Do you have a problem with smiling when you are nervous?

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I always get nervous when I walk into any place and there are a ton of people around. For example, when I walk into a grocery store and there are well over a hundred people in the store I get very socially anxious because there is so many people in the store and then I start smiling. I can't even control it most times and has been a problem for me all my life. It's even worse for me when I find someone staring at me for whatever reason and then they give me a weird look for smiling because I also get nervous when anyone stares at me.

It's not called smiling. it's called smirking. In the NT world. It's a form of evil smiling. Like laughing after making fun of someone or pulling a dirty prank. For aspies however. It can be triggered involuntary when you are in a hysterical/panic state and you go into a retreat/pain escape/reclusive state( Like having a happy thought when you are in a state of emergency.) . I have gotten in trouble a lot in school because of this.

I smile when I'm nervous too. I've been told that I come off friendly and bubbly because of it. So I guess it works for me.

Judging from all the candid photos ever taken of me, my permanent expression is a sort of preoccupied scowl, even when I think I'm looking (and feeling) completely neutral. I try to smile at people on the street, if they look at me and make eye contact, just so I don't appear threatening, but it probably just comes off as fake and creepy to them, I have no way of knowing.

I used to be like this, and I wouldnt agree with LupaLuna on this, it wasn't a nasty sort of smile, more like dogs when they meet new people, always wagging their tails.

Never did me any harm, it made people like me as they thought I had a really pleasant and warm personality that I was allways smiling, plus girls said I had a lovely smile.
And of course when I wasnt smiling a looked dead miserable and unapproachable, like I do nowadays in fact as I lost that ability to smile so easily, dont worry AJ89, it will soon pass as you get a bit older, then you can join the rest of mankind in their scowling misery.

I don't smile that often because I honestly do not see the humor in a lot of things that other people find hilarious. That, and the fact that I just don't feel like smiling--it hurts my face.

I smile and even chuckle a little when I'm nervous or stressed. I often do it when my 5 year old is on my nerves and he takes it as a sign to continue when I'm trying to get him to stop. One time I did it when he was a toddler and he bounced a tennis ball off off another toddler's head we were having a play date with. I smiled because I was embarrassed but I'm pretty sure the other mom took it wrong because they never came back or answered my calls after that.

Yes I smile and worse laugh often in nervious times, when people get angry, people threaten, insult or bully me. Was a very bad issue in school becouse no one would take my concerns seriously and the other kids could say, "look hes smiling and laughing he found it funny too".

I think I have a similar problem. I think nervousness sometimes makes me "smile" to cover the nervousness. It must be a kind of reflex that I developed as I grew up. However, what I think is a smile must actually be looking more like a "smirk" as an earlier poster pointed out. My usual problem is a lack of smile, but I may "smile" when I don't need to. So I guess I have a problem of inappropriate facial expressions in general.

I try ALWAYS smile, even when i'm nervus. I'm actually pretty obsessive about that...I would be scared of me with a frown on my face, espesally with how intencely pestimist I can ALREADY be. Smiling, if anything, is one thing that actually keeps me sane enouth to stay in my own house....

One thing I do, to always keep a smile on my face, is I drink coffee. It tastes good to me and causes me a 'high', even when i'm upset, that defetes any form of a frown on my face.

When i'm REALLY upset, I always make sure I cry instead of frown.

I'm actually a bit deathly afraid of frowing tbh.