FAKING HAPPINESS DOESN'T NECESSARILY LEAD TO HAPPINESS
Now this story is really kind of a mixed bag for people like us.  Because the study referenced here refers to people faking happiness by...naturally...faking smiles:

"Today’s “Really?” column reports on a study that tracked the facial expression of bus drivers, whose jobs require them to be courteous and endure frequent interactions with other people.
The scientists examined what happened when the drivers engaged in fake smiling, known as “surface acting,” and its opposite, “deep acting,” where they generated authentic smiles through positive thoughts, said an author of the study, Brent Scott, an assistant professor of management at Michigan State University.
After following the drivers closely, the researchers found that on days when the smiles were forced, the subjects’ moods deteriorated and they tended to withdraw from work. Trying to suppress negative thoughts, it turns out, may have made those thoughts even more persistent."

So on the one hand we read stories like that and say, well--trying to fake a smile is one thing a person with Moebius doesn't have to worry about.  Faking a smile is something that persons who CAN'T smile don't have to worry about!!

But, but, but...we have to think harder.  Yes, we don't fake smiles.  But of course, we express ourselves in many more ways than through our facial expressions.  I can tell what kind of mood my Moebius friends and loved ones are in; and none of it has much to do with facial expressions.  And we also know that there are times we thus can fake our moods.  One can be talkative and try to sound happy, even when one doesn't feel happy.  And I'm sure that can be just as difficult to maintain, and just as likely to lead to deteriorating moods, as it is for those wearing fake smiles all day.


"Things alter for the worse spontaneously, if they be not altered
for the better designedly." -Francis Bacon