Is it common for aspies to smile when nervous?

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RandoNLD
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22 Mar 2023, 6:34 pm

I have NVLD and at times have been have had to fight the urge to smile at irate people, never knew why though...



Jakki
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22 Mar 2023, 7:08 pm

Used to smile all the time when i was a child then got beaten regularily for it . And for not looking at parents
when they spoke or scolded . It took over 15 yrs to partially get over that . i know a few aspies also who goto a blank expression often, when normally they would smile. Think it has to do with level on the spectrum occassionally .
My non verbal Sister did not do smiles almost ever , She would make a obviously forced smile Although oddly enough parents encouraged her to smile , but she never did it very well . Weird how parents can be. But little sister never picked up smiling , it wasn't too weird , i got her to genuinely smile once . But my mom immediately seperated us . Never figured that out , It was my only recollection of her smiling . :| .Kinda of a extreme raising as a child .
Weird enough . I figured out it was my particular family, from outside observations when very young . Actually had to learn to smile again in my twenties . Awe maybe my face was broken ? lolzz :D


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IsabellaLinton
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22 Mar 2023, 7:10 pm

I'm not a smiler at all.
Smiling physically hurts.
It is ALWAYS fake if I smile.

When I'm happy I bounce around and make faces but I wouldn't call them smiles.
If I'm nervous I look stone-faced, like always.


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ASPartOfMe
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22 Mar 2023, 11:17 pm

Nervous smiles are a thing and we have more than typical reasons and opportunities to be nervous.


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funeralxempire
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22 Mar 2023, 11:20 pm

Smiling can be an anxiety response for some, as previously noted.


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Niktereuto
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23 Mar 2023, 1:26 am

old_comedywriter wrote:
It's not just an Asperger's thing.

From my experience, it's more common in NTs. I have seen several NTs smiling or laughing in awkward situations, it's a way to reduce the tension in the environment, and that's something that I have done consciously in cases when I feel very nervous —usually, when I'm nervous, I feel so scared that I can't move. NTs smile by empathy and that makes me feel a little bit more comfortable, like an indicator that I haven't made any mistakes.


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magicantian
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23 Mar 2023, 11:17 am

I’d say it is pretty common for us to smile, it is a way to relieve stress after all.

I find myself nervous pretty much whenever I’m talking and I’ve noticed I tend to laugh a lot when I talk. Not a deep or long one, just a quick one to show I’m being casual. (It’s making up for my lack of clearly displaying how I feel. It reminds me of how a dog shows its stomach as a sign of submission.) I have noticed though that when I’m very into a topic my speech becomes very clear and I don’t laugh.


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