The Book of Tells (Peter Collett)[unlocked]

THE BOOK OF TELLS
Coping Tells
Cigarettes and cigars can be used as a prop, supporting a
totally artificial social performance. For someone who
feels uneasy in the company of other people, smoking can
provide a distraction, a disguise and a sense of security.
Cigarettes serve as 'transitional objects', mediating
between the inner and the outer world and performing the
same role as a security blanket or a teddy bear. 5 They also
help people to cope with life's problems. People can be
divided into three groups on the basis of their coping
strategies - those who seek help from their friends, those
who seek advice from experts, and those who prefer to
solve problems on their own. Of the three, the last group
is most likely to 'self-medicate' - faced with a problem
they're more likely to reach for a cigarette to help them
cope. 6
A major concern of self-conscious individuals is what to
do with their hands when they're with other people.
Smoking solves the problem by occupying the hands and
giving them something to do. As we have seen, anxious
people need to reassure themselves, and they often do so
by touching their face or covering part of their face with
their hand. The problem with these 'self-comforting
gestures' is that they can sometimes draw attention to the
person who's feeling anxious. Smoking, however, provides
self-conscious individuals with a perfectly legitimate
reason to touch their face and cover it with their hands. It
also gives them a chance to envelop themselves in smoke,
creating a protective smokescreen against other people-
Interestingly, smokescreens can also perform the opposite
function. For example, when a woman creates a veil of
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