Going to the doctor is often distressing/embarrassing/exhausting at the best of times, and getting a medical procedure like a colonoscopy is at least 10 times worse — nobody enjoys a stranger shoving a tube up their ass, unless that’s something you’re into, in which case, rock on.


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One Redditor recently shared their own colonoscopy-related tale of woe over at r/MildlyInfuriating, and it’s a doozy. They wrote, “I took my husband to the gastroenterologist to get a colonoscopy yesterday. It was 7:30 a.m., grey and rainy, the waiting room was crammed with people either waiting for a procedure or waiting to drive someone home from a procedure. Christmas music was blasting from the speakers.



“Every time the receptionist walked through the room, she would yell at the whole room full of people, demanding that everyone smile. ‘What’s wrong, y’all?! Today is a good day! SMILE!!’ I can only conclude that it is borderline illegal to look unhappy or tired in public in America, even if you haven’t eaten for 24 hours, had violent diarrhea the night before, and are about to have a camera shoved up your ass to check for cancer.”


Maybe the receptionist is a firm believer in faking it until you make it; the idea that smiling enough will eventually trick your brain into believing you’re happy. Even so, it’s a little much to force that philosophy onto others, particularly sick people waiting to get their insides probed.


Unfortunately, this receptionist isn’t the only overly-cheery person terrorizing patients across the globe; some commenters had their own similar stories to share. In particular, one person wrote, “I was once told by a nurse to smile while going to the doctor for severe depression meds.”


OP added in the comments that they smiled at the receptionist the first time she demanded everyone smile, and ignored her thereafter. They also joked that several other patients in the waiting room were trying to communicate “Let me shove a camera up your rectum and see how long you smile” with their eyes. Many commenters encouraged OP to complain to the doctor, to which they responded, “Y’all have convinced me. I’m 100% sure that if I contact them, they’ll know exactly who I'm talking about.”


Absolutely — look for the woman grinning like a maniac regardless of the circumstances.