Happy and peppy reporting in! (or at least that's how I portray myself online :D)
I get into some nasty moods sometimes, but I try to stay on the positive side of the spectrum, and not repeat mistakes. Right now I can say that my life is generally awesome, but I've had a couple of S&#@%%@ days recently. The "tricking" only works if it changes the outcome IMHO, and if that's not the strategy, than it's far closer to being straight up delusional.
I'm usually happy, but that's only because the world needs more positive people sometimes.
Dear @shello, I would never suggest there's anything wrong with being of an authentically sunny and peppy personality... what was in question here is the issue of having a grip on reality... of pretending you don't even want to pause and cry when something really horrible happens. Which some people do... and where it becomes problematic is when their internal "pressure cooker* hits critical mass one day, and they have a wildly inappropriate response to a relatively minor incident... because the incident was merely a trigger to set of the responses to a landslide of previous grievances. Or-- alternately-- a seemingly happy person who's actually clinically depressed.
I remember a woman who lived in the city where I was in the 1990s... she was this eternally sunny and peppy person always helping people, part of every benefit club and society around. And then, one day, she was found sitting in her bedroom, having blown the top of her head off with one of her husband's shotguns. Gruesome, I know... but casts this shadow over what lies below the surface of "perpetually sunny."
Hello @denmarkguy,
I agree that there's nothing wrong with being happy and showing it. I think you said it blunty that people don't express themselves properly, getting caught up with how they appear to others. Extreme in either direction is not the preferred choice here, and when you are hurting, it's okay to show it.
Unless it compromises your motives or something.
That's the sad and harsh truth; everyone has demons, and things that make them have a bad day, but it's only up to the person if they want to have a bad life because of it. I'm not shocked that happened, as much as what kind of internal struggle was so bad that it couldn't be helped by others, or at least be talked about in the open.
Eyes are literally windows, no matter what you show, the inside at some point will seep out, if not your sanity.
Cheers!
shello