Prejudged by your facial expression

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I'm told that when I was a babe in a pram, I used to pull some REALLY black faces.
Heh, I didn't utter a word until I was three - and then I started speaking in whole sentences.

My mother always comments (negvatively, I think) about how serious I look. Apparently my normal expression is one of great seriousness.

Sometimes I do have to keep myself from smiling in situations where people wouldn't appreciate it.

I've heard all of those comments before. And another fav of mine is Smile Could be I look tired because I am. I don't tend to have a lot of endurance and after dealing with people and feeling so stressed I can become rather exhausted physically and mentally.

I told a councilor the other day that very thing. I told her it is like my emotions can come out backward. Like if someone fell my first true response is "Are you ok or do you need help?!? But sometimes I do laugh or may smile eventhough that is the last way I would want to appear. And if someone gets a gift I am happy for them, but my facial expression feels like it shows disappointment in that I didn't receive anything myself. It is a very odd and difficult trait to live with. I have not found a way to overcome it except try to explain or look away so others don't see my facial expression.

She did say I was only one of handful of clients she has seen that have complained about this problem. It is a relief to know I'm not alone.

I do that, have the inappropriate expression on my face for the situation, but I didn't realize it, and that made communicating even more difficult, because I didn't realize and whoever I was talking to was getting mad at me but I felt like I didn't do anything wrong. NOw my general impression at work is that other people think I am smug or unhappy or somthing along those lines. I don't know. I don't feel anything at all like that, except that I feel I'd rather be home so I can be alone.