Never looking happy?

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People tell me all the time that I never seem happy or engaged, that I always look like I'm sad about something, especially at parties or in groups. The thing is, I'm rarely unhappy. Usually, I'm engaged in what is going on or observing it a lot, so my focus is on them and not on my own body or expression. My default face is kind of neutral-sad-pensive looking, so everyone perceives me as being upset. When I'm in groups, I don't feel attached to the others, so when everyone else is thrilled, I'm usually just observing them. I can't help looking this way, and I'm getting a little annoyed always explaining to people that I'm not upset or bored or angry at them when I'm not smiling.

Does anyone else have a default facial expression when they aren't explicitly feeling one way? Does it get you in trouble or cause other people to be confused, and do you have a way of explaining it or fixing it?

My facial expressions are very confusing. I'm numb (look sad) and sometimes yes I am sad (thinking of the college issue/past argument etc.) usually happiness for me=relation to special interest OMG new phone coming out smile/cheerful enjoying self which= usually behavior that upsets people I say/do something that upsets someone. So then it's oh you seem depressed Me: Oh I'm fine (IMO just yesterday you're trying to be yourself only to get your behavior questioned so it's like why bother being happy.

It's the face of Autism.


The best response is sarcasm:

"Stupid people make me sad."

"I only smile when I'm having sex."

"What are you smiling about? Have you seen what's happening in the Gulf?" (or whatever momentous tragic story is dominating headlines that day)

"I'm not depressed. Did you fart?"

"My dog/cat/bird/child/grandma/parent died." [after they express shock and condolence] "I'm trying to remember where we hid the will."

*shrug* "I'm just not amused by idiots."

"Sorry, these Antipsychotic meds keep me calm, but they make me really drowsy."

"I smiled yesterday. Where were you?"

I have come to expect people to ask me what is wrong because of my facial expressions. It is the people who constantly insist there is something bothering me that irritate me. I never could understand how my facial expressions give any indication as to my mood.

That happens to me, quite often. I can be in a very good mood, and than somebody will ask me, what's wrong. I don't look happy, unless I smile.

I get this all the time. Asking me if I'm unhappy is usually a good way to make me unhappy, because it's irritating. There are times I look back on now and wonder if I was actually depressed or just thought I was depressed because everyone told me I looked depressed.

Yeah, it happens to me all the time--I'm perfectly happy, but someone tells me to smile. I'm trying to not get irritated by this since the person might genuinely think I'm unhappy and in need of cheering up. At any rate, my irritation only hurts me. So now I try to just say, "I'm smiling on the inside, I just forget to show it sometimes."

It's the truth.

Another member of the club. I always have to remind myself to smile around people at work, and am mindful of the bad impressions it can make, but it's still very easy to forget. In my case, though, I feel I'm generally unhappy deep down, and some of that is probably showing through. It's just been that way for so long that this state feels normal to me.

I was at a restaurant/pub by myself once and I was waiting for my food. I was sitting there just waiting with my typical facial expression which I describe as abject neutrality. A group of people walked by me as they were leaving and this one girl turns and faces me and then put her fingers in the corners of her mouth and then kind of pushed her mouth into the shape of a smile. I thought it was funny so I did actually smile back.