Do I smile too much to have AS?

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01 Jun 2011, 7:50 pm

I smile even more than most NTs. Almost everyone that I know agrees. I can stop smiling with my mouth, but I smile with my eyes a lot. (Which is really weird because I don't look at people's eyes too read them).

It seems like almost all people with AS, always have a blank expression on their face or look like they are always frowning, but I am always smiling. If I happy, everybody knows it. Same with my other emotions.

This seems unusual for an aspie, anyone else like me?

Princess78
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01 Jun 2011, 8:14 pm

You know, not all people with Asperger's are the same. I smile sometimes. Not everyone with Asperger's fits the description. For instance, I have Asperger's and I hug people. Is that unusual Aspie behavior? Who knows? Maybe you're just a happy person. So keep smiling!

FireBird
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01 Jun 2011, 8:28 pm

I have a problem with smiling. I smile WAY too much. Even while suicidal. This causes people to believe that when I am depressed that I am in fact not depressed at all and actually happy. There is a term for this if you are feeling very depressed and are depressed but don't show it on your face and in fact show the opposite emotion. Its called "incongruent affect." I also hug by the way. When I was young and more severely autistic, I did have a blank look on my face, a flat affect.

littlelily613
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01 Jun 2011, 8:45 pm

It's not that AS people can't smile. Due to a lack of social understanding, though, a lot of Aspies use inappropriate facial expressions for the situation. This can include smiling when not really warrented.

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01 Jun 2011, 8:50 pm

ocdgirl123 wrote:

I do this too. I tend to make unusual faces and that's what teachers claimed I did as a child and the reason kids picked on me. I sometimes sit here and I'll just start smiling really big for no appareant reason. I make alot of weird faces too. So I think it is normal for us. We tend to react differently to things more than what NTs do.

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SammichEater
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01 Jun 2011, 9:01 pm

I've been told I have a really blank expression by some people; while others say I never stop smiling.

Please help me make sense of all of this.

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01 Jun 2011, 9:15 pm

I smile a lot too. It does mask the AS for me. Actually, I smile a little too much and often inappropriately at somber moments.

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01 Jun 2011, 9:20 pm

littlelily613 wrote:

Not just lack of understanding. I smile in a lot of situations I do not want to smile in, and it's pretty frustrating because it's difficult to stop.

The most recent was for several days straight discussing fibromyalgia with my mother because she does have it and I may very well have it too and I was trying to see if we had symptoms in common. I couldn't stop smiling even though I felt like doing anything but.

YoshiPikachu
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01 Jun 2011, 10:19 pm

I have autism and I laugh all the time. My boyfriend has AS and he laughs all the time.

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01 Jun 2011, 11:18 pm

I smile a great deal. I'm usually a happy person and I want the rest of the world to know it. People have a hard time believing that I'm on the spectrum because of it.

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ocdgirl123
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01 Jun 2011, 11:26 pm

Thanks for your replies!

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01 Jun 2011, 11:54 pm

Verdandi wrote:

littlelily613 wrote:

I sometimes do this as well, especially if I'm in trouble for something i did/didn't do, of course, that does nothing but make the situation worse.

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02 Jun 2011, 3:32 am

I was told once that I'm always smiling. Until then I didn't realise I was doing it at all, and I don't think it really has anything to do with how I'm feeling. I think we're more unaware of how our faces are positioned, and maybe some people's neutral faces just seem to look more happy than others.
I was also told by a psychologist that I don't direct my expressions at others, and I think maybe this is the difference. Since then, I picked up that I always drop my head or curl in on myself when I'm smiling or laughing rather than projecting it towards someone. I think we're more focused on trying to process our feelings internally.

SirLogiC
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02 Jun 2011, 3:40 am

I smile a lot. Not all the time but at things I find funny. I find too many things funny though >.>

Thinking about that made me smile. Thinking about how I was smiling at this made me laugh, then I laughed cause I thought this was funny.

ToughDiamond
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02 Jun 2011, 3:46 am

Same here....diagnosed Aspie, can't stop giggling to save my life.

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02 Jun 2011, 6:37 am

That's a great trait to have, AS or not. If you don't want it, throw it my way!

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