People often put on a brave face so that their family and friends won't have to worry about them. A new study even showed that only one out of five people who say they feel "fine" really mean it.
The study was conducted by the Mental Health Foundation (MHF), according to the Daily Mail. In their research, which was conducted on 2,000 Britons, a third of the respondents admitted that they often lie about how they are feeling when asked.
The average adult will insist they are "fine" for 14 times a week, but only one out of five truly mean it. Around 34 percent of the respondents shared that they chose to say they are "fine" because it's more convenient than expressing how they really feel.
Meanwhile, 23 percent of them said they'd rather say they are "fine" because they think the person who is asking isn't really all that interested to know what's going on in their lives.
It seems like the dishonesty goes both ways since 59 percent of the respondents said they already expect the person they are talking to to lie about how they are feeling.
"While it may appear that most of us are happy openly discussing feelings, these survey results reveal that many of us are really just sticking to a script," said Jenny Edwards, chief executive of the MHF. "This creates an illusion of support. On the surface, we're routinely checking in with each other but beneath that, many of us feel unable to say how we're really feeling."
At the same time, men are twice more likely to be dishonest about their feelings. Around 22 percent of male respondents confessed that they always lie about how they feel, compared to only 10 percent of women who chose to do so.
Edwards said it's about time people become more honest about their feelings. "The people around us in our lives are crucial for our mental health; people with strong connections live happier, healthier and longer lives than those without," she explained. "That's why we all need a healthy network of friends and family who we are comfortable to confide in when we need to."
So the next time someone asks, "How are you?", Edwards said people should go off script and say the truth instead of replying the usual "I'm fine." In doing so, people are encouraging more meaningful conversations and deeper connections.
