London - Most of us want to cheer up our friends when they are feeling low – but it turns out it might be better to leave them alone.
Trying to make somebody smile when they are unhappy could actually leave them feeling worse, it has emerged.
Researchers have found that if you force a friend to grin when they are in a bad mood, their brain starts to associate the experience with sadness instead of joy.
The next time they smile it could bring back miserable memories instead of lifting the bad mood. The study suggests that the idea of grinning and bearing it might not be the best solution after all.
Anirban Mukhopadhyay, associate professor of marketing at Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, said you should wait until your unhappiness lifts before attempting a grin.
His team asked volunteers how often they smiled, whether they felt good about themselves and how happy they were with their lives in general.
Some were shown funny pictures and asked if they thought they were amusing.
Others were asked to practise smiling, list situations when they felt happy and grade their overall life satisfaction.
The results showed that if you fake a smile, it won’t cheer you up – you’re just masking your inner sadness.
Professor Mukhopadhyay said: “Smiling by itself does not increase happiness.” - Daily Mail