Pretending To Be Happy? Why Acting Happy and Fake Happiness Don't Work

Are you guilty of this?

Are you pretending to be happy?

If you are, it could end up being disastrous.

When I was suffering from depression years ago, I thought I had to pretend to be happy to get through it.

I thought I had to let everyone know that I was OK, that nothing was wrong with me.

But it ended up making everything much, much worse.

And I learned some very important mental health lessons that saved me from future emotional pain.

Fake Happiness - How Do You Know If You're Pretending to Be Happy?

"Fake it til' you make it!" This phrase gets tossed around like a worn-out Frisbee.

Usually it applies to the working world, to people who are trying to prove themselves in a new job or a new set of obligations. Normally, the phrase doesn't make you think of mental health and the myriad emotions and thoughts that come with it.

But faking it until you make it is terrible advice when it comes to mental health.

Acting happy is a warning sign.

Here are some signs you might be pretending to be okay when you're actually in pain...

Life is the greatest teacher, so I pulled these telltale signs from my own life.

1. You're plastering on a happy face

When I was dealing with depression, I smiled more than I usually did. Except it wasn't a real smile. Real smiles show in your eyes as well as your mouth. My smiles were all mouth.

Good observers can tell when smiles aren't real, and it can lead to suspicion and doubt, which can create even more anxiety for the person who's faking a smile to pretend to be happy.

You might be pretending to be happy in a relationship.

And you might think you're pulling it off.

But true happiness always shines through. You can feel it in someone's presence. With fake happiness, you get the sense that something is being left out.

It's like when you give an ungrateful person a gift and you know they hate it but they keep saying, "No it's great. I love it. It's fine."

Which is a perfect lead-in to number two on this list...

2. You're giving very little information‍

"I'm fine. No seriously, I am." Why is it that when we're struggling, we think that giving the shortest, most information-depleted statements are going to assuage our inquisitors?

When I've actually felt fine in my life, I don't give one or two-word statements. I tell stories. I crack jokes. Conversations feel effortless. I now know that terse remarks are big indicators that I'm not doing well. And my loved ones knew it, too.

3. You're feeling physically and emotionally drained all the time

‍The body knows when it's not living in an authentic way. Whenever I've "worn a mask," my energy levels fall dramatically. It may not happen right away, but it always happens. There is nothing worse than failing to protect your energy.

Living in the moment and being authentic feels effortless. Pretending to be happy, or simply pretending to be something I'm not, is like being forced to play a familiar song on an instrument I've never used before. Sure, with enough practice it can be done, but it's much better to approach the task with intention and diligence, not because I'm forced to do it.

How to Fake Being Happy: Why You Shouldn't Pretend to Be Happy

We live in a world that wants people to be "always on" and ready to go.

Life is fast-paced, and if you're not moving forward, you're moving backward.

That's great if you're a track and field athlete, but it's not so great if you're a regular human being going about regular old life.

You may have gotten to this point by searching for something like "How to pretend to be happy?" or "How to fake being happy?"

But I want you to consider something extremely important to your wellbeing.

Pretending to be happy is dangerous not only because of the reasons I mentioned above. Pretending to be OK is dangerous because you're denying your one and primary truth--who you are.

And if you don't know yourself, you might as well know nothing.

Reason 1 Not to Pursue Fake Happiness: Only you can be who you are. That's true happiness.

This phrase is an absolute cliche, but sometimes cliches are apt descriptors of life.

When you show up in life as your full self, your goal is not to control what people think about you. It's not to dupe others by pretending that you're something you're not. It's to live in an authentic way. In the long term, authenticity breeds trust. It lets people know that you're a real human being who responds in real ways to your environment.

Everyone knows that superheroes don't actually exist, at least not in the comic-book-character sense. The real heroes display a wide range of emotions. They're in tune with their emotions. They model healthy behavior, and that means being sad when they're sad, and seeking help when life gets way too difficult. There's absolutely no shame in that--there's only pure courage.

Reason 2 Not to Be Pretend Happy: If you pretend to be happy, you're only hurting yourself.

This is true whether you're faking it out in public or faking it on social media, on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

Your well-being still takes a hit if you're not sharing your emotions in the real world. Because, even if people can't be certain that you're not sharing your true emotions online, you'll know. You can't force your true feelings.

Because change doesn't happen when you will it to be so.

Change happens because your current reality is fully acknowledged and fully integrated into your state of being.

Only then can you be happy with who you are and with your important, irreplaceable place in this world.

In Conclusion: This Is Your Only Life, So Focus on the Relationship You Have With Yourself

Now you know that pretending to be happy is not going to improve your mental health.

If anything, not being yourself is laying out a welcome mat for negative emotions.

It doesn't matter if your family wants you to be a certain way.

If your feelings are telling you that you're not being true to yourself, then you need to listen to what those negative emotions are saying.

They are a sign that something is wrong.

The happiest people aren't the people who are acting happy.

They are the people who know that life is full of both positive feelings and negative feelings--and that choosing to build an authentic relationship with yourself is the best way to weather the moods and storms of life.