Should I just sit and walk around smiling?

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hollowmoon
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06 Jul 2015, 1:12 am

Its weird. Whenever I'm just sitting or walking somebody asks me why I'm not smiling (I never know how to respond). Wouldn't it be weird to sit and walk around smiling? I have never seen anyone do that before...



dianthus
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06 Jul 2015, 1:24 am

If you smile they will ask you why you're smiling.



tayblast
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06 Jul 2015, 3:11 am

I thought it was cool to have "resting b***h face" now hehe.



iliketrees
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06 Jul 2015, 3:17 am

I just seem to laugh constantly and nobody really questions it. They only question it when I'm not laughing. :shrug: So people do expect me to constantly smile but I've probably accidentally done that to myself.



AtlasOwl
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06 Jul 2015, 10:53 am

I find that really strange too. Do people actually expect others to walk around smiling all the time? I know I certainly don't.



SocOfAutism
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06 Jul 2015, 1:16 pm

Are you a younger person? And/or a female?

When I was younger people used to bother me with this and it drove me crazy. Now that I'm older, and possibly also because I'm usually with other people when I'm in public no one says this to me anymore.

When my neurotypical son was just a couple of months old, he changed the way he smiled and it made him look more attractive. I liked his smile fine before, but the way he smiles now is like, dazzling, and people in public always comment on it. There's supposed to be something going on in the mirror neurons where you want to make your face as pleasing as possible for others. I'm neurotypical myself, but something about this idea bothers me. Our faces should be our own business.



SteelMaiden
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06 Jul 2015, 3:55 pm

I rarely smile.


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hollowmoon
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06 Jul 2015, 10:46 pm

SocOfAutism wrote:
Are you a younger person? And/or a female?

When I was younger people used to bother me with this and it drove me crazy. Now that I'm older, and possibly also because I'm usually with other people when I'm in public no one says this to me anymore.

When my neurotypical son was just a couple of months old, he changed the way he smiled and it made him look more attractive. I liked his smile fine before, but the way he smiles now is like, dazzling, and people in public always comment on it. There's supposed to be something going on in the mirror neurons where you want to make your face as pleasing as possible for others. I'm neurotypical myself, but something about this idea bothers me. Our faces should be our own business.


I am a young female in my twenties. Would you mind answering me question? Nobody has answered it so far. Should I sit and walk around smiling? (Like when I'm sitting alone in class, or walking around). Even when I see most people doing these activities without smiling, these are the times people ask me about it. Although it feels highly awkward and weird, will smiling like this make me look friendly and approachable?



JitakuKeibiinB
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07 Jul 2015, 12:09 am

Nobody smiles all of the time, that would be super creepy. People make polite fake smiles when interacting with others. Their neutral expression also looks less like a frown than mine does, though I don't know about yours.



fluffyfluff
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07 Jul 2015, 12:37 am

I understand were your coming from hollowmoon - not concerning the part in which people ask you why your not smiling though, but concerning the fact that you don't smile much, me neither, when i'm alone that is. When i'm with people i become bubbly and smiling (so long as i'm comfortable with them and know them well enough), and on occasion i do smile at strangers i walk by on the street, though it feels extremely weird, regardless that i know i do it just randomly and to be nice. But in general when i walk about, i don't smile, i guess you can say i have a blank expression when i walk, though sometimes i find myself thinking, what if i just think i appear to others to walk about with this innocent looking blank expression, but in reality my face wears a expression that says "This person is ticked off, keep at distance", and then sometimes i mentally panic with this theory in mind, because that's not how i am as a person nor how i want to be perceived by other, so then i sometimes try force out a cheerful smile/ attitude instead, and suddenly you get to the part were you think, omg what this doesn't look like normal smiling, and in actuality my shot at being more smiley comes through like this:

Image



Jacoby
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07 Jul 2015, 1:23 am

I make more of an effort to smile now when I see people, I think it is an awful weird smile where I don't show my teeth but actually I do think works and puts people more at ease despite my feelings about it at least more than stone faced mean mugging. So yeah, just sit and walk around smiling at strangers and you might notice a difference to the way people react to you.



progaspie
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07 Jul 2015, 3:48 am

How about when people smile at you, you smile back. That way you fit in. Otherwise, just do what you are doing.



bookworm360
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07 Jul 2015, 10:03 am

This is pretty much what I do. It's a little bit tiring because I have to be aware of when people are around me so I remember to smile and it took a long time to get the smile right as my natural smile seems like a smirk, but I eventually got it right.

One thing I do is look towards the face of a person I'm just seeing, smile slightly wider, look away, and that seems to fulfill the social obligation.



SteelMaiden
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07 Jul 2015, 11:16 am

How do you smile intentionally anway? I can only do it rarely when something makes me laugh and I briefly involuntarily smile.


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iliketrees
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07 Jul 2015, 11:33 am

SteelMaiden wrote:
How do you smile intentionally anway? I can only do it rarely when something makes me laugh and I briefly involuntarily smile.

I have no idea. I can't seem to make a smile with my mouth. I can intentionally pull other faces but I just can't seem to do smile.

As to how.. I think you're suppose to move the edge of your mouth upwards.

I can't do that without looking possessed or something. If I did what I just tried now people would think I'm a serial killer. :? Sort of "maniac smile" type thing. Need to work on that one. :x



ToughDiamond
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07 Jul 2015, 1:39 pm

I just try not to look too miserable :| I think smiles and frowns evolved to communicate real feelings of happiness and displeasure, and it's generally better (at least, more honest) not to mess with them too much. There are occasions when a bit of hype is useful, but I prefer to avoid them if possible.