What

Smile.
Lower your hands.
Chin up.

That’s it, you can go back to whatever you were doing (just more relaxed…)
Still here?
Ok’s let’s do this.

A smile.
It's just a small curve of the lips.
Yet it can make a big difference.

Smiling during hardship can help you not only survive, but thrive.
Which is exactly what this project (adaptive resilience) is about.
Let's take a closer look.

Why

Emotions manifest in our body (duh).

Our heart beats faster when we think of our spouse and kids (in a good way!).
Our digestion goes haywire when we are stressed or afraid.
And we smile when something good (or awkward) happens.

But this is a two way street.
Our brain keeps track of what’s happening in the body.
And this information can affect our emotional state.

Specifically for the face, scientific literature calls it “facial feedback hypothesis”.
In one study [1], they demonstrated how active smiling/frowning attenuates the emotional response.
Basically - smiling during an unpleasant stimulus reduced suffering!

In fact, the feel-good neurotransmitters, dopamine, endorphins and serotonin, are released when you smile (7).
So it's like giving yourself a mini-dose of happiness.
Smile and watch the world light up (that sounded creepy in a apocalyptic way, sorry)

How

Next time you are stressing and alarm bells are going off, try the following maneuver.
Take a deep breath and smile as you exhale.
It may feel forced at first.

And it is forced (most growth requires some forcing)

You are trying to do two amazing things.
One - overrule your nervous system, which just started sounding the alarm bells.
Two - educate your nervous system to stress less in future hardships.

You might actually laugh a bit.
Which is understandable, considering you are trying to confuse your brain into less stress, by forcing the physical gesture of smile.
Oh these brains of ours…

Anyways, it will eventually become more natural and spontaneous.
Remember, practice makes perfect.
So seek out opportunities to practice (remember? the obstacle IS the way).

Exercising? smile through the pain.
Cold shower? smile through the… cold?
Someones is pushing your buttons? give out a small smile.

Takeaways

Ok let’s quickly recap:

• What: “Forcing” a smile can improve you experience and mood during hardship.

• Why: A smile creates a feedback signal to the brain, that encourages release of feel-good neurotransmitters.

• How: Practice being better at this, by smiling in hard situations, like exercise or dealing with hard people.

So smile more, and you might learn to accept more and suffer less.

REFERENCES

1. Your Face and Moves Seem Happier When I Smile (Experimetnal Psychology)

2. “Smile: A Powerful Tool” (Psychology Today)

3. “How the Experience of Emotion is Modulated by Facial Feedback” (Journal of nonverbal behavior)

4. “Emotion and social behavior” (Review of personality and social psychology)

5. “Smile Intensity in Photographs” Predicts Longevity (Psychological Science)

6. “Managing Stress: Principles and Strategies for Health and Well-Being” (Jones and Bartlett)

7. “Neural correlates of conscious emotional experience” (Cognitive neuroscience of emotion)