I don’t say that, especially not in response to someone sharing something that’s upsetting them, but it feels like there’s a connection for me at least. I’m an American immigrant in Germany and there’s a huge cultural difference in both mood (unrelated to things like depression or anxiety) and optimism between the two countries. I tried to adjust how I talk about my expectations to better fit in for a while, but it was stressing me the fuck out. When I stopped verbalizing negative expectations as much (I still do express pessimism, but only about things that I’m actually pessimistic about), I experienced fewer of them. I can’t speak for anyone else, but for me, choosing to express happiness created more happiness and choosing to express doubt created more doubt.

I might actually do that. Happiness is tacky.