releases ‘happy chemicals’ in our brain. But apparently our brains can’t tell the difference between a genuine smile & a fake one. So if we put on a smile, even if it’s not natural, our brain will still release the happy chemicals. Now, I regularly just smile for a minute or two, whether when I’m feeling stressed or just doing something normal like sat on the loo.