How do you feel when people look or stare at you?

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I feel like I’m doing something wrong or weird whenever people look or stare at me. That includes friendly smiles from strangers. In the case of smiles I wonder what makes me noteworthy enough to get smiles from a stranger. I always assume they noticed I stimmed or I did something else weird and autistic. What else would someone notice about me? I pretty much always take it as an insult when people look at me, so I don’t give people the nicest look if they look at me.

I always wondered why people smiled at me and honestly found it kind of rude. Then one day I caught my reflection in a war and I was walking round with the biggest smile in the world. I think of funny things in my head and didn't realise I smiled publicly.

I guess that’s true for me once in a while. I often smile at funny thoughts I have as well.

You are also a young female that probably helps. I have noticed fewer strangers smiling at me as I have gotten older.

I wish it could be easier for me to be anonymous in public.

It’s such a bummer being cute.....

Seriously. Older people (especially women) have this “social smile” thing which serves as an acknowledgement of your presence. It’s seen as being polite to smile even if you look vaguely in their direction.

I like being smiled at. It's a compliment to me and boosts my self-esteem. People staring at me with a straight face is what offends me.

I let them stare. It does not do any harm.

Anxious

It makes me uncomfortable because I feel like they're judging me.

Judging? As in, “those delicious grapes are beyond my reach, so I’ll tell myself they’re sour to deny my frustration”? Ho, ho, ho, …

I guess I don’t like being acknowledged when I don’t feel like I’m acting normally enough. If I wasn’t forced to stim in public I’d probably feel better being looked at. I find compression makes me not stim as much, so I’m exploring more of that.

Huh?

To be honest, I feel self-conscious. I feel like people are judging me based on my behavior and autism. I just want to tell them to stop looking at me like I shot a bunch of people, because that is not true.

Huh what?

I don't usually notice when people are staring at me. I just ignore such things like that. Those people aren't worth my attention. As for the little old ladies with their social smiles, I let them talk to me, while warning them not to get too close.