so distressing. it's like the brain rewires smiling as a stress response; like some kind of Orwell torture sequence

Interesting choice for the example photo. Not sure I ever saw a server at Cafe du Monde that was either smiling or not covered in track marks.

Idk, this seems like a correlation doesn't equal causation situation. It's just as likely that prolonged smiling just made smiling become autonomic regardless of their current mood.

I think that saying prolonged smiling directly causes depression is a bit of a stretch.

Sumairu Kamen Shōkōgun sounds like the name of a sick anime though