2 thoughts on “A Cheerful Facade”

  1. Anonymous

    humor as a defense mechanism. i totally understand what you mean – i do the same thing. i use a cheerful demeanor and my ability to make people laugh as a means of ensuring no one can come close enough to see my pain and ensure no one can hurt me. but just like the post before me said, and something i am slowly learning, you need to understand the root of your pain and most importantly, you need to learn to love yourself. once you accept yourself, as “flawed” as you may be, that is when you can truly be happy.

  2. MT35

    Keep laughing because it can be very therapeutic- that’s what Smiling is Charity 😉 But at the same time, have you tried other things to deal with the pain instead of hiding it? Like, figuring out what’s hurting you, and finding a way to deal with it- you know yourself better than anybody, so look deep down to see where the pain. Is it from a person? is it from yourself (how you think about yourself, etc) And then, find a strategy to cope with…If it’s a person, maybe finding someone else to confide in, who can talk to that person…just some examples. If it’s something you can’t change in your life, find a way to cope with it, other than laughing. Like…something with art (drawing, painting, photography, scrapbooking, etc) or exercise (find a sport, or even just running, walking, hiking, etc)..Journaling is always a good way to release stress as well. Just some thoughts 🙂

    Because it will come out in other ways, and you can only hide it for so long…if you’d like to talk to a Dear Fatima counselor, you can submit a question there for a more personalized answer, or you can email info@nuryouthforum.org for a personal contact.