Impairment of Happy Expression

Post Reply New Topic

A delicate balance it is. When one sits perfectly within the neutral grounds of emotion, others become extremely fearful of it.

Often, people tell me I sound tired and bored and unhappy even when I don't feel that way. It is a pain because I don't know how to sound more happy and I don't smile very often. When I do, it takes a lot to get me to smile.

I guess I'm afraid to be too happy because then someone will come along and take it away as that is what has happened before. Usually, I just feel either neutral or slightly unhappy.

I have to be extremely happy before someone will ever believe I'm not miserable because my face just doesn't show much expression unless in the extremes of happiness and upset. I've been told so many times to 'cheer up' and 'chill out'. I can't even keep count now. Ugh. Somedays I hate this and other times I've gotten to not caring.

It depends for me on this subject. Most of the time I am definatly in the bored/depressed mode but if I am happy I will grin like a idiot. For far longer than it is socially acceptable (anywhere from 5 minutes to a half hour)

When I was little, my grandmother would say I had this mad look on my face when I was singing in the church choir. She always pester me about smiling, especially when she was taking my picture. I'd try to put on the widest grin but she keep saying, "smile natural." What the heck's "natural"? Isn't smiling for the camera a little unnatural? As an adult, I only smile when I truly feel like it, not to put on some fake persona. However I express myself isn't anyone's business, anyway.

You know those pictures of clowns or cartoons where the character is smiling ear to ear? I have to pull my face like that to make myself smile normally.