How often do we smile at ourselves?

I am not a psychologist, but reading advice and techniques that could help during anxiety, emotional flooding, or dissociation, these methods often pulled me out of it: Inhale for 4, exhale for 6. Speaking to myself. Moving, dancing. Seeing myself again and noticing that I am alive and unique—that’s one way to ground myself.

An explainer dedicated to exploring how we use smiling differently—when interacting with others versus when engaging with ourselves. Through smiling, we construct a parallel framework for our relationship with others and with ourselves. It also examines how our own bodies react when we fail to listen to their needs or help them navigate difficult moments, such as emotional responses to external circumstances.