Although it may seem contradictory, the smiling mask syndrome is a very present disorder in today’s society, where you try for a long time to show off a false positive attitude towards others. Although smiling so that the world smiles back at us is a fresh and motivating message, when reviewing it we find ourselves smiling without realizing it. In any case, the reflection has permeated perfectly within us.
We smile to appear warm, to appear strong and confident. We smile to win the sympathy of the boss or co-workers and thus keep the job. We do it all the time. How far does faking emotions take us? Learn more about the smiling mask syndrome, when smiling depresses us.
What is smiling mask syndrome?
The smiling mask syndrome is a psychological disorder with little mention, we even dare to say that this may be the first time you have heard about him. But in Asian countries the term becomes increasingly popular, because their society is forced by labor issues to smile at all times and has been the most affected.
Professor Makoto Natsume of the Osaka Shoin Women’s University was the first to suspect that something strange was happening in the psyche of the workers.
I observed how the employees of stores, banking institutions and any company they exhibited smiles that are far from natural. It was unsettling to him that his tense grimaces lasted for minutes, sometimes hours, in compliance with Japan’s stringent labor policies designed to increase customer satisfaction, at all costs.
Natsume proposed the smiling mask syndrome after performing a social experiment on her own female students. She asked them the same thing as any head of a sales department in Japan would require its employees: to show their best face as much as necessary.
In a matter of months, the students had spent so much time flashing empty, fake smiles that not even in stressful situations were they able to stop doing it. This validated what the professor had initially detected and allowed him to study more deeply what was happening regarding the topic.
What consequences does it have for the person?
According to Natsume, Japanese women in the service industry are the most pressured to smile because of the effect this grin has on customers. Consequently, end up repressing their real emotionswith the risk of suffer from depression and other physical problems associated with smiling mask disorder.
Natsume came to the conclusion that this forced smile caused psychological disorders, to the point that people managed to prolong it far beyond their working day. In the long run, In addition to suffering psychological consequences such as depression, they also felt physical effects. Among them, muscle aches, cramps and headaches, symptoms very similar to injuries caused by repetitive movements.
On the other hand, it generates a false feeling that everything is fine for both the person who demonstrates it and the person who receives it. Also, an idea is created that you have to be “happy” at all times, smiling from ear to ear no matter what the circumstances. All this causes people to see sadness as something really bad, when in reality it is something necessary to grow emotionally. I mean, feeling bad is okay.
What is behind the smiling mask syndrome?
The vast majority of companies dealing with customer service in Japan have a requirement that their female staff keep a smile throughout their working day. Natsume comments that her female patients reported how important it was for her to smile when they conversed in her workplace.
Many of the patients also commented the effect of smiling during a job interviewinfluencing the decision to be hired or not.
In China, Japan, and Korea, smiling is as basic a factor as dressing to the nines and doing your job to the best of your ability. According to the Japanese author Tomomi Fujiwara, since the early 1980s this practice has become mandatory in any job, and so far there are no indications that it will ever stop soon.
Fujiwara pointed out that the demand for a smile in work spaces was originated by the cultural changes caused by the opening of Tokyo Disneyland. In that sense, companies demanded that their employees keep smiling at all times to offer good service to all their visitors.
The smiling mask syndrome was also present in Korea. In this regard, the writer Bae Woo-ri pointed out that the act of smiling represents a competitive advantage over the competition. Therefore, it was positioned as a mandatory factor and an influential aspect in the hiring of employees for any company, accompanied by a neat uniform.
Yoon-Do-rahm, a psychological counselor, attributed that this disorder is very present in today’s society, where people wear many smile masks to show that everything is okay. He has even compared it to a clown show, a show full of prolonged smiles, but totally empty and without real feelings.
All this goes beyond the interests of the person, since the demands of the bosses in offering the best service among the competition weigh more. Even if it means causing depression in a large part of their employees.
On the other hand, the smiling mask syndrome represents a truly gigantic hurdle for people just entering the world of work. Indeed, they are forced to meet these types of requirements in order to start gaining experience and grow professionally.
What did you think of this disorder? Although it is not part of the strange mental illnesses, there is no doubt that it is a rather curious syndrome. Let us know in the comments if you know someone who suffers from this psychological condition.
Just as the smiling mask syndrome is present in society, there are other disorders and conditions that are similar. Therefore, here you have this short selection with surprising and amazing syndromes