I can't help but frown all the time

[j35clifford]

Hi, I'm interested to know how common this is, when i venture out and go into town, my social anxiety seems to make me frown, i can't seem to help it. I can tell people look at me and think 'he looks like he's in a bad mood', or 'he looks a bit angry', but the truth is I just feel a bit anxious. Before anyone says it, I'm not just being paranoid either, sometimes when i catch my reflection i can see that i do look like the sort of angry person that you'd want to avoid speaking to.

Unfortunately it does mean that people tend to avoid speaking to me, there's even one place i go for food where the girl at the till just avoids eye contact with me. I think this is why i find speaking on the phone so easy, because people can't see me. I'm not really sure what to do to stop this, when i'm at home its fine, then as soon as i'm about to speak to someone face to face i feel my face frowning again.

Anyone else have this strange problem?

 

[truffleshuffle]

I frown all the time as well. not sure why though. Sometimes if I look at someone in a store they give me a half a smile like they notice im frowning or something. I also feel my smiles look like snarls so that maybe one reason I don;t

 

[aNOTfox]

yeah I'm the same, people always think I'm in a bad mood. Someone at college referred to me as the "angry ginger" once xD. I think I just have a naturally frowny face.

 

[j35clifford]

I wonder if its possible to have over developed frowning muscles! Perhaps i should get botox treatment, then i wouldn't be able to frown even if i tried. :bigsmile:

 

[Graeme1988]

Aye, am the same. I'm always frowning, I've always got this dour expression on ma face. So much so that I get people constantly askin' me "What's wrong?" I guess am the kinda guy who rarely smiles? :idontknow:

 

[dean01]

yeah im the same its like frowning is natural for me, its caused me many a problem because people think ive got a problem with them and they start to act differently around me.

 

[tizzy]

That's understandable. I don't frown, but I don't smile either. I don't smile at people. My face usally has a kind of blank look all the time.
When people smile at me for no reason it annoys me lol.

 

[laure15]

It's very hard for me to smile at strangers and unfamiliar people, for some reason. I used to be able to do it naturally but somehow, I lost the ability. Now, i can't even force myself to smile at other people without looking awkward and fake. My face looks expressionless now, as if I have no emotions. I think I put on a poker face because of my avpd; I'm afraid of getting too close to people.

 

[movielover21]

I have the exact same problem! People in school would ask me, "Why are you so sad?" I wasn't until they asked me! I guess I just had that unapproachable disposition about me. I don't know why. Some people naturally draw people towards them, while others have a much harder time making friends. It's hard for me to make eye contact with people sometimes, so maybe they assume I'm in a hurry or just don't care. But I really DO care.

I've tried to have a more positive air about me. I try to have a half smile and say hi to as many people as I can. Even if I don't feel like it. When I'm at the gym, I try to strike up a conversation. Sometimes it doesn't work, but sometimes it does. By being friendly, people may see that although you may not LOOK like you're super high on life, they'll wanna talk to you again because they know you're a nice person.

 

[spider04]

Yea, they ask me why I look mad or say 'open your face', which means in my language to look happy and smile.

 

[Duzmiu]

i frown all the time when im out aswell and its been pointed out to me plenty of times, dosent help when i meet the odd person thats out right rude about it which is when i do get angry and shout at them but even my dads friends asked me awhile ago wen i turnt into such a misserable f**ker. i still dont know why i do it but i do notice if im getting served at a shop they often seem nervous around me and tend to avoid looking at me so recently ive been trying to smile more when im in shops, when im walking about i dont really care as i wont see them for longer than a few seconds.

try smiling when in shops and stuff its kinda nice when someone smiles at you proppally and not the nervous smile you sometimes get when i assume they think im gunna rip there head off or something

 

[Littlewilly]

Yes i frown all the time & don't realise im doing it but if someone speaks to me i usually am friendly & helpful as i can be. I was told the other week by a young lady at work that i had a friendly face & a helpful one but what others who don't know me would think is another question:sad:

 

[j35clifford]

yeah i know what you mean, as soon as i get any kind of rapport with someone then i start smiling and feeling chatty, its like i can't be myself with someone until i've had some form of positive feedback from them first.

 

[BlueDays]

I wouldn't worry so much about the girl at the til that avoids eye contact with you. Cashiers are often bored out of their minds and their brains have to often wonder off thinking about other things to stop themselves dying of monotony. Her lack of eye contact probably has nothing to do with seeing you frowning.

I was not aware that I was frowning until I noticed my reflection in the car window when I went to open the door one day. So I looked at my reflection each time I got into a car from then on and sure enough, each time I noticed that I was frowning.:thinking:
Now I can tell when I am frowning and although it sounds corny I have found that if I take some deep breaths and purposely relax my shoulders, this tends to stop my frowing for a while.

 

[cowboyup]

People have told me to 'cheer up' 'why so sad' etc. but my mouth naturally turns downward looking like I am mad or frowning all the time except when I smile real big then I feel like I look like this:

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It has bothered me so much that when all the botox stuff came to the forefront, I was considering getting that to 'lift' the corners of my mouth by a dermatologist or plastic surgeon. Of course I don't have that kind of $$ and even if I did, I am not sure I'd go through with it.

I do understand where you're coming from - frustrating, right?

 

[cowboyup]

sorry - I pushed post before I finished. duh me.

I also frown causing those fun frown lines btwn the eyes. And I tend to get tense - shoulders, neck , etc. Perhaps that might be part of the reason you frown?

I like to do the 7-7-7 breathing to help relax myself when I feel tense and i know I am frowning and such. Count of 7 breath in, count of 7 hold breath, count of 7 release.

 

[Totalrebel]

Hello! Have you had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It's really good. Thoughts create our physical reactions, therefore if you trace back to thoughts and learn how to process negative thinking, break it down and form alternative positive thinking your then positive thoughts will create happy and cheery physical appearance. Does this make sense??

 

[laure15]

Hello! Have you had Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. It's really good. Thoughts create our physical reactions, therefore if you trace back to thoughts and learn how to process negative thinking, break it down and form alternative positive thinking your then positive thoughts will create happy and cheery physical appearance. Does this make sense??

I tried doing this when I used to attend family gatherings. I would imagine something that makes me happy (such as an anime or manga character) and then it would make me smile for a while. But even though I was smiling, I can see that the other relatives dislike me by their words and actions, and after a while, it gets very tiring. I broke down several times after visiting my dad's relatives, even though I tried so hard to smile during those family gatherings. It really sucks to be the only one smiling when you know that the people around you just plain don't like you.

 

[Totalrebel]

Hey Laure15 man i'll send you some Practical Psychology material. You'll find it a great help and easy to put into practical use!! J (Ireland)

 

[laure15]

Hi Totalrebel,

It's alright, I don't go to family gatherings anymore so I don't have this problem anymore. There are also local libraries that I can check out books from. Thanks for your offer though!