Why Does Smiling Hurt?

[closethomosape]

Hey so does anyone else struggle with smiling in conversations? It's like I genuinely think something is funny, but when I smile, my face hurts. Like I'm trying hard to reassure people that I'm enjoying the conversation, but then my face starts hurting and I feel it twitching or I can't sustain the smile and I feel like it comes off strained. :ironicsmile: I know I shouldn't even be giving a shit about whether people approve of my smile, but for some reason it's really hard and I would really appreciate it if anyone shared their experience and also if anyone has been able to get over this somehow. Thanks.

 

[zharl]

Sustain the smile? How long are you holding it for? If you're trying to go through an entire conversation with a big smile, that might be why your face is hurting. XD

Sorry if it sounds like I'm making fun of you. I'm really not. I suppose I need some more clarification: Is it physical pain or emotional pain? Does it happen whenever you try to smile and is it immediate? If you were to smile now, would it cause pain?

 

[NathanielWingatePeaslee]

Hey so does anyone else struggle with smiling in conversations? It's like I genuinely think something is funny, but when I smile, my face hurts. Like I'm trying hard to reassure people that I'm enjoying the conversation, but then my face starts hurting and I feel it twitching or I can't sustain the smile and I feel like it comes off strained. :ironicsmile: I know I shouldn't even be giving a shit about whether people approve of my smile, but for some reason it's really hard and I would really appreciate it if anyone shared their experience and also if anyone has been able to get over this somehow. Thanks.

I've really never been able to smile spontaneously at strangers or fake a smile. I accidentally made eye contact with a pretty girl at the grocery store today. She flashed a smile at me. I remained stone-faced and before I even had time to go back to watching the ground I saw the smile dying on her face. I felt terrible.

:sad:

 

[S_Spartan]

Lou Reed was taught not to smile.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFhMYngjVfU

 

[Megaten]

For me, I can only smile if I genuinely find something funny. It's why i hate getting my picture taken because I see myself later and wonder if i look like a sourpuss to people. I honestly wouldn't know what to say as advice because how some are able to smile on command and light up room is one of the universes greatest mysteries to me.

 

[Hoppy]

I smile when I am relaxed and with people I like. It does not happen often.

I actually once practiced smiling for two minutes every day for six weeks. It helped a lot.

 

[RegalSin]

Because your having a bad time in life. I went to college and found these guys who are great students. Not because they are great but because they come from homes that are great. It is like my cousin who was in foster care. She had a good life being brought up and even now have a good life as a mother. She is up beat and happy.

 

[closethomosape]

Sustain the smile? How long are you holding it for? If you're trying to go through an entire conversation with a big smile, that might be why your face is hurting. XD

Sorry if it sounds like I'm making fun of you. I'm really not. I suppose I need some more clarification: Is it physical pain or emotional pain? Does it happen whenever you try to smile and is it immediate? If you were to smile now, would it cause pain?

Thanks so much for the advice/responding! (Everyone) Well, I don't smile the whole time, but it's like I'll genuinely find something funny and then someone says something immediately afterwards and then the corners of my mouth are sore and when I try to smile, my mouth violently twitches and it becomes a creepy murderer expression. I feel like it comes off kind of bitchy too if you can imagine that kind of expression. So yeah it's physical pain. It's not whenever I smile. It happens especially when there is more than one person in the conversation - other than me - . I think it becomes a sort of subconscious score board in my head like "strike 1, strike 2, etc", until I can't even smile anymore. I'm not sure if I've clarified anything. I definitely do try to focus on what people are saying to counteract this, but sometimes it's the difference between reading a whole page word by word but not absorbing anything, and actually reading and understanding what you've read. :reading: Thanks so much!

 

[zharl]

I've never heard anything like that. Do you think it's something more psychological or muscular?

 

[grapevine]

Has to be genuine. If you are not feeling comfortable with people being self conscious inside and battling your inner demons and how they see you- your body doesnt want to naturally smile, so its kinda faking your smile and that is forced and it hurts for some reason.

 

[closethomosape]

I've never heard anything like that. Do you think it's something more psychological or muscular?

I think it's both. Argh. Anyways I've been relatively good at healing myself, so I think I just need time to figure it out. Thanks, Zharl!