FAKE-SMILING AT WORK MAKES YOU DRINK MORE.

• Position: YOUR LIFE - Brief article

Fake-smiling at customers can lead workers to drink more, maintains a study which found that, when people have to fake-smile, hold back eye-rolls, and otherwise suppress their true emotions, they are more likely to abuse alcohol after work.

"Instead of just telling people not to drink or touting the negative effects of drinking, we need to examine the reasons why people drink," stresses Koorosh Rassekh, founder of mental health recovery center Evo Health and Wellness, Venice, Calif. "Asking employees to smile through abusive or demanding behavior runs counter to their well-being and dignity."

Rassekh says that the study, which illuminates the connection between "surface acting" and the need to self-soothe with alcohol, is important even for those who do not work in the service industry or directly with clients and customers.

"This study speaks to the stress and strain that people in the service industry are under, but it also speaks to the larger problem of suppressing one's emotions and the toxic impact that can have on our bodies and minds. For example...