New Study Finds That Having to Fake-Smile at Customers Makes Workers Drink More

In a bit of news that was absolutely no surprise whatsoever to anyone who has ever worked in retail/customer service, a new study has linked forcing a smile for customers with increased consumption of booze.

Researchers from Penn State University and the University of Buffalo recently discovered that faking smiles to please customers can be bad for the health of workers. The data from the research showed that people who work with the public (food service, retail, teachers, nurses, etc.) and who both regularly fake positive emotions (like smiling when they don’t mean it) and repress negative emotions (like the urge to roll their eyes) drink more alcohol after they get off work than people who don’t work directly with the public.

Penn State professor of psychology Alicia Grandey said about the results of the study,

“Faking and suppressing emotions with customers was related to drinking beyond the stress of the job or feeling negatively. It wasn’t just feeling badly that makes them reach for a drink. Instead, the more they have to control negative emotions at work, the less they are able to control their alcohol intake after work.”

And if you work in the service industry or know people who do, you know (and I know) that a lot of them do like to drink more than just a couple when their shift ends. Grandey hypothesizes that by faking or suppressing emotions, service industry workers may be using too much self-control, what she calls “surface acting.” And when they’re not at work, they don’t exercise self-control to regulate their alcohol intake.

Grandey said,

“Smiling as part of your job sounds like a really positive thing, but doing it all day can be draining. In these jobs, there’s also often money tied to showing positive emotions and holding back negative feelings. Money gives you a motivation to override your natural tendencies, but doing it all day can be wearing.”

The researchers analyzed data from 1,592 workers in the United States to draw their conclusions. Grandey also said that workers who have one-time interactions with customers, such as restaurants or call centers, tend to drink more than those who see the same people regularly, like teachers or health care professionals.

Grandey explained,

‘”Nurses, for example, may amplify or fake their emotions for clear reasons. They’re trying to comfort a patient or build a strong relationship. But someone who is faking emotions for a customer they may never see again, that may not be as rewarding, and may ultimately be more draining or demanding.”

What do you think? Share your reactions in the comments!

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10 Doctors Share Their Most Shocking Anti-Vax Horror Stories

At the risk of potentially getting some angry comments from a few folks, I’m gonna go ahead and say it: vaccines are a marvel of modern medicine that have saved countless lives, and any potential negative side effects (such as they are – the most commonly-feared ones have been widely disproved) are vastly outweighed by the benefits.

Many doctors have experienced real-life horror stories in their dealings with anti-vaxxers. Recently, we found out a few of these stories when a Reddit user posted the question, “Doctors of Reddit, what are some of your anti-vax parent stories?”

Brace yourselves. Some of these will shock you.

1. An odd rationalization

“Had a kid come in for generic upper respiratory virus. Asked mom if he was vaccinated, as is routine. She said no. When I asked why not, her response was “Well my boyfriend was vaccinated and he still got meningitis, so they don’t even work”

I told her that’s the same as saying your friend got bruised by a seat belt in a car accident, so you don’t wear them when you drive.”

2.This is shockingly heart-breaking

“I’ve told this story before, but the worst was when I was in medical school. The woman actually brought her daughter in to get catchup vaccines. Why? Because her other daughter was in the ICU with fulminant meningitis from a vaccine-preventable illness, hanging on for dear life. The nurse there sat her down and told her point-blank that she rarely sees this disease because people are vaccinated for it. The mom couldn’t understand how her girl had contracted it. We asked if she knew anyone who wasn’t vaccinated. Apparently no one in her church vaccinated, and several had been sick recently. She couldn’t believe the source could be them. The kicker? She also brought her son to clinic, but refused to vaccinate him, saying “he’s my only son”. No matter how we explained it to her, she believed giving her son the vaccine would result in brain damage.”

3. Doctors understand the dangers if only we’d listen

“Doctor here. Guy decided to not get a flu shot this year. Ended up in the ICU with flu infection in his brain He has currently been in the hospital for a month most of which in the ICU. Has likely permanent speech difficulty and left sided weakness.”

4. Unbelievable!

“Child A had an absolutely horrible time with chicken pox; to the point that I thought he might not make it. So what does she do? Intentionally expose Child B to it.”

5. Real talk from Dad

“Friend of mine is a military OBGYN. Was at a OB appointment with the pregnant dependent and servicemember. He had just returned from AFG a few months prior.

OB mentions about follow-ups after delivery in 1st year of life, including vaccines.

Wife says: ‘I read on the internet that vaccines cause autism, I don’t think we’re going to do that.’

Husband says: ‘I saw a lot of little graves in Afghanistan, sure as sh!t we are getting our kid vaccinated.’”

6. And vaccines have bad side-effects?

“I had a kid come in that was super sick. 3 years old and in septic shock. He had the flu and another compounded viral infection (I want to say pertussis). Heart rate was close to 200, respiratory rate in the 50s, blood pressure in the 70s. Kid was so fucking dry that we could barely get IVs into him and I almost had to drill an IO. We dumped a ton of fluids into him, started him on vasopressors and transferred him to the local children’s hospital.

I had asked the mom if he was vaccinated and she said “No, vaccines have really bad side effects! They’ll make you sick.” I explained to her that NOT getting the vaccines had made her kid 10 times sicker than he ever would have been from any mild vaccine reaction. She told me I was a moron and that I obviously have no clue what I’m talking and that’s the reason her kid was getting transferred…. She also told me that recommending she vaccinate her kids was racist.”

Photo Credit: Quick Meme

7. Anti-vax beliefs pushed to the extreme

“We had a 14 year old female come in for abdominal pain one time. She weighed 80 pounds. Looked sickly. Her mother refused to let her eat anything but a handful of things, nothing with very much protein at all. She literally had a binder full of articles about how horrible vaccines are, all the bad things they put in food these days, etc. She had completely brain washed this kid so the kid believed it too. Her labs showed malnutrition, her teeth were horrible. Just a sad case all around.”

8. This doctor knows what’s up

“When I was a med student, I had a parent who wanted to do a ‘delayed vaccination schedule’. Basically it means that you get all the same vaccinations but you pointlessly and foolishly do it over a longer time period. The mom had read a book promoting this practice that was unfortunately written by an MD. My pediatric attending had zero chill: ‘Is that the book written by Dr __? Yes? Well, then you should know that I was in the same medical school class as Dr __ but I got much better scores than he did.’”

Photo Credit: Make a Meme

9. A secret vaccination?

“I’m not a medical doctor but a mental health therapist, went to do a new client intake and while asking the mother about the kid’s medical history, vaccination records etc she said he was not vaccinated because vaccines cause autism and she didn’t want to risk her son getting it, then when I went to meet the kid within 5 seconds of laying eyes on him I could tell… he was autistic. Worst part was that when I told her she became very upset and started yelling at her husband saying he must have gotten the kid secretly vaccinated and then immediately ran out the house and took the kid to the emergency room for “testing” and just left me and the dad in the living room just kind of staring at eachother. Never answered my calls or texts again after that and I had to get DCF involved.”

10. Excuse me?

“This one time this lady came in for a check up. The child had not been vaccinated yet and I told her she needed to vaccinate him. She said that she didn’t want any needles touching him because she didn’t want him to get autism from the needles. She wanted him to get an ass spray of the vaccine. To this day it left me very confused and I told her we didn’t do that so she left. Maybe an anti-vax but idk anymore.”

Photo Credit: Make a Meme

Please do your research to understand the down-sides of not vaccinating your children. A preventable death is the ultimate tragedy.

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This Ex-Navy SEAL’s 5-Minute Morning Routine Will Get You Mentally Pumped for the Day

As a former Navy SEAL and CIA contractor, Shawn Ryan knows a thing or two about mental toughness and preparation – whether it’s for a day at the office or a life-or-death scenario. Today, he has his own company called Vigilance Elite, which provides training to law enforcement, civilians, and even Hollywood action stars.

Ryan has a morning workout routine that gets him physically and mentally excited to embrace the day. He does pyramid training for at least 5 minutes each morning to give himself the energy he needs.

Pyramid training is a workout where you follow consecutive repetitions of a specific exercise. The goal is to work your way up and improve on each set to build strength over time. Ryan says, “Too many people try to chase after that one big win and fail to realize that it takes several small wins to get there.”

Here are the 4 steps you should follow, according to Ryan.

Step 1

Pick an exercise that will work your core and your back, legs, and chest. Some options are squats, squat jumps, pull-ups, or box jumps. Pick a workout that works for you and challenges your body and your mind.

Step 2

Set a timer for 5 minutes and start with the lowest number of reps. If you’re a beginner, 10 might be a good number of reps to start with. It’s important to feel comfortable at first and to build and improve your strength.

Step 3

Gradually increase the number of reps you do in that 5-minute time frame. Move up to 15, then 20, 25, and so on.

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I second guess that last #boxjumps

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Step 4

Record your results every day on your phone or in a notebook. It’s important not to be too hard on yourself if you don’t improve on your reps as quickly as you’d like, but remember the goal is to improve over time.

That’s it! Nice and simple, and it only takes 5 minutes each day! Good luck!

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The WHO Just Officially Recognized Burnout As an Actual Medical Condition

The phenomenon of “burnout” is one that people have been talking about for decades, but it’s still not understood very well. It goes beyond a simple feeling of exhaustion – it’s a feeling of not wanting to continue with what you’re doing at ANY cost, even if stopping might have catastrophic effects.

And now the World Health Organization (WHO) is officially recognizing the condition.

Image Credit: Pixabay

They describe it as “a syndrome conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed,” and characterize it by “feelings of energy depletion or exhaustion,” “increased mental distance from one’s job,” “feelings of negativism or cynicism related to one’s job,” and “reduced professional efficacy.”

Though the WHO currently only defines burnout in relation to work, there is hope that the addition will aid doctors in diagnosing and treating the issue anywhere and everywhere it pops up.

The Mayo Clinic points to certain risk factors for developing burnout, including having a poor work/life balance, having a high workload, too much overtime, being in a “helping profession” like healthcare, being a perfectionist, and having a boring job.

Image Credit: Pixabay

They describe symptoms of feeling helpless, trapped, and/or cynical about work, all of which can make you detach from the world, lack motivation, increased procrastination, and even turning to drugs or alcohol to cope with the mounting stress.

WHO also states that there can be physical fallout – anything from stress and fatigue to heart disease, high blood pressure, muscle pains, and sleep disruption. It can also lead to headaches and a weakened immune system.

If you think burnout could be affecting you, you’ll want to seek out support from your friends, family, and perhaps even a professional or two. Getting more exercise and sleep, taking up relaxing activities like yoga, and purging your diet of unhealthy components could help, but searching for a new, more satisfying job could end up being the answer, as well.

Image Credit: Pixabay

Burnout will officially be listed in the new International Classification of Diseases as of January 2022, along with a new classification for compulsive sexual behavior (a mental disorder) and recognizing video-gaming as an addiction like gambling and drugs.

The WHO will also no longer classify transgenderism as a mental disorder.

Yay, progress!

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8 Seriously Stupendous Facts To Impress Your Friends

I’m the type of guy who has never once come across a fact I didn’t like. I love collecting bits of random information, it’s a habit that’s helped me win many a trivia content in my day!

Today, I’m giving the gift of facts to you. Enjoy!

1. It’s that fast

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2. The Can Opener

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3. Feisty kitties

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4. For comfort

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5. Decoys

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6. The best

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7. Brilliant idea

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8. Figure it out

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#TotallyStupendous

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Fourth-Grader with Autism Gives a Truly Incredible Explanation of His Condition to His Class

A fourth-grader with autism explained what his condition is really like to his entire class, and the depth and clarity of his words have since gone viral.

Rumari, who is on the autism spectrum, is a student in Lisa Moe’s fourth-grade class in Chino Valley, California. Since May is Autism Awareness month, Rumari raised his hand one day during an awareness exercise and asked for permission to say something.

Ms. Moe agreed, so Rumari got up in front of the room, and he began to speak.

“For a really long time, you guys had not known I had autism,” Rumari said. “So you guys thought I was weird doing this,” and he demonstrated the “stimming” behavior of hitting his hand as it rested against his face. He does it when he wants to feel better, he explained, and other kids might want to try it too.

Rumari also shared that it’s important to make kids with autism “feel like a somebody.” He pointed out that other kids may sometimes think he was weird because of how he talks or his stimming behavior, but they shouldn’t judge.

The entire class silently listened to Rumari as he shared. Meanwhile, Ms. Moe had begun filming once she realized that something “beautiful” was happening in her classroom.

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? Today, a beautiful thing occurred within my classroom. My two most important mottos and lessons I stress every single day with my students is to “Be Kind” and to believe in one’s self through the growth mindset of “Yes I Can”. • • It is #AutismAwareness Month and every classroom on campus has been asked to have each student decorate a paper puzzle piece and hang it on our classroom doors. When I handed out the puzzle pieces, most students were familiar with the idea of Autism and aware of the cause of decorating the puzzle pieces. What my students did not know is that Autism is present within our classroom with one of our fellow classmates, Rumari. With excitement, Rumari rose his hand and said “May I please say something?” I nodded and said “of course”, but never could I have imagined what was to follow. • • Rumari has faced challenges and barriers beyond what any of us will ever be able to fully understand. But today, Rumari stood in front of the classroom with full confidence, enthusiasm, and courage and showed us that there is no challenge or barrier that can stop him. He brought to life the meaning of “Yes I Can” as he explained to his fellow classmates that he was autistic. With full knowledge, he explained the differences that may come when being autistic and how the spectrum is vast. He courageously spoke about his own differences and quirks, while defining what it means to make everyone feel like a someone. • • My other students and I sat quietly and listened, completely engulfed in every word he spoke to us. Because of this, it took me a bit before realizing I needed to capture this moment. Without any of the students knowing, I hit record and captured the final moments of Rumari speaking to us and the raw, authentic reactions of the rest of my students. It is then, that I lost my ability to hold back the tears. It is then, that the daily lessons to “Be Kind” and to remember “Yes I Can” were brought together. • • If I were unable to ever teach again or if there was ever a question to my path into this role as an educator, this moment solidified my purpose. With permission from Rumari’s parents, I wanted to share with you this moment:

A post shared by Lisa Moe (@missmoeteaches) on

After Rumari was done, kids began raising their hands – but not to ask Rumari questions about autism. Instead, they began praising him. One asked if she could give Rumari a hug.

The moment meant so much to Ms. Moe that she posted the video onto Instagram, with Rumari’s parents’ permission. That video has now gone viral.

“If I were unable to ever teach again or if there was ever a question to my path into this role as an educator, this moment solidified my purpose,” Ms. Moe wrote.

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8 Great Facts That’ll Put a Smile on Your Face

Some facts will bum you out, like finding out that honey bees are seriously endangered.

These facts, however, are the opposite of that. They will make you smile, maybe even laugh. So let’s get to it!

1. Resting place

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2. It’s easy!

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3. Look at ’em go!

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4. Perfect!

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5. It really does

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6. You better believe it

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7. Love, South Korean style

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8. Think about that

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I saw that frown go upside down…

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Researchers Find That Losing a Pet is Almost as Bad as Losing a Person

Losing a pet is a shock to the heart. No matter if our beloved furry friend passes because of illness or due to an accident, we feel as if we have lost a member of the family–because that’s exactly what they areL family. We develop emotional attachment to their sweet fuzzy faces.

Photo Credit: Pexels

Researchers (Quakenbush & Glickman, 1984) at the University of Pennsylvania found people risked particularly extreme grief when they had to euthanize their animals. Pet owners felt a tremendous sense of guilt, as well, around deciding to euthanize. They agonize over whether or not all care options were considered. Was there truly nothing else left to do?

According to the study:

Feeling guilty often is a component of the grief, especially if the owner is conflicted about a decision for euthanasia, or feels that appropriate care was not provided. Grief for an animal, though becoming more socially accepted, remains somewhat disenfranchised. For example, time off work is typically not an option.

Photo Credit: Flickr

The worst possible thing to hear at such as sad time is it’s just a dog or a cat or a hamster or whatever. 

Comments like these only pile on our feelings of loss.

Our pets are still loved just as much as human family members, even if others don’t understand.

Photo Credit: Wikipedia

Grief after losing a pet is real and natural. But it hurts and many people, including myself, have found doing some of these things can help with the process of moving past the pain.

  • Note how you feel having toys, leashes, collars and other reminders of your pet around you. If these items bring you comfort, leave them out. If they distress you, there is nothing wrong with putting them away.
  • Embrace the idea of the “Rainbow Bridge” – an image meant to suggest that we could all meet again in the afterlife – and take comfort in knowing your sweet pet is there.
  • If you had to euthanize, you did it to ease your pet’s suffering. There is nothing wrong with that. You did the right thing at the right time.

Photo Credit: Flickr

  • Remember all the love and attention you gave to your pet and how much you got in return in your beautiful relationship.
  • Memorialize your pet. Having a ceremony or creating a physical memorial with photos and mementos can help you grieve.
  • Journaling, writing letters, reading books, visiting friends and playing with their pets or keeping busy with volunteering and other activities can also help you fill the void you feel.

No one can tell you the proper way to grieve or how long the grief will last. But it will pass soon and you’ll be left with warm memories of your furry best friend to carry in your heart.

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Smoking Psychedelic Toad “Milk” May Help Alleviate Your Depression

Wait, though – don’t get your toad-catching gear on just yet, because there’s more you ought to know before milking a toad and toking up.

That’s a sentence I never expected to type, but here we are.

The psychoactive secretion 5-MeO-DMT oozes from the glands of the Bufo alvarius – the Colorado river toad. The psychedelic tryptamine is related to the more famous compound DMT, which is found in a mind-altering brew called ayahuasca.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

When dried and smoked, the ooze generates an experience during which (supposedly) the ego is completely obliterated and mystical insights can be accessed – it’s been used at alternative healing retreats and by underground therapists to treat a range of emotional and psychological disorders, including depression.

Mainstream science wanted to know whether there was anything to the claims, so they gathered 42 study participants and gave them toad milk to smoke.

The results, published in Psychopharmacology, claim the participants average depression ratings were down 18% after one day, and that anxiety and stress were also reduced – by 39% and 27% respectively.

The follow-up analysis took place 4 weeks later, and found that depression ratings had dropped to 68%, anxiety to 56%, and stress to 48%.

Image Credit: Wikipedia

Scientists think that the effects could be caused by an increase in neurogenesis, since 5-MeO-DMT had previously been found to stimulate neuronal growth and development. Alternatively, it could help alleviate symptoms by binding to the brain’s sigma-1 receptors, which can reduce inflammation.

A Johns Hopkins study props up this one, as well – they found that 80% of people who use 5-MeO-DMT report a reduction in both depression and anxiety.

There’s a lot to consider moving forward – the exploitation of the toad population, for one – but the fact that the 5-MeO-DMT is easily copied in a lab should go a long way toward curbing any black market trading.

It sounds like this could be a healthy, effective alternative to using pharmaceuticals to treat mental health issues, so hopefully the research continues!

Plus…toad milk.

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8 Awesome Facts That’ll Make You Seem Like The Smartest Person in the Room

I think it’s pretty important to learn something new every day. It makes you a better-rounded person, and also makes you a much better partner in a conversation.

So, enjoy these 8 facts that’ll make you feel smarter right away!

1. Hmmmm

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2. Obese pharaohs

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3. Gay griffons

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4. I notice this all the time

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5. Just in case

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6. Oh, great!

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7. Xennial

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8. Panic in the streets

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Say it again, “I did not know that!”

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