Smiling unnecessarily

I think people have their own way on how to handle social anxiety or social interactions and smiling is just one of them. Whenever I have my anxiety, I tend to give off too much eye contact to the person I'm talking to and so it ends up getting really awkward though I am working on it.

If I see someone smiling out of nowhere, I wouldn't have reaction to it at all. If the person is a stranger to me, I would just think that he seems to be a friendly person. If it's a friend or relative I'll try to ask why the sudden smile.

I do think that you smiling could give a positive vibe from people and if you do want it to get "cured" try talking while doing it. A simple "hey" or "how's it going?" could do the trick.

 

I'm kind of oblivious to things so chances are, I wouldn't notice. If I happen to, I would think that the person was either nervous or happy.

 

The idea of a smile being unnecessary just seems strange to me--most people smile because they are happy and/or friendly. I smile at strangers--not because I'm anxious but because I'm happy and friendly. The idea that someone would take that in a bad way never really occurred to me.

 

I think if he was a stranger he'd make me happy bc it's always good and warm to see someone smiling, even if it's out of the blue. And I'd definitely be interested in becoming a friend of his. Plus I always try to smile at people when they walk by, maybe not for the same reason, but when a stranger smiles back it literally makes my day. And if he was a friend of mine I'd just be happy he was in my life, regardless of what he does. I dont know much, in fact I don't really know anything, about social anxietys. And I'm sure they're not fun to have but I don't think smiling is a 'symptom' that needs to be cured, no matter what the cause is. But again I'm not so fluent in anxieties.(*hug*)

 

I smile for seemingly no reason all the time. And people always ask 'Why are you smiling?' or 'What are you thinking about?' In such instances I may or may not tell them the reason, depending on what it is. But I never stop myself from doing it, because frankly, why shouldn't I freely express my happiness?

 

I do it myself sometimes, and it doesn't bother me when other people do it. Sometimes I think it can be hard to help.

 

Of all the things you could do due to anxiety, smiling is probably one of the best. When you smile you give off positivity and appear friendly. If I see someone smiling randomly I either think they are trying to greet me/be friendly or they are thinking of something humorous, perhaps. I wouldn't worry about it too much unless you find yourself smiling at wildly inappropriate times like when someone is crying/at a funeral/etc.

I have social anxiety, too, and I tend to freeze up, avoid eye contact, go nearly silent when anxious. Be glad that your SA makes you appear so cheerful! :lol:

 

is it natural looking smiling or rather forced?

I have read that stress can generate an awkward smile - it is a sort of defensive action (like dogs "bearing their teeth" at another dog)

 

I do the same exact thing. Sometimes it can be really embarrassing but after years of doing it I gave up caring what others might think

 

I do the same thing sometimes. I try to just look apathetic and smile if the other person smiles as well.

 

I would definitely like a guy who actually smiles but for me it's the opposite people keep asking what's wrong and telling me to smile more. I'm thinking like "God damn you asking me stupid things." But now I actually smile and it tends to honestly bring people to talk to me. I am actually surprised by people actually wanting to talk to me but I'm not the guy who talks about life with others unless you talk about it and show interest in it. I usually talk about history and other topics like that, just cause most people like history. It's funny when I talk all excitedly about this stuff, I go on and on about history and that's me going like all excited

 

I'm almost always pleased to see people smiling. I try to smile back. Although I tend to have a neutral expression when I'm busy. If you were nervous, I could probably tell. I wouldn't think you're crazy because I kind of understand it.

I also worry about people thinking I'm crazy. Especially because my face goes red when I talk about some morbid things. To the extent that I sometimes avoid discussing subjects such as history, unless everyone understands my enthusiasm. It helps to remember that people are usually more interested in their own lives.