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The SMILE behind the mask!

These days when we look around us everyone is wearing a mask. Shops, malls, hospitals, parks anywhere you go, people wearing a face mask is quite a common sight these days and rightly so! We all know why we are wearing these masks. We cannot go outside without the mask and risking our family’s and our health.

The various colors, sizes and shapes of masks being sold in the shops is a treat to the eyes! The masks available in the market are the cloth mask, triple layer mask, and mask with the vent, colorful masks for ladies to match their dresses etc. The faces behind masks are at times unrecognizable even if they are our friends and acquaintances.

However, that friendly smile is now hidden behind the mask somewhere. A smile whether it was real or unreal but was spontaneous. A smiling face says a lot and it comes in the category of facial expression of nonverbal communication. 

A real smile from heart exudes warmth and adds to our positive personality. When we meet people, patients, and coworkers with a smile, positive vibes are created. Smiling, be at home, school or work always has a positive impact.

There are many professionals like the front desk jobs, flight attendants etc. where smiling is integral to the job profile. Many professionals train themselves for it. It gives them positive attitude and enhances impression in social circle.

But can we see these smiles within THE MASK? The large part of the year 2020 has been dreadful due to the raging pandemic. We are scared of the coronavirus infection leading to widespread lockdowns resulting in plethora of social situations. Dealing with these issues is stressful and as a result we have forgotten to smile.

Though wearing mask is protecting our physical health, smiling is good for our mental health. So can’t we smile behind the mask?

Yes! We can, as the expressions of smiling can be assumed by the receiver since our cheek bones and eyes show the signs of a smile.

A genuine smile lifts the spirits even more than a piece of chocolate since it gives a long-lasting boost to our brain that sends ‘I’M DOING GOOD’ messages to the whole body!

Smiling has the following benefits

  • Relieves stress,
  • Increases serotonin level (responsible for our mood),
  • Smiling mom while taking care of the baby, enhances the bonding between
  • mother and baby.
  • And even makes people look younger. 

‘Smile is the medicine for worry, sadness and disappointment. Remember to smile, as it delivers power and pulls people’s heart together’…..A Chinese saying During the hardship of Covid -19 pandemic, we have learnt and adopted various practices on the social front. Many people who had never worn the mask or rarely practiced hand hygiene have adopted the practices diligently. Then why can’t we learn again to smile? In our daily social life smiling is a perfect tool for forming an amiable, comfortable atmosphere in any situation. It makes us happy and enhances our overall health.

It could be achieved by practicing smile behind the mask and acknowledging others smile too. Whether the face behind the mask is familiar or not!

Written by:

Nileema Sharad Shingade

Intern, Brain Behaviour Research Foundation of India

References:

1.Do all people smile in the same language? Communication www.translit.ie › verbal-nonverbal-communication-smile. Sep 9, 2016 

2. Sauter, D. (2010). More Than Happy: The Need for Disentangling Positive Emotions. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 19.

Comments

  1. Rajeev Kumar Jain23 August 2020 at 18:23

    Today I liten the programme of Dr Mrs Meena Mishra. It was an excellent program. Very well presented and informative. Tons of thanks to our savior. Regards R K Jain

    ReplyDelete

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