NEWS LETTER

Apr 202４

Edit and Issue
HOKENDOHJIN- FRONTIER, Inc.
Human Frontier Counseling Center
4F Aoyama 1-Chome Tower, 1-3-3,
Minami-Aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo
107-0062, Japan
Tel: 03-6747-6250
Schedule a counseling appointment

０１２０－７８３－７４４
Office hours:(excluding holidays)
Monday through Friday１０：００～２０：００
Saturday
10：00～18：００
E-mail :sodan@humanfrontier.co.jp※We will reply to you within two business days
after receiving your message.

©2016, 2024 HOKENDOHJIN-FRONTIER Inc.

You can also schedule acounseling appointment
through the LINE app.
（＊Reservations only.
Counselings are not available on LINE.）

On your LINE app, tap“Addfriends” → Tap the “QR code”
icon and Scan the QR code above toadd it on LINE.
Or, tap “Add friends” → tap“Search”, choose “ID”, enter
the LINE ID “@hfsodan” and tap
the search icon to add it on LINE.

Spring has come! Smile has come!
April is a season to start new things. You may be moving to a new location, or having
new work fellows. Changes in the environment, even if they are good ones, can bestressful. The new environment needs to be psychologically safe in order for us toassimilate to it smoothly.
Psychological safety is a “state in which you can feel safe in expressing your opinions
and feelings”, and three essential elements are: (1) facial expressions, (2) language, and(3) attitude. Not only does this apply to the workplace, but also daily life.
For example, let us imagine a situation when you get a problem in an airport and ask aquestion to a ground staff. What if the ground staff looks glum, talks in a small voice withthe eyebrow furrowed, and moves slowly? If you encountered such a reaction, you would
feel hesitant to ask a question and it would make you feel down even though you werelooking forward to the trip.
On the other way round, you would feel relieved if the ground staff greets you with asmile (even through a mask) asking you whether you need a help, or checks yourreservation status promptly. You will surely want to use their services at the next
opportunity. A good atmosphere is created in a flow of (1), (2), to (3) above.
Let us think about (1) facial expressions first, particularly how to smile. The face has
approximately 30 muscles. There are two keys in making a smile: lowering the outercorners of the eyes, and raising the corners of the mouth. The former is more difficult
than you think. They are never lowered unless you are truly laughing from the heart.
However, you can do the latter by intention. The tip lies in the pronunciation of the word[i] in Japanese (or “e” in English)
Words such as “cheese” include the sound [i] that makes a smiling face when you takepictures. My recommendation is “oishī suītsu” (tasty sweets). This leads us to pronounce
the sound [i] three times and the last one is elongated, which is particularly effective inturning up the corners of your mouth. Before meeting customers, try to practice saying it
loud when you brush your teeth or wash your hands in a restroom with a mirror. If you
imagine your favorite dessert such as a sponge cake (this is generally called “shōto kēki(short cake) in Japan)” during the practice, it will be even more effective. To begin with,try to make a smile even if you force it to yourself, then your words and attitude will
naturally be more cheerful.
Smile for you (for the others). Smile for me (for your own relaxation).
Let’s start April with a nice smile!

Counselor’s Oasis
Working out at the gym refreshes body and mind together. However, you may find yourself in a monotonous routinewith the machines you use when you work out alone. That’s why I sometimes take a studio class such as yoga andboxercise classes. In these classes, I had to use muscles that I do not normally use, such as twisting my body or
stepping backwards, and that makes me feel good. “I am stretched. I know I am stretching!” The next day I can realize
the results through the pain in my muscles (lol). Engaging in certain types of exercise (repetitive exercise, aerobicexercise, etc.) promotes secretion of various hormones such as dopamine and serotonin, enhancing my physical andmental health.