John, thank you so much for taking the time to both read and comment on my essay.

No need to apologize, I really sincerely appreciate it. Because you have made a very valid point there! I’m a big fan of looking at mental illness / health from a scientific perspective and when taking that viewpoint what you have said makes 100% sense.

What I wrote was just an imperfect attempt at describing just a fraction of the thoughts that rush through my mind when someone tells me to smile.

I will definitely remember your comment next time and try to train my brain to respond differently. With a long history of mental illness this will be quite the challenge, but once again I appreciate your comment and advice a lot.