Wednesday, November 14, 2012

A smile can be very powerful!


Whether you are newly diagnosed with MS or you've had it for many years, it can be a bumpy road. Some days are good and some are bad. The bad days, especially when an MS exacerbation attacks your body, can be extremely depressing making it easy for you to isolate yourself and/or become miserable.

I found out first hand how difficult it was to remain positive, especially when I was dealing with serious pain, sitting in a wheelchair - unable to walk or drive - stuck at home all the time except to be driven by my son to doctor's appointments. It made me feel so lonely and so depressed that deep, dark, deadly thoughts often entered my mind.

You may have heard the saying, "misery loves company". Well, truthfully, no one really wants to talk to or be around anyone who is miserable and negative! Doing so will just drive people far away and before long you'll become more withdrawn and even more depressed.

However, in the end your attitude can dictate how you end up feeling. You've likely also heard the saying, "fake it until you make it". Well, that's very true! Now, don't get me wrong, in the situation I mentioned above, I was still depressed and miserable inside but, I believe that there is a time and a place for everything. Therefore, the time to grieve, be miserable and sad is NOT when you're with other people. Obviously, at home and in private is the time to be sad or even have an occasional pity party, just not when others are around.

So, what worked for me to get beyond the depression? Well, I plastered a smile on my face every time I was around other people, even when I was just talking on the telephone. Inside I may have been crying, sometimes feeling like I was dying but, I hid it from others and truly just pretended that everything was fine. Initially planting a phony smile on my face was foreign, even somewhat uncomfortable; I sometimes felt like I was lying to everyone. But, the more I put on the fake smile, the more I tried to make it real, it become more natural. Before I knew it, in time the smile became easier to wear (almost like a piece of clothing) and it became more genuine, even to me.

The added bonus of the phony smile: it detracts you from the pain that you may be feeling inside, making living life just a little better. I recently read a quote that said, "A fake smile can hide a Million TearS". From personal experience I can tell you that this is so very true. So, why don't you give it a try - plant a smile on your face, even if you're miserable - you might be pleasantly surprised. And remember, a smile is contagious as the picture below clearly shows. Your lone phony (purple) smile = many real (yellow) smiles.






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