Facial Expressions

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Does anybody have issues showing what they feel? I feel like people often think I’m angry all the time because my resting face isn’t that pleasant to look at. I have to like raise my eyebrows and like move my lips to prevent that “angry” look from settling.

Additionally, I have trouble verbally expressing my emotions without being too loud or too robotic, or stuttering—stuttering is something I’ve had trouble with since childhood and have gotten a little better as I’ve learned to pause whenever I feel a stutter coming in.

Because of my expression ineptitude, I feel like it impacts my friendships and relationships. Then again, I feel like a robot when I try reflecting my feelings on my face. Does anybody feel the same way?

This is a constant problem for me. My parents always tell me I look or sound angry when as far as I can tell I'm using my normal face and tone of voice. Even around my friends I find myself deliberately trying to act, say, excited when I am excited but it just doesn't naturally show. My friends are all neurodivergent so I'd expect them to understand but all of them seem to be naturally a lot more expressive than me.

Yes I do because my facial expressions don't match how I'm (really) feeling inside - its doesn't mean I'm not genuine if just means I'm 'masking' to protect myself from becoming an easy target.

If I can help you.
If you stutter, try practicing by first writing a text, breaking it down into word parts.
Then read it aloud when you're alone.
To overcome stuttering, it's helpful, for example, to recite tongue twisters several times a day.

In Italy, two well-known TV presenters both stuttered.

They adopted this solution.
They speak incredibly quickly, without making mistakes.

If you make a mistake: exactly what you do.
Either break up the word you're pronouncing wrong, or replace it with a synonym.
If there are people around you and you make a mistake, smile and tell a funny joke.
It will relieve stress, and people will put the incident into perspective.
Another thing you can do is find a book you like and read the entire thing aloud. Even if you do it over several hours or days, that's fine.

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Facial expressions: it's not easy.

I notice people saying to me...you're so thoughtful, what's wrong?

Meanwhile: I'm very calm and thinking about various things, but it doesn't match the way we reflect back to others.

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Try to smile while you're having a conversation with someone—that is, don't laugh!
But smiling relaxes your facial muscles and everything feels more natural.

Used to have that issue Deadregen....still do if am not noticing I am around others . But years of practice in the mirror helped . And I watched TV programs where when people were interacting. With each other in conversations and or humourous Interacting together. Telling jokes, Watching comedians and watching the audience interacting when the camera turns to the audience at the theater . I watched their faces and practicing mimicking their facial responses.
At their their responses to what the comedians says. And I watch the comedians face too. That and practicing in the mirror in the bathroom everytime I would think to brush my hair or after I would brush my teeth. Then by myself
I would feel which muscles in my facial tightened. And notice the feeling in my facial ,with those muscles , And once a day , would practice exercising those same face muscles. It made smiling much easier , but it took awhile to remember
to do those exercises everyday. ... .. Best Wishes on the exercises ..or not, whichever you choose.

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Do you have a Level 1, Jakki?
Anyway, I noticed, and I know, that women have a better ability to adapt than men.
Definitely greater social intelligence.
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A friend of mine, whom I haven't heard from in a long time, I remember being hired for a simple job.
She seemed to be smiling so enthusiastically, she confided in me that she was very sick afterwards and would go cry in the workplace bathroom.
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If I look at a person or concentrate on something, my gaze is very intense and it's rare that I don't return it in an interaction.
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Then honestly, since I don't have O.T., I can't understand what the hell the other person means: if they smile or have any other facial expression, it's a problem for me.
I pretend nothing happened.

But I don't understand.
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Interactions: OK if the person speaks, for example.

I remember several months ago talking for quite a while with a girl I didn't know before.
As if we knew each other.
A lady thought she was my girlfriend.
I don't even know if I've met her since because this is a small place, with about 200,000 to 300,000 people, not a big city.
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Jakki's advice about looking in the mirror would conflict with Rizzolatti's theories (mirror neurons).
However, you show me that this skill can be practiced.
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I've always used the "copy and paste" method and made the new acquaintance my own.

An example was the supermarket cashier.
I usually use electronics: the less interaction I have, the better.

Anyway: I get through it much quicker.
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In interaction, it was a disaster.

Copy and paste.
I tried to acquire the behavior that seemed useful to me in short conversations.

And it works.

You also need to know how to smile, as Jakki wrote.

Because interaction is more natural.
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Now I can rephrase every sentence (if it doesn't have double meanings), I almost feel like I've succeeded.
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People like short sentences and jokes.
It's a bit like aces in tennis: they get you out of trouble (I don't know how to translate it because I don't have this knowledge in written language).
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Anyway: we need to practice what we lack; we can improve what we can.

It's useless in other things: we won't succeed.
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If you stutter, there's a solution: use your voice.
Also learn to break up words if we get them wrong.
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Be careful, because some medications cause problems with spoken language.
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If I can, I don't speak at all.
If necessary, yes.
A person recently walked past me in line.

Another person next to me said I was there before her.
I said out loud: yes, actually, I was also in front of that person who's leaving now; he was behind me in line.
*She made a fool of herself.
But she didn't apologize, she didn't even turn around.

The manager then smiled at me when he served me.

He's Chinese, so they don't really talk to Italians much.
We treat them well, but we say a lot of words they don't even understand.

^^^ Good on you for speaking up for yourself ,inline ^^^ Huckleberry . Yeah communication is hard enough without
adding in the cross cultural stuff.. And basic languages differances. Yeah , Initially when younger guess I had appeared as level 2 but as time went by . And much suffering from dealing with life . Eventually as I got older it turned out that psychologist decided that I was ,what should be a level 1 with some affectations , sound and light sensativities . And few other issues . Learned to mask intuitively .

I tend to be a deer in the headlights, IOW I keep a flat expression most of the time.

Hi there, I used to do this a lot in my childhood so I can say that it is helpful! The joke part, however, not so much. I've been told I'm not that funny, but I make myself laugh. Thank you for the suggestions, Huckleberry! I'm glad I have someone on the same "expressionless" boat.

This is too too real.

I'm Hispanic-American ( Mexican/Puerto-Rican ) and during my elementary school years I'd have my mom scolding me for looking "angry". My mom loosened up after my tweens, though she does occasionally get frustrated when I can't for the love of anything muster up a smile when she wants to take photos.

Your final statement about your friends is also relatable. Have you been upfront with them about your situation? I have, but it seems like everything I say just goes in one ear and exits the other.

I used to do this but I'd get called "weird". Most of the media I watched back in the day, and the little media I watch today, is based on things I'm interested in. Then, it was "Victorian-Era" and "Gothic" media that influenced the way I wrote, spoke, and behaved---of course, that doesn't really invite connection in homogenous communities.

I feel like I've definitely evolved out of lots of verbal muses, though some've remained, but small talk and introductory, ephemeral conversations with others have gotten so much better partially because of this.

I get this!