Expressionless

hesse

Member
Hi. I want to know if anyone has experienced this problem, and whether they think its a physical or psychological/behaviour issue. Whether it has a name.

I've always had depression and social anxiety. My main problem though (its the thing that people always comment or joke about) is that I have a very dour expression. It's not that I choose to look that way, it's just the way my face naturally sits. I had to leave my last job because I started getting called some nicknames which weren't pleasant. In addition, I think it's triggered some sort of agoraphobia in me.

Is this a common thing? Please comment if you have or know of anyone with similar experiences. I've had no replies at all to previous posts/topics so this is my last try to get something out of this website.
 

hesse

Member
Praise be - a reply! Thanks.

How does it affect your life? Have you ever found any sort of help? Is it a symptom of depression that will go away once the depression does. I've heard people say things like "outwardly I was the clown, but inside...". I'm not like that - I can't put on an act. I just try and avoid any situations that might be potentially difficult like nights out, weddings, etc.
 

den1

Well-known member
Yes mate I have the same problem. My eyebrows feel really heavy and the more I get paronoid or try to fight it the worse it gets. When this happens I always picture myself as looking really dopey.
I find it hard to make any expresion with my face.

I guess it is a mental thing because it doesn't happen to me all the time. But then again my case of depression isn't that seriouse on the scale of things.
 

Pluvia

Member
The worst bit about it is that people get judgemental, and just assume that I'm always unhappy, or sulky - and so therefore don't approach me. Which is a shame, because I'm a lovely person on the inside.

I don't think there's any 'help' for this, it's just the way you are. Unless you consciously make an effort to look 'happy'. Which would get really tiring. 8O
 

zlench

Well-known member
I have the same problem I rarely smile or laugh or show any kind of expression. I just don't know how to.
 

redhead042

Active member
i was on holiday with my parents and a friend, she pallied up with a group of these lads and they sit just in my line of site and my face is naturally miserable. at the end of the holiday she told me that they were all terrified of me cuz i gave them evils! im 5ft and a group of lads. should i feel insulted or proud?!
 

Lonelykitsune

Well-known member
Yeah I've got that too but I don't think Its to do with depression as I don't have that.I usually go around with an aloof and distant sort of look that comes off a bit gormless llooking to others.People say I'm 'like a german without the sense of humour'.Or they think that I'm having trouble at home like abuse or something -_-

But I don't have that problem when I'm at home though.
 

layeazy

Active member
i pout lol no seriously and it annoys me when it happens i use the tools of tapping around my face the meredian balance works in distracting my mind and relaxing me to the point where im calmer...
 
I've had similar experiences in the past. My friends always said I had the same expression for different feelings. They wanted to make a t-shirt with all the different kinds of feelings and put my plain, dour face on every expression.
expressions.jpg.w300h448.jpg
 

Lex365

Member
You know until i joined this forum i thought this was all just happening to me!

I naturally have a very serious face. Expressionless would be a good word. When i was younger a girl told me on a night out i was very "serious looking", as well as countless people saying i should smile, or cheer up. This made me HUGELY paranoid about it. I hate having my picture taken or appearing on any sort of video. The only thing i was able to do was to try to work on an expression which isnt so serious, and try to use it as often as i can in a social situation. It does work, but it takes some getting used to.
 

Greenthorn

Member
I'm always being told to not look so miserable or to smile, stop being a grump etc.
What puzzles me is that people are saying it when I'm actually trying my damnedest to not look grumpy, so it's not really my fault; can't help how my face looks :mad: ...Plus, there's usually nothing to smile about anyway
 

Invisibleman

Well-known member
Yes I have this problem. I can sometimes look happy but its hard to keep faking the happy look.And as the people in here have said that it makes people not want to approach you. But like seriously though, I completely relax my face and it just naturally sits into mugshot mode. I hate it.
 

pinata

Well-known member
I'm extra self concious when I leave the house because of something similar to this as well. I get really uncomfortable when I'm in public of course, and I wasn't really concious of it but a couple of times I've had guys shout at me from their cars like "Cheer up love, it might never happen!" Even when I'm in a relatively content mood. So lately I've been more concious of how uncomfortable my face might look and I'm always reminding myself to straighten my features out which is annoying.

But when I'm relaxed and my face is at rest I think I have a similar sort of expression to yours maybe? I'm not sure if I'm approachable or not :/
 

ScaredToBreathe

Well-known member
yea I naturally have an expressionless face. i dont mind looking dull or unemotional, but it's freaking annoying when people tell me "you should smile more" (i get that a lot). even when im feeling fine or am happy or excited or in a good mood, my face usually just stays the same i dont even notice, it's not like im purposely trying to hide my emotions or anything they just dont show...

whenever i smile or look "happy" i usually fake it so people dont get scared away or think im angry or sad or theres something wrong with me.

people have said i have a good poker face because i always have a blank expression no matter my emotions. im quite good at keeping a straight face.

in grade 6 in front of the class my teacher said i should smile more cuz she never has seen me smile. then the whole class started shouting "smile! smile!" over and over until i smiled...

this has happened to me too many times before: im with some friends or family and im happy so im making myself smile a lot and sound happy, and then out of nowhere someone comments "why dont you ever smile..? you should smile!" (me thinking to myself: ughhh, i AM smiling! are you blind? you see that big curved line on my lips? if that's not a smile what is??) I am still confused about that. even when im smiling people think im not. its not like i have a huge smile that goes half way up my face and makes my cheeks fat, but i dont have just a little smirk or half-smile either, i just do a normal-looking smile. so i dont get why people still think im not smiling.
 

nicole1

Well-known member
I can be from time to time. Some even say I have an "intense" look. I've learned to kinda...smile but most of the time my face is blank or in an "intense" manner. I thought most people did that. People have commented on mine though.
 

The Lost

Well-known member
I'm either expressionless or pulling a sort of frown, those around me question my mood a lot even though I'm feeling okay or just "meh.."
 

Agent_Violet

Well-known member
I get told I look snobby or angry. It's my natural look. Even when my face is relaxed I apparently look like I'm going to beat somebodies a$$. *sigh* I sent what I thought was a pretty hot photo to my husband once where I was just giving the camera that come hither stare... Husband said " why do you look like you're ready to plunge a knife in my chest in this picture???". Yeah. Great.
 
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