Laughing and or Smiling under stress..

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I do the strangest thing, I just can't take situations seriously and find myself often laughing and smiling under stress.

This happened when I was growing up. I would make a mistake, my Mom would get mad either verbally or physically lash out... and my response was to laugh and smile. It wasn't my usual laugh, but it was definitely a laugh.

If I am worried and thinking through a problem, I don't laugh... it has to be a face to face, fight or flight type response.

Just today while dealing with a couple of disobeying kids... I went through the same reaction. They were disrespectful... I was getting mad... my response was to laugh and smile.

I tend to have a smile on face all the time... which makes it difficult to command authority and other social interactions. I can't stop laughing and smiling at the things that happen throughout the day.

Wow. Yes, indeed.
I learned to do this as a social tactic in specific situations.
A laugh or smile can be tremendously disarming to someone who is hellbent on getting anger or violence out of you.
The most practical of use I've found is when I work in schools. Kids try to get a rise out of teachers. Testing weaknesses. They are confused and thrown for a loop when they are met with a smile or casual chuckle. Any mischievous agenda has been disrupted.

Now, in dealing with peers or other adults, doing this can seem insensitive or even offensive. I've pissed off quite a few people by smiling or laughing at the wrong time.

This is a really interesting topic. I can't wait to see what others say about it.

Reminds me of a day when my mom got mad at me about...something (can't remember). She smacked me in the face, I laughed a good laugh. The look on her face certainly was priceless. She was going to hit me again just for that, but decided against it for some reason. I was maybe 16.

When I was 7, an older boy I had recently met decided he was going to go steal some matches from my babysitter's son's room. I don't know why I went with him to watch him play with matches. It's not like I had any desire to start a fire. Anyway, there's pond next to the apartment, with a bunch of reeds and straw-like stuff. He lit the matches on the reeds and started his HUGE fire. He ran away crying, I ran away laughing my butt off. It was a good laugh

I did feel a little bad when the fire department came though. Maybe I should have said something.

I laugh under stress, sometimes it's laugh or cry. I hate crying, but it got me into a lot of akward situations as an early teen.

A "no" with a giggle isn't normally taken all that seriously.

I do this as a learned behavior (too many encounters with advice to 'smile or laugh' when something or someone upsets you).

Partly it is (for me) an attempt to self-sooth, and partly it is for 'social purposes' (ie avoid confrontation and try to insert a pause so I can think how to respond productively to something or someone that is discomforting or distressing).

You are sooooo lucky...*sigh* I wish I was more like that...I mean, I have no reason NOT to be, really....o-o;; umm, right?^^;;

ye...yeah......

One time when I was growing up, my mom got so angry at me for some reason, and called me : Jenny shi* fuc*. I just looked at her and laughed my head off. She stopped to think for a second and realized how stupid that sounded and she started to laugh. After a few minutes, neither of us rembered what made her angry in the first place.

I've always described "nervous laughter" as a defense mechanism... it's not all the time, but I have done it historically.

I laugh under stress. I have been told many times it is inappropriate and I need to take my problems more seriously. I just say laughing or crying are the only choices I see. If I laugh nervously, I can go on. If I cry it's a meltdown and I am non functional for many hours.

I remember when I'd laugh and smile a lot with doctors (psychiatrists) and other mental health professionals (this was before I was diagnsoed with AS) and I got called an attention seeker, that I am playing a game (because I was smiling) and taking them for a ride.
really annoyed me because if I'm anxious, I do smile and laugh.. I can't help it.. but they couldn't understand that.
I got told to be serious because they didn't believe me.. they said I needed to be straight instead of smiling and laughing like it's some big joke.

o-O

I hate mental health professionals.

Charlie

I have a tendency to smile if I'm "stuck" in a social situation and don't know what to do, like if asked an awkward question.

I don't think it's a learned behavior but of course I can't be sure.

Smiling/laughing and the blank face is all what most of us have (if that). So, when there's an event that requires something other than a blank/neutral face, there's not a great pool to draw upon.