Are you too Shy to even Smile?

because i am... i get so nervous my smile is so nervous looking, i just look like im being forced to smile and worried expression. I dont mean to look that way but cant seem to control my anxiety.

I think this makes me the shyest person in the world... or am i?
 

Rose_Red

Well-known member
I am too shy to smile. I normally look down most the time when I'm around people or walking around.
I get too nervous to look up.

On occasions I do smile too much. Big, cheesy, nervous smiles.
Smiles that actually hurt my face.
When this happens I do try look away, because I'm embarrassed.

I can't seem to control either of them either.
 

Plunket

New member
Well shyness up to some extent is OK. But it make you lose your confidence and smile make you happy and others too. So you must cut of this habit and have to smile and also remove your shyness.
 

okcancel

Well-known member
I don't like my smile, it's very unpleasant :/ so yeah, I try not to smile too much. Well, little smiles are good. Little, closed mouth smiles I could do all day. But toothy ones are the bane of my existence :D
 

nnc321

New member
I smile some. I have a hard time looking people in the eyes. It's like I don't want them to know about me or something.
 

hoddesdon

Well-known member
I smile some. I have a hard time looking people in the eyes. It's like I don't want them to know about me or something.

Wow, that is a profound statement.

Someone called Phobologist on this website made an in-depth study, and one of the things he said was that very same thing.

In psychology they have the concept of the "core belief" which boils down to feeling that there is something wrong with you.

Both of the above are consistent with what you said.

I suppose an important step would be to find out what it is.
 

nnc321

New member
Wow, that is a profound statement.

Someone called Phobologist on this website made an in-depth study, and one of the things he said was that very same thing.

In psychology they have the concept of the "core belief" which boils down to feeling that there is something wrong with you.

Both of the above are consistent with what you said.

I suppose an important step would be to find out what it is.

Well, I'm pretty sure something is wrong with me:) Hehe. Just a lot of work to do when it comes to breaking out of the shyness and being more confident.

I've been out of work for about two years. I've never been one without a job. I do know that during these years my isolation has increased dramatically. I feel I have no self-worth due to not working. Thus, no adult interaction. Confidence has hit a low in these years, although I've always had the shyness issue.
 

hoddesdon

Well-known member
Well, I'm pretty sure something is wrong with me:) Hehe. Just a lot of work to do when it comes to breaking out of the shyness and being more confident.

I've been out of work for about two years. I've never been one without a job. I do know that during these years my isolation has increased dramatically. I feel I have no self-worth due to not working. Thus, no adult interaction. Confidence has hit a low in these years, although I've always had the shyness issue.

This is one of things mentioned in this thread:

http://www.socialphobiaworld.com/si...e-with-sa-have-trouble-getting-over-it-11127/

i.e. thinking there is something wrong with you, whereas the only difference between you and anyone else is that you have social phobia and they do not.
 

Rembrandt Broam

Well-known member
Well, I'm pretty sure something is wrong with me:) Hehe. Just a lot of work to do when it comes to breaking out of the shyness and being more confident.

I've been out of work for about two years. I've never been one without a job. I do know that during these years my isolation has increased dramatically. I feel I have no self-worth due to not working. Thus, no adult interaction. Confidence has hit a low in these years, although I've always had the shyness issue.

I think unemployment (unless it's through choice) can have a very negative effect on feelings of self-worth. The longest I was ever unemployed was a year, and during that year I probably felt at my lowest in terms of self-esteem that I've ever felt. I felt completely without purpose, and the lack of adult interaction you mention definitely doesn't help. It feels like the rest of the world is moving on, getting on with their lives, while you're standing still.

Hope you find something soon.
 

Ryguy2598

Well-known member
Most of the time, no. But there are situations like when I'm walking by some random person and they look at me and smile, just being friendly, and I haven't smiled back because I was too anxious. I'm getting over it though.
 

Ryguy2598

Well-known member
Sometimes.....someone will look at me and smile then I have usually just given a nervous, awkward smile or have been to anxious so just looked away real quick.....but I smile around friends and family. It's just when a random stranger smiles at me.
 
Sometimes.....someone will look at me and smile then I have usually just given a nervous, awkward smile or have been to anxious so just looked away real quick.....but I smile around friends and family. It's just when a random stranger smiles at me.

It feels so nice to know someone who is similiar to me, since most people here say their SA doesnt affect their smile. I rarely get strangers smile at me, only cashiers at shops, im even shy to smile at them to.. sometime they give me a big smile, i have no reason to smile at them.. i cannot think of a happy thought quick enough to smile at the moment. That person who is smiling at me, have to do something funny, if they want me to smile naturally. otherwise, i will give of an awkward smile, which i didnt plan to. ::eek::
 
I really don't like the way I look when I smile and feel awkward when I do...when people smile at me I make a slight attempt to smile back though, or say quietly say "hi" to acknowledge them. Naturally when going about my day I don't smile, I start daydreaming and staring off into space with this blank expression on my face and I have a feeling people think of me as being aloof because of this...

Once I had a restaurant job as a hostess (cringe, the job's amount of social interaction was enough to make me sick to my stomach every morning) and the manager scolded me because I didn't smile at customers enough or my voice didn't sound "friendly" enough while greeting them. I felt like I was being a fake and very dishonest to myself whenever I put on that act...

I feel i can really understand what you going through. Why isit smiley to see someone you dont know ordering meal? .. This is why i know what you mean. I cant seem to smile at things that doesnt really make sense to smile at. So all must be an act. I fail at acting, i cannot act.. SA dont help me act..
 

Hottie

Well-known member
I can smile grand, walk with my head held high and i can look people in the eyes......:)......but of course anxiety is pumping thru me at all times.:mad:

When i have it hard is when people are telling me somethings, i can feel like i get stuck. Its like i freeze up and my body has become a rock. :D

Smiling sometimes feels fake in some situations tho, but i usually have the anxiety when im not talking. When im not physically talking, but the voice inside me is.... :confused:
 

BleedTheFreak

Well-known member
I don't smile naturally...ever, so it's always forced and looks awful. I never expose my teeth either, it just looks atrocious (not my teeth...just my face in general). Nothing ever seems to come natural for me in social situations, so I come off showing a lack of emotion when in fact I'm a nervous wreck all the time, it's quite odd when I think about it.
 
Top