Smiling unnecessarily

[soulfulriver]

Hi Guys,

I would like to share about a concern which I am facing.

I have mentioned in a previous thread before that I developed social anxiety (https://gayspeak.com/Thread-Words-can-kill).

One of the effects I experience is that I end up smiling awkwardly when a person or people is/are looking at me (sometimes my own family). It happens involuntarily and I found it hard to control my smile.

I will hang my head slightly when I end up having the awkward smile because I feel very embarrassed. I know the smile is awkward because people have stared at me like I was a lunatic and avoided interacting me after they have seen my awkward smile. I could not make friends in university due to this.

For now, it is manageable, because I am wearing a face mask in public due to the pandemic. I am able to hide this awkward smile with the face mask. But I still experience it in restaurants when I am eating without the mask.

This meme somewhat explains partially what I am facing:


My concern is that whether is this really a big issue to be concerned about. I'm not sure if this is something that can be "cured" somehow.

In the future, if I am dating someone or something, I don't want this issue to frighten away all my potential dates. That is why I feel concerned that this issue might affect my social life.