Is it an Aspie trait to only smile when it makes sense to?

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CuriousButDepressed
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28 Jul 2017, 9:10 am

Throughout my life, I've noticed many people smile for seemingly no reason. I tend to only smile when something good happens or if something funny does. Some people I know think I'm consistently in a bad mood because of how rarely I smile, but I always have to explain that I'm in a neutral mood since nothing good or bad is happening. Is the tendency to only smile when one chooses based on how logical it is an Aspie trait?



kraftiekortie
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28 Jul 2017, 9:17 am

Nope...can't say that this is an Aspie trait.

I often smile when it seems absurd to do so.

It's better, physically, to smile than to frown.



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28 Jul 2017, 9:19 am

I really don't think people smile for no reason , there's always a reason. To me it sounds like the smiling you don't do is a type that most people use as communication - just a guess though


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CuriousButDepressed
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28 Jul 2017, 9:22 am

SaveFerris wrote:
I really don't think people smile for no reason , there's always a reason. To me it sounds like the smiling you don't do is a type that most people use as communication - just a guess though


It just pisses me off when people think it's obligatory to smile even when there's no logical reason to. Why smile if you're not actually happy or amused?



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28 Jul 2017, 9:23 am

I try to smile as I'm fed up with people telling me to cheer up. It must work as people have stopped telling me cheer up.

I suppose that's a logical reason to smile.


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SaveFerris
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28 Jul 2017, 9:30 am

CuriousButDepressed wrote:
Why smile if you're not actually happy or amused?


For me smiling is a very important gesture , it doesn't always mean I'm happy or amused , it can be a very useful ice breaker.


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kraftiekortie
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28 Jul 2017, 9:32 am

Sometimes, I value a smile when I'm depressed.



Trueno
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28 Jul 2017, 9:33 am

... and it can turn into a habit. Not a bad thing really.


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kraftiekortie
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28 Jul 2017, 9:36 am

I can't be around a person who is always dour. I need a counterpoint to myself lol



CuriousButDepressed
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28 Jul 2017, 9:41 am

kraftiekortie wrote:
I can't be around a person who is always dour. I need a counterpoint to myself lol


Thing is, I'm not even dour most of the time. I'm just in a neutral mood and not particularly happy or upset.



Trueno
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28 Jul 2017, 10:19 am

^^^ I know what you mean. Neutral mood = neutral expression. Unfortunately with some people (including me... especially me) a neutral expression can be interpreted as glum. It was worse when I was a kid... I never even understood why people were always telling me to cheer up.


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28 Jul 2017, 10:24 am

I usually smile a lot when I like people. I have difficulties to smile e.g. when I have to great neighbors or the salesperson in a store because I don't really know anything about them and so I have to force myself to come off as friendly.



soloha
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28 Jul 2017, 10:33 am

CuriousButDepressed wrote:
kraftiekortie wrote:
I can't be around a person who is always dour. I need a counterpoint to myself lol


Thing is, I'm not even dour most of the time. I'm just in a neutral mood and not particularly happy or upset.

I totally get this. It actually came up with my psychologist the other day. The whole "how are you feeling today" thing. I replied exactly with "neutral" which got a raised eyebrow. Not sure what the big deal is. People often confuse my neutral with mad too. They think if your not smiling your mad.



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28 Jul 2017, 1:43 pm

Smiling all the time could be a mask for how the person really feels on the inside. I've seen people on TV shows like Dr. Phil who are smiling a lot and giggling while talking about awful things they've gone through or awful things that they've done. Seriously, that's just freaky. And look at the Joker. :jocolor:



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28 Jul 2017, 3:01 pm

Trueno wrote:
I try to smile as I'm fed up with people telling me to cheer up. It must work as people have stopped telling me cheer up.

I suppose that's a logical reason to smile.


This and to communicate I am not a threat or hostile.


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kraftiekortie
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28 Jul 2017, 5:19 pm

Sometimes, "neutrality" could, to an "average" person, be worse than outright hostility.

From the viewpoint of the "average" person, outright hostility is something that is tangible; whereas, in "neutrality," it is thought that the person is "hiding something."