# FACE TWITCHING when smiling, face clenching up in social sitauiations, can't smile...



## pariscommune

Hi everyone. I'm really really desperate in finding a solution. This problem of mine has completely ruined my social life and my entire existence..

My face twitches after I smile for a while, and because I don't want people to see that, during social situations my face just FREEZES up and I can just FEEL my face starting to twitch if I started to smile. It also happens during situations where I know I HAVE to smile, like if someone makes a joke or when I'm being introduced to someone...I just get paralyzed by the fear of my face twitching and I just freeze up... I've conditioned myself, it seems, to associate smiling with a negative feeling and the twitching and the anxiety just gets worse and worse...can someone PLEASE let me know of a solution. I really really would appreciate it if someone could post a solution for this problem instead of just reposting the same problem over and over on this page. thanks guys..


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## jonak

I have an idea but I'm not sure if it'll be useful. I have a similar problem, so I'll try this out myself. If all of this is going on in your head, you probably are not doing a very good job at listening to whoever is talking or following the conversation. Maybe if you try and refocus yourself (which I understand can be pretty hard) on the conversation instead of your face then you will look more natural.

Perhaps a good way to stay focused is to try and stay as involved as possible. All of this is very contextual, but lets say you're being introduced, maybe you could offer your hand or say hello, or ask them something.

Anyway, it's just an idea. Personally my eyes will start to water and itch and my face gets this expression I can only describe as terror. When I start to notice these two things it's a sure sign that my mind is starting to wander.


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## colin1717

Hey, my names Colin. i just want to tell you that I have EXACTLY the same problem as you, and it really sucks, im sorry i don't have a solution, but it's good to know i'm not the only one. it has completely ruined my social life, everyone thinks im real serious when a joke is told and i squint and cant smile because my lips twitch and it looks like im about to cry. its awful really. i'm naturally a shy guy, but i know that i am potentially very sociable, funny and engaging, i just envy some peoples confidence when i see them and wish i was them, i really need help. i hope this problem doesnt turn to alchoholism too, because the the twitch goes away when i'm drunk as im not aware of trying to hold back the twitch. anyway sorry to write an essay without a solution but just letting you know your not alone, and please let me know if you find ways to help and i'll do the same, thanks


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## peter19

*Essential Tremor?*

I know exactly what you feel!

Do you guys also have this when you're completely calm and alone? It's probably essential tremor in that case (I was diagnosed with that a few years ago).

I've been using Propranolol (40mg) and Xanax (0,5mg) as-needed, but this only helps a little...

It is also really ruining my life, avoiding places and people... Alcohol does help, but the day after it's even worse... Any other suggestions?


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## patricia17

Hi pariscommune,i get exactly the same.i think panic attacks causes it for me.i get anxiety and mild depression aswel,Most people probably wouldnt think i do.When my mouth twitches though im very very sure its visible and its so embarresing.The rest of the panic attack symptoms i can cope with and no one would know im having an attack its just my mouth twitching.I dont drink all the time but yes it helps in social situations,the only other thing that i found that completely helped was diazepam but doctor wont prescribe that long term so back to square one.tried anti-depressants but no luck there,i feel its worrying about panic attacks that makes me depressed in the first place.If anyone finds a cure or help please tell me.


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## little elf

Hi! 

I would work on relaxation techniques. If you can develop awareness around the muscle tension in your body and focus on learning how to relax your facial muscles, I reckon you could lick this problem. You could try a relaxation technique called progressive relaxation or yoga nidra (try google). Obviously, working on the mind would help too - with some cognitive behavioural therapy.

I have an annoying habit of moving my head when I'm at the hairdressers or dentists. Any time I have to keep my head still, it wants to twitch. :afr


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## Starch

little elf said:


> Hi!
> 
> I would work on relaxation techniques. If you can develop awareness around the muscle tension in your body and focus on learning how to relax your facial muscles, I reckon you could lick this problem. You could try a relaxation technique called progressive relaxation or yoga nidra (try google). Obviously, working on the mind would help too - with some cognitive behavioural therapy.
> 
> I have an annoying habit of moving my head when I'm at the hairdressers or dentists. Any time I have to keep my head still, it wants to twitch. :afr











This is a great point , yoga nidra helps with the mind too. I hope OP checks into it.


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## little elf

Starch said:


> This is a great point , yoga nidra helps with the mind too. I hope OP checks into it.


Yes. Love yoga. Works on so many levels. Helps you develop detachment from thoughts and emotion. Best thing i have ever come across. Actually am training to teach right now. Yogarocks.


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## guitarmatt

*similar issue*

ive had similar problems that youre describing in the face..ive had many different sensations and different areas of my face tensing up. although i havent had twitching, i definitely know what your talking about and how it feels around people. The most recurring thing i get is severe tension where its hard to smile normally and i cant really show emotion on my face. It sucks yet im so used to it its hard to change


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## Liana

I met this man who suffers from Tourettes. He's managed to keep from saying swear words by suppressing them with a twitch. So he twitches a lot. It was weird at first, because anything that we don't really understand seems weird to us, but I loved that man. And it wasn't just me. We all liked him, and his face twitching became "normal" to us really fast.

I would hate for you to be so afraid of your face twitching when you smile that you stop smiling! That is so sad. I bet your friends don't mind if you have a unique way of smiling. And I agree with the other person who said if you focus on what the person is saying, you might forget about your smile.

Good luck!


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## guitarmatt

Liana said:


> I met this man who suffers from Tourettes. He's managed to keep from saying swear words by suppressing them with a twitch. So he twitches a lot. It was weird at first, because anything that we don't really understand seems weird to us, but I loved that man. And it wasn't just me. We all liked him, and his face twitching became "normal" to us really fast.
> 
> I would hate for you to be so afraid of your face twitching when you smile that you stop smiling! That is so sad. I bet your friends don't mind if you have a unique way of smiling. And I agree with the other person who said if you focus on what the person is saying, you might forget about your smile.
> 
> Good luck!


guess that means the last three years of my life have been pretty damn sad. i havent really been able to smile when having this tension crap in my face. its not twitching but it feels like im frowning


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## misfitt

Have an uncontrollabel twitch on the right side of my face, gets worse when i'm nervous. Has runed my social life, career. People automatically think I'm stupid and don't value my opinion and just begin to ignore me, which doesn't do to well for the ole self esteem. Nothing tops the humiliation of people occasionally staring, mocking/ laughing at me.
You can try magnesium supplements(I just started this), medication(s)(hasn't helped at all or just made me suicidal), botox(I haven't heard anything good about and then all the side effects. 
I do keep hearing that any type of relaxation therapy does help, but there really isn't any cure for this.


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## roxyruby

you are focusing on the face twitching, but you should focus on the cause of the face twitching

you say the cause is your fear and social anxiety isn't it?

so all you must do is spend energy on healing from social anxiety and fear and not caring what people think.

You might like to answer: 
Whats more important in life than what people think of you?___

Whats more important in life than not having face twitches around people?___

whats more important in life than what people think about your face twitches?_____

That's to get you started. Otherwise, you need to keep up overcoming social anxiety in a regular way. Whether thats by seeing a therapist (preferably that specializes in social anxiety), reading articles online about how to overcome social anxiety, or watching youtube videos about overcoming social anxiety.

~To your peace, healing, and wellbeing


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## bluestreak

*Face Twitching*

Hi all
I have the same problem for about 3 years.
It happens sometime and I fell like unable to speak. The cheek muscle become harder and it get difficult to move the jaw. It is a very big problem.

I have tried to dig into the root cause. I do not know what causes it but to avoid it, following exercises help:
1- Blowing cheek with air for a while and release it
2-Squeezing the the cheek muscles towards nose, holding it for a while and then release (like you have smelled really bad)
3-Squeezing forehead muscles towards the middle of eyebrows, holding it for couple of seconds and then releasing it (just like when you feel angry at something)
4-Avoiding psychological anxiety : when I talk to someone face to face this happens. It is not usually there when I talk on phone or with my back towards him.
5-Restlessness may be one cause

I hope with exercises it could be fought back.

I have noticed that same expressions are also transmitted to the person who is looking at us. His/her face also starts twitching? did somebody else notice this?

Regards


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## guitarmatt

bluestreak said:


> Hi all
> I have the same problem for about 3 years.
> It happens sometime and I fell like unable to speak. The cheek muscle become harder and it get difficult to move the jaw. It is a very big problem.
> 
> I have tried to dig into the root cause. I do not know what causes it but to avoid it, following exercises help:
> 1- Blowing cheek with air for a while and release it
> 2-Squeezing the the cheek muscles towards nose, holding it for a while and then release (like you have smelled really bad)
> 3-Squeezing forehead muscles towards the middle of eyebrows, holding it for couple of seconds and then releasing it (just like when you feel angry at something)
> 4-Avoiding psychological anxiety : when I talk to someone face to face this happens. It is not usually there when I talk on phone or with my back towards him.
> 5-Restlessness may be one cause
> 
> I hope with exercises it could be fought back.
> 
> I have noticed that same expressions are also transmitted to the person who is looking at us. His/her face also starts twitching? did somebody else notice this?
> 
> Regards


Wow this is the most similar experience ive related to with my probem--and i relate to everything you said, that i can be mental when it gets worse around ppl--also what you said that sometimes you see others faces cgange when you look at them and it just makes it so much worse..thanks for the advice though we always need to be thinkin of solutions, bc this thig is very hard to fight


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## Tom1210

I twitch when im speaking to people i dont know, i hate it because im always thinking that they notice it.


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## j241

This happens to me frequently when I'm speaking to someone one-on-one in person. It's almost like I try really hard for my expressions to look natural, but because of all that effort, they end up being unnatural and sometimes awkward. I can always feel the muscles in my face tensing up during the process.


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## HelloWorld007

Sorry


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## Corw

Mine has stopped for a while just automatically , but it had stopped before and then returned again , what i found helpful was to chew gum in social situations and it really covered my twitches , once you feel you are about to start twitching then chew faster then nobody could actually see that your mouth is twitching


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## Dianne

*Facial excercises*

First off I just wanted to say that I thought I was completely alone when it came to this side effect and I completely understand what you are going through. I have a few things that I do to help my face twinges and 'frozen smile' as I call it. The 1st thing I did was played with my expressions in the mirror and practiced a half smile using the side of my face that seems to twinge less. The other thing that I found that REALLY helped is before I go to public places or outing to where I know I'm going to meet people is facial exercises and vocal warm ups (you can do them in the car or in the bathroom so no one sees). It may sound silly but since we get tense and nervous in social situations the same techniques they use for public speaking help to relax the facial muscles and over time my twinges became less frequent. If you look up vocal warm ups for public speaking on youtube there is a lady that has a bunch of videos..... and if all else fails, fake cough when its time to smile and excuse yourself, It will get better over time =D hope this helps!


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## Silverella

Yeah, my face fets all tense and rubbery too...I made a concerted effort to stop it but then I worry I come off looking expressionless.


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## livinlifeasbestIcan

*Shrooms& Anxiety*

I understand what your going through but my symptoms were brought on by myself. I took shrooms over two years ago in school and I had a panic attack and left the class. Ever since then my face smile twitches when I smile and I feel shaky when I lift heavy objects and my hands are always sweaty. I wish I Knew a way to get over this because before I didn't have a problem with being infront of alot of people but now I feel like I can't do any of that. Just stay postive and someday it will get better. It has been two years with some change. But no where near the same. If anyone has any suggestions I would really appreciate them.


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## mezzoforte

pariscommune said:


> Hi everyone. I'm really really desperate in finding a solution. This problem of mine has completely ruined my social life and my entire existence..
> 
> My face twitches after I smile for a while, and because I don't want people to see that, during social situations my face just FREEZES up and I can just FEEL my face starting to twitch if I started to smile. It also happens during situations where I know I HAVE to smile, like if someone makes a joke or when I'm being introduced to someone...I just get paralyzed by the fear of my face twitching and I just freeze up... I've conditioned myself, it seems, to associate smiling with a negative feeling and the twitching and the anxiety just gets worse and worse...can someone PLEASE let me know of a solution. I really really would appreciate it if someone could post a solution for this problem instead of just reposting the same problem over and over on this page. thanks guys..


I have the EXACT same problem. It sucks.


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## MGPElectricGuitar

pariscommune said:


> Hi everyone. I'm really really desperate in finding a solution. This problem of mine has completely ruined my social life and my entire existence..
> 
> My face twitches after I smile for a while, and because I don't want people to see that, during social situations my face just FREEZES up and I can just FEEL my face starting to twitch if I started to smile. It also happens during situations where I know I HAVE to smile, like if someone makes a joke or when I'm being introduced to someone...I just get paralyzed by the fear of my face twitching and I just freeze up... I've conditioned myself, it seems, to associate smiling with a negative feeling and the twitching and the anxiety just gets worse and worse...can someone PLEASE let me know of a solution. I really really would appreciate it if someone could post a solution for this problem instead of just reposting the same problem over and over on this page. thanks guys..


Same thing here man. That is the worst part of my SA! Help is appreciated if you have any solutions!


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## Mae West

In my own experience consistent exposure helps with "inauthentic behaviors" like too much smiling. If I stay active and engaged I tend to act more natural and have less time to think and become anxious.


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## sansd

I haven't gotten this (the twitching) for a few years. I think it's mostly because I get less anxious than I used to, but someone mentioned magnesium supplements, and it's possible these may have helped, too (although I think the twitching stopped before I started taking them). Since I started taking magnesium, I have had very little twitching of any kind, a lot less hypnic jerking, and also none of the sudden, very painful calf cramps I used to get in the middle of the night (which were the main reason I decided to try it). I do still sometimes get sort of frozen smiles I can't get rid of, but at least they don't twitch.


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## Secretly Pretentious

This only really happens to me if I'm smiling for a photo. It feels like it takes the photographer forever to finally snap the picture. Having pictures taken of me is like torture.


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## thomas014

exact same symptoms i have....once again no solution but looking for things to help so bumping to the top


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## Unexist

Uggghh the same thing happened to me in the past when I was really nervous, I remember I was asking this girl to the formal, and it just started happening uncontrollably It was probably one of the most embarrassing things ever. It rarely happens now but I find myself blushing like really bad for like 2 minutes straight when I'm really nervous or anxious too, which seems like succcchhhh a long time, especially when it feels like an hour when you blush normally, so it just feels like its never goin to stop :/


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## adama

I've been searching for a forum that describes my symptoms for years and by the number of replies to this 'frozen smile' it looks like we're certainly not alone.

After suffering SA since my teenage years, the main issue for the last 15 years has been this frozen muscle in my lower left hand eye whenever I smile. I've used smiling to hide my anxiety since I was about 15, but because I did this in EVERY social situation I was in, I've now inadvertently 'trained' my eye to lock up or freeze in an unnatural way when I'm feeling even remotely anxious.

When rubbing my lower left eye muscle I can feel & hear a 'liquidy' squelchy sound as I try to massage it back and make it behave! My right eye does not have any such fluid like sounds when rubbing it.

It completely pulls the carpet underneath me when meeting people or talking in social situations and usually results in most people rubbing their own lower eye in response to my eyelid kind of locking up when talking to them.

I feel like screaming - "It's not you...It's ME and I can't help it!!"

Even more frustrating is there's no inbetween. I can't half smile - it's either all or nothing. I'm a naturally friendly person who is sincere and actually enjoys the challenge of making people smile. It comes in handy in helping people in an IT support function, but it is just so awkward, deflating and confidence shattering.

I feel a lot more at ease talking to people on a serious note or anything that doesn't involve smiling or laughing, as I can talk with confidence. 

I've tried Botox on 3 occasions but found it had too much of a negative effect and did not allow my eye muscle to 'smile' at all. I would really have to squint my eye almost shut in order to make the eye smile at the same time as my mouth!

I might try the mirror practice and focus on trying to half smile so I can find some sort of inbetween. It's difficult as my social anxiety dictates that the problem will not occur unless there is someone else around other than my wife.

I'm sorry for the long post, but it's somehow relieving to find others with this problem. At time I feel like looking up eye surgery or getting a doctor to drain this fluid I can feel around the muscle.

I guess we've got to treat the cause not the effect...


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## sunflowerskins

Wow. It's great to realize that I'm not alone in something I thought was just some random problem I had when talking to specific people. I guess it's more about where I'm holding the tension in my body. The main issue I usually have to deal is that I don't exactly know what to do with my mouth. It's feels almost silly; when I'm not talking, just listening, I have trouble just holding my face still, especially my lips. It's like I'm almost quivering above a smile, and the more I notice it, the worse it gets.

Thanks, friends, for the facial exercises and warm-up ideas; I'll put them into practice next time I feel the social situation requires it--probably soon.


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## notna

I hate it, I get in the eyebrow muscles :\


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## itsjustin

I twitch the left side of my face, and sometimes open my eyes a little wider than they should be, but neither lasts for more than one second. It's so annoying. I do this when I'm alone and around people.


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## js2595

*Yes! I know!*

I get the same problem with the twitching. It's almost always in my mouth. I don't get it while talking to all people- it's usually when I see someone I haven't seen in a while or someone I don't know too well who I haven't seen in a while. It's the worst when the person acts really excited or surprised to see me. When there's a level of intensity, I get uptight .Alcohol helps alot. I don't have a problem with my social anxiety at all after a couple drinks.

I also get the twitching thing when I'm getting my picture taken and I'm expected to smile, especially for several pictures. The longer I'm expected to hold a smile, the more uptight I feel, and my mouth twitches. That never looks good in the picture, lol. I always have a weird, half, fake-looking smile when I feel this way.

It's so comforting to see so many people have the same strange problem I do!


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## nepaliboy

Corw said:


> Mine has stopped for a while just automatically , but it had stopped before and then returned again , what i found helpful was to chew gum in social situations and it really covered my twitches , once you feel you are about to start twitching then chew faster then nobody could actually see that your mouth is twitching


:clap:clap i do the same


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## thelonelyloner

Hey man. Try EFT. http://www.garythink.com/eft/


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## johnlock

I've had this problem for about 6 years now, but off and on. It happend once when I was 15 and I met my new neighbours (cute girls next door) then again when I was 17 and came home to visit friends after not seeing them for a year. It didnt happen again until I was 20 and it really got bad. Im now 22 and this is driving me crazy. But I think I may have found a solution...

I found a website where you pay $60 to ask a question to a professional, so I asked a neurologist about this problem. He said its called Ephaptic Transmission, and its when the protective coating around your nerves wear thin and they touch each other and the nerve signals transfer between nerves, kind of like an electric shock. He told me there wasnt much I could do besides facial stretchs, botox, anxiety meds and he even suggested tonic water with the ingredient quinine since quinine is used to relax muscles. I drank a 12 pack and didnt notice any difference. But then I did more research and found out there are ways to thicken your nerve coatings (called myelin sheath) there are even supplements called mylein sheath growth (or something like that) thats meant to thicken it. I only found it online and havent tried it yet. I read that omega 3 fatty acids such as flax seed oil and evening primrose oil can thicken it. and B12 vitamins and vatamin D helps too.

They say it takes about 4 months to see a difference and 1 year to make a full recovery, Ive been taking omega 3-6-9, evening primrose oil, vitamin D, vitamin B12, B complex and magnesium for about 2 months and havent seen a difference yet. 

I dont know if this is the solution but its hope.

I also read on another thread that someone cured themselfs of this problem by taking high amounts of magnesium, they said 1200mg a day fixed it almost instantly. i read this 2 days ago and started doubling my dose since. But you have to be careful you dont take too much.

Hope this helps, please let us all know if you have any suggestions for this problem.


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## Juan123

Hi everyone,

I thought I'd google 'panic smile mouth fear social' - and this forum thread came up. Reading the posts, it's exactly the same thing that has made my life such a misery, so I thought I'd sign up and share my experience.

I first discovered I had this problem in school when I was required to give a presentation. I've always been a nervous person and when I stood up in front of everyone and started it, I thought I had it all under control.

It went reasonably ok. I reached the end of the talk, my heart was pumping ten to the dozen, and the teacher started discussing the subject with me in front of the class while I was still stood up and I handled that ok too, I thought - but then something happened that I couldn't handle. The conversation became jokey.

The teacher made a quip, and I did what I'd done countless times before when I've been too nervous to smile naturally - I faked it. They say you can always tell in someone's eyes if their smile is fake. It wasn't too much of a problem in this instance because I figured people couldn't spot it from this distance. But still, it took effort. The other giveaway is how quickly the smile vanishes from the face, and I was conscious of that.

The teacher had a reputation as being a bit of an aggressive guy - not physically but mentally. A very smart, very domineering man. And he started laughing and cracking jokes at my expense - banter I suppose most people would call it. To my horror I found that I was too anxious to be able to smile properly. 

This was awful because I was desperate for people to not think that I was arrogant and couldn't laugh at myself - so with 50 students all watching, I tried to smile again, and suddenly one side of my face (from the corner of the mouth up to my eye) twitched so violently and unexpectedly that it stunned me. I don't mean a single twitch. I mean it started twitching and kept doing it, and wouldn't stop. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Everyone was sat there watching me, with looks of either bemusement or extreme pity on their faces, some openly laughing. 

I knew I couldn't possibly just run out of the room without making it worse, so I forced myself to stay stood there, twitching like a sad pathetic crazy thing, trying harder to smile with them, and twitching more violently as a result. The ******* of a teacher, instead of sensing my discomfort, seemed to ramp up the aggression and it just became worse - my whole face was contorting almost like I was having a fit. I really thought I was going to pass out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sheer hell, I was invited to sit back down. I walked to my seat, sat down, and knew that my life had just ended.

Since then, the fear of recurrence has resulted in many awkward moments especially in social situations where banter and humour flies back and forth. I used to have friends who, like most males of a certain age, would show their bonding by ribbing and mocking each other. I know, it's kind of backwards but it's a guy thing isn't it? Anyway often I would be the butt of a concerted mocking episode, and my smile would fail me. I'd be desperate for them not to think I couldn't handle a joke at my expense - but that's how I'd be coming across, like I had no sense of humour. In the end it got so bad that I broke contact and moved away. 

That was over 20 years ago and I have never properly recovered from that school experience. If I could sum up the one recurring emotion in my life now, it's embarrassment. Humiliation. A total inability to ever convey dignity and authority. I feel like a boy in a man's body. And wow has it held me back. Also I now blush at everything - even when I'm by myself I can read something and blush with a kind of empathy of what the person I'm reading about might be feeling. I'm a 40 year old man. It's pathetic. I regularly feel suicidal about what kind of adult I've become.

It might be relevant to mention that both my parents suffer from extreme social anxiety (my mother couldn't even attend my brother's wedding, it's that bad), so in terms of genes and upbringing I suppose I had this stacked against me! My brother is also very shy and introverted but not nearly as bad as me.

This is the first time I've ever recounted that day or this problem to anyone - I've never even told my family, but it changed my life forever. I was one of the brightest people at school and offered a place at the country's top university. My zero confidence led me to reject their offer - I know, madness - and I've been on minimum wage jobs ever since. I'm trying to save up enough money to buy some hypnosis sessions with a therapist, hoping that will help. Positive thinking books are also useful. Mostly I just shun social situations and come alive on the internet where I can appear like a fairly regular normal person. Thank god for the internet.

And thank you for reading.


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## Uffdaa

Talk to a doctor/therapist. 

Not to sound like a snot or anything but that sounds pretty severe and beyond just "uncomfortable". It might not be shyness.


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## Uffdaa

I think when a person is twitching and clenching they are trying to hide/suppress their REAL emotions. That is why the face starts to contort and do weird stuff because you are trying to smile when the real emotion you are having is something other than a smile. 

Just my opinion--that is why I say maybe see a therapist for that.


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## Uffdaa

johnlock said:


> I've had this problem for about 6 years now, but off and on. It happend once when I was 15 and I met my new neighbours (cute girls next door) then again when I was 17 and came home to visit friends after not seeing them for a year. It didnt happen again until I was 20 and it really got bad. Im now 22 and this is driving me crazy. But I think I may have found a solution...
> 
> I found a website where you pay $60 to ask a question to a professional, so I asked a neurologist about this problem. He said its called Ephaptic Transmission, and its when the protective coating around your nerves wear thin and they touch each other and the nerve signals transfer between nerves, kind of like an electric shock. He told me there wasnt much I could do besides facial stretchs, botox, anxiety meds and he even suggested tonic water with the ingredient quinine since quinine is used to relax muscles. I drank a 12 pack and didnt notice any difference. But then I did more research and found out there are ways to thicken your nerve coatings (called myelin sheath) there are even supplements called mylein sheath growth (or something like that) thats meant to thicken it. I only found it online and havent tried it yet. I read that omega 3 fatty acids such as flax seed oil and evening primrose oil can thicken it. and B12 vitamins and vatamin D helps too.
> 
> They say it takes about 4 months to see a difference and 1 year to make a full recovery, Ive been taking omega 3-6-9, evening primrose oil, vitamin D, vitamin B12, B complex and magnesium for about 2 months and havent seen a difference yet.
> 
> I dont know if this is the solution but its hope.
> 
> I also read on another thread that someone cured themselfs of this problem by taking high amounts of magnesium, they said 1200mg a day fixed it almost instantly. i read this 2 days ago and started doubling my dose since. But you have to be careful you dont take too much.
> 
> Hope this helps, please let us all know if you have any suggestions for this problem.


? That sounds like Parkinsons Disease you are describing where the myelin sheath around the nerves goes away--that is a serious health concern.

Ephaptic Transmission is not an illness or a problem--it just describes the fact that one nerve sends messages to another nerve.


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## Welp

This happened to me today.

Getting group pictures, everything going fine, having fun. Then it's my turn. I go up and I realize everyone is looking at me. I can do a fake smile, but for whatever reason, it wasn't going well in this instance. My smile started twitching pretty badly. One person said my "smile was shaking." Felt like I had been making progress in overcoming my social anxiety, but now today has taken me back.

I'm not the type of person who seems like they would have social anxiety. I'm quiet, yeah, but I have a job that requires me to speak with people every day. I do that pretty well, I think. But in intimate moments like that, when all eyes are on me, I can't do it.

Anyone else have similar experiences? What do you guys do? Thanks.


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## Juan123

I've seen it evident on the faces of people on TV sometimes - usually normal members of the public who are caught in a TV stunt, at the moment when the 'joke' is revealed, when they realise the cameras are on them, and when the host is laughing and holding a microphone in their face - there's a momentary (and sometimes agonizingly prolonged) smile that looks awkwardly fake - maybe not straight away, but when the 'joke' has outlasted its welcome a little. 

Also when members of an audience are handed the microphone and invited to say something on a discussion show - occasionally you get the odd person who clearly appears out-of-their-depth and in those situations the look of their complete and utter discomfort makes me cringe with recognition.

I've not noticed the smiles twitching but I honestly figure it's a just an extension of that discomfort, a manifestation of (and desire to suppress) a more severe degree of social anxiety/terror. A more sudden and crippling self-consciousness that makes us freeze up. Perhaps some of us are more predisposed to it for physical reasons too - ie. the muscles of our faces make it more likely... but it's possible that's not the case and it's all just about an extreme self-consciousness and desire to mask discomfort, particularly from people who are naturally shy are introverted to begin with.

Oh boy, the human body really knows how to let us down just at the point when we need it to function the most!!


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## Juan123

By the way, I've just re-read my first post which now comes across as too negative and self-pitying - sorry about that. I really shouldn't post last thing at night!

Yes it was as awful as described at the time, and yes it's been a big factor in holding me back from reaching the heights I intended to reach in life. _But life is not that bad_. In fact there are other things that cause more problems. And believe me, you start to build up coping mechanisms.

One thing I started to do was adopt a kind of deadpan response whenever humour was aimed at me. So say I'm with a bunch of work colleagues, it's a social situation, all of us male, we know each other quite well - so the conversation is informal, boisterous, lots of laughing. Now if the group gaze turns to me and if I find myself in a situation where to not share in the group joke at my expense would make me look weirdly arrogant, then I won't even try to smile. I'll try the deadpan approach. A kind of self-deprecating, "well that's VERY nice of you, Bob" with a mock-pi$$ed off face, almost like I'm acting and they know I'm acting.

I used to reach straight for the drinking glass and hide behind a slurp of drink in days gone by - but I think that was probably a more obvious mask, and it seemed to make it harder to emerge from the glass feeling anything other than more uncomfortable. The magic goal is to keep the focus on the conversation and on them, rather than on how you're coming across.


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## coyote2oo5

**

i didnt realise there were many people having this twitching problem & i thought i was all alone.... i didnt read through all the posts yet but hope there is a non-medicated remedy for this...


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## cali2013

THIS HAPPENS TO ME TOO!

...only when I fake-smile though. Like when I'm posing for a picture and the person is taking foreverrr to take it, my jaw starts to shiver/twitch. I hate it because I'm always afraid it's going to make my smile look weird in the picture.


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## remy6

*The way to the cure*

*SOLUTION​*
(Please I know it's long - If so just skip at the end for solution)
Hello guys, ok I will save you 100$ Ahaha

I am 19 years old, and I noticed the exact same situation that you said.
It is *very* embarrassing. On the top of that I have a student job 
( for 3 years now at a *fast food customer service* - So you could imagine)
The first time I ever noticed that twitch is when I had to took the graduation picture, after it came back this year, when I had a stressful situation with a costumer)

*I am also an actor so I deal with camera and photo shoot so this stress facial tics ( because I want to look good) .

But listen guys here is the part :

We people who do have this facial twitches are very self conscious about what other *think of us* and how I look ect.

(optional : For my personal life, people who were jealous of me called me ugly and other hurtful things but I transform into a bombshell (model/Gym) but I sadly became to self aware about myself)

=========================================================
*
Treatment​*
I then decided to call the college psychologist and talk about it and look what it is :

"People don't care about you. This isn't because people are mean or hurtful, but simply because they are mostly focused on themselves. Consider this hypothetical pie-chart showing the variety of thoughts a typical person has:

In this example, 60% of thoughts are self-directed. My goals. My problems. My feelings. Another 30% are directed towards relationships, but how they affect me. What does Julie think of me? How will boss evaluate my performance in the next review? Do my friends like me or see me as irritating?
*Only 10% in this model is time spent in empathy*. Empathy is the rare event where one person actually feels the emotions, problems and perspective of another person. Instead of asking what Julie thinks of me, I ask what is Julie thinking.
Within that 10%, most people then divide attention between hundreds of other people they know. As a result, you would occupy a fraction of a percentage in most peoples minds, and only a couple percentage points in a deeply bonded relationship.
Even if you are in another persons thoughts, it is how your relationship affects them, not you.

What does this mean?

*Embarrassment doesn't make a lot of sense. Since others are only focusing a small portion of there thoughts onto judging you, your self-judgement is overwhelmingly larger.*










People don't notice this how bad as we do, I have two of my friends who have tourette syndrome , but I don't notice.
People don't notice as bad as we know, they might not even know we have those facial tics.

*TO GET CURED​*
You need to not avoid social situation.You need to go in them
and even if you have your facial twitch* NOT CARE ABOUT IT* ( even do it's hard) because if you care about it it will create anxiety and anxiety and stress start those twitches, so by not worrying about it ( IT WILL HELP A LOT)

And even if you have those nervous twitches during this situation think about this :

- Why does this matter what other people think about my twitch ?
- Why do I care so much of what people think about me ?

People are *VERY SELF CENTERED * people won't even notice those facial twitches because they are *SELF CENTERED ON THEM*

So why care about it ?
Every time I have those breakdown I think about that.
And it helps 

I have another anointment with the psychologist and he will give me other methods so I will share that will you guys later.

*
ALSO *​
I took an appointment at the acupuncture because it help with anxiety and stress = Help facial twitches.

HOPE IT HELP GUY, I LOVE YOU AND STAY STRONG IT WILL HELP


----------



## remy6

Juan123 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I thought I'd google 'panic smile mouth fear social' - and this forum thread came up. Reading the posts, it's exactly the same thing that has made my life such a misery, so I thought I'd sign up and share my experience.
> 
> I first discovered I had this problem in school when I was required to give a presentation. I've always been a nervous person and when I stood up in front of everyone and started it, I thought I had it all under control.
> 
> It went reasonably ok. I reached the end of the talk, my heart was pumping ten to the dozen, and the teacher started discussing the subject with me in front of the class while I was still stood up and I handled that ok too, I thought - but then something happened that I couldn't handle. The conversation became jokey.
> 
> The teacher made a quip, and I did what I'd done countless times before when I've been too nervous to smile naturally - I faked it. They say you can always tell in someone's eyes if their smile is fake. It wasn't too much of a problem in this instance because I figured people couldn't spot it from this distance. But still, it took effort. The other giveaway is how quickly the smile vanishes from the face, and I was conscious of that.
> 
> The teacher had a reputation as being a bit of an aggressive guy - not physically but mentally. A very smart, very domineering man. And he started laughing and cracking jokes at my expense - banter I suppose most people would call it. To my horror I found that I was too anxious to be able to smile properly.
> 
> This was awful because I was desperate for people to not think that I was arrogant and couldn't laugh at myself - so with 50 students all watching, I tried to smile again, and suddenly one side of my face (from the corner of the mouth up to my eye) twitched so violently and unexpectedly that it stunned me. I don't mean a single twitch. I mean it started twitching and kept doing it, and wouldn't stop. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Everyone was sat there watching me, with looks of either bemusement or extreme pity on their faces, some openly laughing.
> 
> I knew I couldn't possibly just run out of the room without making it worse, so I forced myself to stay stood there, twitching like a sad pathetic crazy thing, trying harder to smile with them, and twitching more violently as a result. The ******* of a teacher, instead of sensing my discomfort, seemed to ramp up the aggression and it just became worse - my whole face was contorting almost like I was having a fit. I really thought I was going to pass out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sheer hell, I was invited to sit back down. I walked to my seat, sat down, and knew that my life had just ended.
> 
> Since then, the fear of recurrence has resulted in many awkward moments especially in social situations where banter and humour flies back and forth. I used to have friends who, like most males of a certain age, would show their bonding by ribbing and mocking each other. I know, it's kind of backwards but it's a guy thing isn't it? Anyway often I would be the butt of a concerted mocking episode, and my smile would fail me. I'd be desperate for them not to think I couldn't handle a joke at my expense - but that's how I'd be coming across, like I had no sense of humour. In the end it got so bad that I broke contact and moved away.
> 
> That was over 20 years ago and I have never properly recovered from that school experience. If I could sum up the one recurring emotion in my life now, it's embarrassment. Humiliation. A total inability to ever convey dignity and authority. I feel like a boy in a man's body. And wow has it held me back. Also I now blush at everything - even when I'm by myself I can read something and blush with a kind of empathy of what the person I'm reading about might be feeling. I'm a 40 year old man. It's pathetic. I regularly feel suicidal about what kind of adult I've become.
> 
> It might be relevant to mention that both my parents suffer from extreme social anxiety (my mother couldn't even attend my brother's wedding, it's that bad), so in terms of genes and upbringing I suppose I had this stacked against me! My brother is also very shy and introverted but not nearly as bad as me.
> 
> This is the first time I've ever recounted that day or this problem to anyone - I've never even told my family, but it changed my life forever. I was one of the brightest people at school and offered a place at the country's top university. My zero confidence led me to reject their offer - I know, madness - and I've been on minimum wage jobs ever since. I'm trying to save up enough money to buy some hypnosis sessions with a therapist, hoping that will help. Positive thinking books are also useful. Mostly I just shun social situations and come alive on the internet where I can appear like a fairly regular normal person. Thank god for the internet.
> 
> And thank you for reading.


Seeing your story almost broke my heart.

OK GUY LISTEN.

They are worst things in life, ( as stupid as it is) You need to get over it.
**** happen, don't let this bring you down no more.

SO what you had been humilate ( EVERYONE HAS) no big deal.
Embarrassing yes but they are worst thing in life.
Don't care no more of what people thing.
Be free baby even if you twitch be free it will cure you.

xoxo Good luck


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## johnlock

http://www.socialanxietysupport.com/forum/f25/face-twitches-when-smile-476666/

That's the thread that explains how I got cured. I had the twitchy smile when I was nervous allll the time.


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## Venom007

Even I am having the same problem..my face freezes or resists my smiling and I have to fake a smile..
I also get headaches, dizziness and panic attacks and recently I have started going to CBT( Cognitive behaviour therapist)..he told me one technique and tht really reduces anxiety..

Imagine the event in future that makes you anxious( for eg..friends laughing at you)
Imagine the event appearing below you and you are safe up watching it..
After sm time..start turning away from the event and look at your present situation.
Look back to the "possible future" event and imagine it has resolved..you are happy.."

If you are around people and you get thoughts like people looking at you..go 15min into the future and think that everybody knows you and is greeting you..

Practice this..it really helps..


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## young gifted

*The Solution... Muscles*

im not the type of guy to ever write stuff in forums or anything, not going to lie i think its quite gay, but i struggled from this problem too and seeing people talk about taking drugs (including alcohol) just to sort out a problem is complete ***** ****. havent you lot ever stopped to wonder rather than this being a mental problem it is physical. your face has muscles in it too. i came across 



 and realised she had part of the answer. just like the other parts of your body your face has muscles. your face is twitching because your face muscles are weak. train your smile at home just as if it were your biceps and you will see. thank me later. and man up! loool


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## NICHC

*Please read!*

I engage in a conversation.
My hands begin to sweat. 
My face starts to feel uncomfortably hot. 
I forcefully contort my mouth into a smile but my cheeks/lips start twitching.
My twitching causes a strangely familiar self consciousness which freezes my entire face.
My eyes begin to slightly water. 
I can no longer give proper eye contact with the person of interest.

Seem familiar? This is the layout of most of my social interactions, it happens so often that I have it down to a science. While I do not have the solution, I have a few answers:

Why do I have "face twitch"? 
Because somewhere in your life, you were pushed far beyond your comfort zone, and at the time, this was your method of coping.

Why do I still have it? 
Because throughout the years, you have developed an unhealthy complex of self consciousness by trying so hard to not think about it, that it is all you think about.

How can I get rid of it?
Imagine the "face twitch syndrome" as a spoiled child in the back seat of your car. You have been indulging this child for years, by avoiding social interactions, and trying to find temporary alternative solutions instead of hitting the problem head on. Are you going to keep indulging this child because you don't want to confront it? Or are you going to start teaching this child to respect you? In my opinion, no amount of alcohol, magnesium, or botox injections will solve your facial twitch problems. It is like paying off your credit card debt with another credit card. It is only a temporary fix which replaces one dependency with another. The grand solution to such a difficult problem can only be solved by diligence, discipline, and the knowledge of knowing that no life long change happens instantaneously. 
Like any other skill in life, I believe that confidence, as well as the art of social interaction can be learned as well as re-learned. You developed this "face twitch" syndrome by being pushed far beyond your comfort zone; therefore you can fix it the same way. Put yourself out there, go forth and face these twitches no matter how weird it feels. Practice makes perfect, because no skill in life comes naturally.

Tips:
-When you feel nervous, visualize who you are, and who they are, and realize the simplicity of the conversation you are having. (i.e You're in a group with your friends and a some people you don't know, the conversation is all about inside jokes which you do not understand. You force a laugh, then a smile, then you start to get nervous because it feels like everyone is looking at yo.. STOP RIGHT THERE. Realize that you are a human being communicating to other human beings in a group. They are no different from you. They have to wake up every morning like you do, they have to eat food to survive like you do, and they all have to poop occasionally like you do.)
-Excuse yourself from the premises and go to a secluded area, give yourself a pep talk and calm your nerves. (i.e You're at a large social function, and people begin to talk to you. All of a sudden, you feel the nerves coming on and... STOP RIGHT THERE. Say you must excuse yourself to use the restroom. Look at yourself in the mirror and CALM DOWN, then, get back out there and unleash the charismatic beast within.)
-Tell a close friend about your facial twitch condition and have them practice talking to you. When you talk to them, practice intently listening to what they say and practice remaining completely calm. Since you can't FORCE YOURSELF to not twitch, force yourself to listen to the person's words, and your facial expressions will inherently follow (with no twitches!). At first, you might slip up because you will think, "Oh my word, I'm actually doing it!" and then you'll over think it and mess up, but that's where persistence comes in, because practice makes perfect.


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## mezzoforte

It doesn't happen to me anymore, but it used to a lot in high school. It would just make me feel even more self-conscious and nervous.


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## Robert777

Hi, the answer to this is total acceptance of the situation you fear, in this case, people noticing the twitch. It is paradoxical, by you trying to stop this happening, you are in fact making it happen. We need to do the opposite of what we have been doing. That which you resist, persists. Make peace with people noticing the twitch and turn the tables on your negative beliefs about what people will think. Example, "It's not the end of the world", "Who cares", "So what if my face twitches" You can make your own ones. Keep repeating these phrases to yourself and it will lessen the anxiety and eventually, you won't even care and only then will it go away. I suffered very bad eye twitches so I know the distress it can cause. Take care.


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## Robert777

The best source of help for these things imo can be found here,

https://socialanxietyinstitute.org/

You buy audio cbt tapes. I have bought most of the programs for sad and this is by far the best. It's well worth the money. And they will go into far greater detail in regards my previous post on the techniques you can use to overcome such things. We need all the help we can get when dealing with a problem as severe as sad.


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## varun

*Exactly the same problem*

Anybody got any cure ? This has ruined my social life. 
I see many people here saying that its all in the mind and that if don't pay attention to it, it would go away. To all such people, I have tried everything but in vain. I am sure that this is some sort of medical condition. I am desperate for a solution. I visited a psychiatrist and he suggested some behavioral conditioning therapy. But I think its the neurologist that we need and not the psychiatrist.

Check out the following link :


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## ptuh

*Smile Solution!*

I found a solution. So I've had this problem for a bit, I would always have a fake, twitchy smile whenever I presented in front of my classroom. I was too lazy to find out why I had this problem .. but today when I checked out why in the mirror, I found the cause. For me, it's mainly because I don't smile all the way. I have to problem smiling 100%, but if it's forced and halfway, my muscles have less control and they start twitching. Not sure if this is the cause for everyone, but I found just smiling 100% works, don't smile less than 100% or you'll start twitching


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## Juan123

ptuh said:


> I found a solution. So I've had this problem for a bit, I would always have a fake, twitchy smile whenever I presented in front of my classroom. I was too lazy to find out why I had this problem .. but today when I checked out why in the mirror, I found the cause. For me, it's mainly because I don't smile all the way. I have to problem smiling 100%, but if it's forced and halfway, my muscles have less control and they start twitching. Not sure if this is the cause for everyone, but I found just smiling 100% works, don't smile less than 100% or you'll start twitching


I'm glad this works for you. Interestingly I have found the best course of action to be the opposite of what you suggest!  Personally I would encourage people to NOT feel that they have to smile widely when they feel uncomfortable. When you do that, you're pushing your face outside its comfort zone at just the moment you're feeling psychologically uncomfortable, which is likely to resort in twitches or a very odd grimace. Instead I suggest going down the more restrained smile route - just a wry smile, almost more with your eyes than your mouth if you know what I mean.

Feeling that you have to over-smile is a classic sign of someone who is passive and insecure or desperate to appease a more dominant person or a potentially threatening situation such as a big audience, and can actually make you look even more nervous.


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## surya

I am so happy to know that i am not the only one in this world who is suffering from this mental torture..

I just want to know if this is a mental problem or a physical problem...because when i drink alcohol my mind stops thinking and i don't face these problems.. 

I want to ask few doubts to all of you people who are suffering from this problem....so that we know if we have any doubts in common..

1) I got FITS disease (related to nerves) when i was a kid..

2) Not just my cheeks but even my hands and legs also shiver at times..

3) I have eyesight from many years but not using spectacles

4) I look in the mirror for a long time

5) I face this problem when i am with empty stomach

6) I face this problem when i meet any new person..or a friend after a long gap..

if any of you have same doubts and facing this problem in same situations please post your experiences so that we can try to find a solution for this problem..


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## 7th.Streeter

I experienced this not too long ago, my head would jerk ect.. and the only thing that helped me was prayer.

When I prayed it stopped instantly.


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## 7th.Streeter

I agree with remy6 , all the twitching, for some..is psychosomatic. Like how you can make yourself sick by worrying, you can literally give yourself stomach cramps,headaches,migranes and vomit..as well as pass out ... all on your own.


But the minute you distract yourself or busy yourself..and not think abt it, it all goes away.
Atleast for me.


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## mezzoforte

This just happened to me when I went to my nephew's birthday party. Some family and my sister's friends came up to talk to me and I tried to smile and talk normally, but my cheeks would twitch when I'd smile. Because I was so uncomfortable I guess. Not fun.


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## Colinterrell

Sorry for the long post but i think it could be beneficial. I work as a ticket agent so i'm constantly dealing with people every 10 seconds. This is hell because i have SAD. My job requires me to smile and be polite to every customer. When i first started working there 4 years ago i could smile at pretty much everybody. I also felt attractive and my self esteem was higher back then. Mostly because girls would smile back and sometimes flirt. 

Over the past 2 years I've been getting a lot of customers who would give me dirty looks or not say thank you. Partly because i got comfortable with the job. And my relaxed face is sad/pouty. (resting ***** face i think is the term). Which means i probably shouldn't be in customer service. Anyways, this was very different from when i first started the job and i took the customer feedback very personally. This effected my self esteem. Soon enough i started to feel ugly and thought i looked ugly. I thought i was only attractive when i smiled so i tried to smile all the time even though it felt fake. Over the past year I''ve been getting jaw/cheek pain that my dentist thought was because i could be grinding my teeth. That was not the case. I along with you am holding tension in my jaw subconsciously. Every social situation I am in or even leading up the it, i get tension/pain in my jaw muscles. This makes my smiles seem unnatural and forced. I can no longer use it to hide my anxiety. I'm currently on stress leave trying to figure this out. I notice at home when I'm not thinking about stressful events or just losing myself in a movie/video game the pain disappears and i can smile naturally. What I am going to do and what i think all of you should do is:

- stop caring about how you look
- put your focus outside of yourself
- progressive muscle relaxation
- natural anxiety remedies. (i take St johns wort which takes the edge off a bit)
- meditation
- hobbies ( important to get you're mind off yourself)
- eating healthy and exercising regularly. (I also take B12 vitamins, D vitamins, and have healthy smoothies almost every day. (Flaxseed, hemp hearts, kale, other superfoods)
- attacking your fear ( for most of us, social situations )
- CBT 
- Writing down your negative thoughts and countering them 
- Write down things to look forward to in social situations
- Write down you're own unique tactics to deal with your SAD
- muscle relaxants such as Aleve helped me as well. 

After some time doing these steps, the results will SHOW ON YOUR FACE. People will see you're relaxed. Even just a slight smile can do wonders on what people think of you. The more you think about your tension and your smile freezing and what people think of you, the worse it will get. Stop giving a ****! I will post back a few months from now after I've returned to work and tell you how it goes. But i'm confident i'll see some improvement. Please let me know your opinion.


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## goldengirl90

*smiling*

this smiling condition or face twitching is based on social phobia disorder (SAD)

I have the same problem some days its worse than others
how to overcome it and i find this really helps

1...get rid of those negative thoughts...depressive thought etc....nuthing is as bad as it seems
if your face is twitching in a social situation who cares....friends, family people that know and love you wont give a s***

2....exercise regurly(cant spell ha) get those feel good endorphins pumped through your body and that heart beat increased....the brain needs these endorphins to develop new happy cells in the brain and nerve endings and eventually this will start to develop a new way of thinking

3.....practice practice practice........practice smiling in the mirror........... practice it while driving the car..actully maybe not while driving :b:b if you meet a stranger just give them a quick smile before returning to your original face.......

4....for those of you with panic attacks aswell which i suffer from ....dont fear them...if its going happen ...its going to happen....there are millions in the world that cant smile ...have panic disorder.....but we have to learn to stop dwelling on it.....we are not alone at all.....and if someone doesnt like us for who we are well then who cares...its how you have to think.....focusing on the negative will only feed the condition....
Its a big lovely world and we only get one shot at it.............so get rid of those negatives thoughts............train your brain............it will take some time but it can be done.......im still training mine and like i said good days will come bad days will come.....you just have to keep pushing forward.....focus on the here and now thats the only part that matters at the moment.

hope ive helped somewhat....apart from all my rambling
:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap:clap


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## sas86

Juan123 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I thought I'd google 'panic smile mouth fear social' - and this forum thread came up. Reading the posts, it is exactly the same thing that has made my life such a misery, so I thought I'd sign up and share my experience.
> 
> I first discovered I had this problem in school when I was required to give a presentation. I have always been a nervous person and when I stood up in front of everyone and started it, I thought I had it all under control.
> 
> It went reasonably ok. I reached the end of the talk, my heart was pumping ten to the dozen, and the teacher started discussing the subject with me in front of the class while I was still stood up and I handled that ok too, I thought - but then something happened that I couldn't handle. The conversation became jokey.
> 
> The teacher made a quip, and I did what I'd done countless times before when I've been too nervous to smile naturally - I faked it. They say you can always tell in someone's eyes if their smile is fake. It wasn't too much of a problem in this instance because I figured people couldn't spot it from this distance. But still, it took effort. The other giveaway is how quickly the smile vanishes from the face, and I was conscious of that.
> 
> The teacher had a reputation as being a bit of an aggressive guy - not physically but mentally. A very smart, very domineering man. And he started laughing and cracking jokes at my expense - banter I suppose most people would call it. To my horror, I found that I was too anxious to be able to smile properly.
> 
> This was awful because I was desperate for people to not think that I was arrogant and couldn't laugh at myself - so with 50 students all watching, I tried to smile again, and suddenly one side of my face (from the corner of the mouth up to my eye) twitched so violently and unexpectedly that it stunned me. I don't mean a single twitch. I mean it started twitching and kept doing it, and wouldn't stop. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Everyone was sat there watching me, with looks of either bemusement or extreme pity on their faces, some openly laughing.
> 
> I knew I couldn't possibly just run out of the room without making it worse, so I forced myself to stay stood there, twitching like a sad pathetic crazy thing, trying harder to smile with them, and twitching more violently as a result. The teacher, instead of sensing my discomfort, seemed to ramp up the aggression and it just became worse - my whole face was contorting almost like I was having a fit. I really thought I was going to pass out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sheer hell, I was invited to sit back down. I walked to my seat, sat down, and knew that my life had just ended.
> 
> Since then, the fear of recurrence has resulted in many awkward moments especially in social situations where banter and humor flies back and forth. I used to have friends who, like most males of a certain age, would show their bonding by ribbing and mocking each other. I know, it's kind of backwards but it's a guy thing isn't it? Anyway often I would be the butt of a concerted mocking episode, and my smile would fail me. I'd be desperate for them not to think I couldn't handle a joke at my expense - but that's how I'd be coming across, like I had no sense of humor. In the end, it got so bad that I broke contact and moved away.
> 
> That was over 20 years ago and I have never properly recovered from that school experience. If I could sum up the one recurring emotion in my life now, it's embarrassment, humiliation, a total inability to ever convey dignity and authority. I feel like a boy in a man's body. And wow has it held me back. Also I now blush at everything - even when I'm by myself I can read something and blush with a kind of empathy of what the person I'm reading about might be feeling. I'm a 40 year old man. It's pathetic. I regularly feel suicidal about what kind of adult I've become.
> 
> It might be relevant to mention that both my parents suffer from extreme social anxiety (my mother couldn't even attend my brother's wedding, it's that bad), so in terms of genes and upbringing I suppose I had this stacked against me! My brother is also very shy and introverted but not nearly as bad as me.
> 
> This is the first time I've ever recounted that day or this problem to anyone - I've never even told my family, but it changed my life forever. I was one of the brightest people at school and offered a place at the country's top university. My zero confidence led me to reject their offer - I know, madness - and I've been on minimum wage jobs ever since. I'm trying to save up enough money to buy some hypnosis sessions with a therapist, hoping that will help. Positive thinking books are also useful. Mostly I just shun social situations and come alive on the internet where I can appear like a fairly regular normal person. Thank god for the internet.
> 
> And thank you for reading.


Hi Juan,
I was reading your story, and I felt like it was me writing about my first experience with SAD. The exact same thing with almost every single detail happened to me when I was 17 years old in high school. Since then, my life changed to the worse. I am now 29 years old, and I feel like you said, a little shy girl in the body of a woman. That incident that happened to me 12 years ago made my life miserable. I am suffering with the same situation almost every day of my life until today. Not only in presentations ( I avoided many of them), but also in other situations, like social meetings or even with some people or with one individual, no matter if I knew them before or just meet them for the first time. When I thought about the causes of my SAD, I realized that it was because of my parents, especially my father. First of all, I grew up seeing my father beating my mother like a monster, threatening to kill her, himself and us, and insulting her with bad words and swearing almost all the time when he is home or outside, no matter what neighbors or people would think about that. When my dad was beating my mom, this happened mostly in front of me, because my elder sister was living most of the time with my grandma, and my younger siblings were either too young (they were sleeping when that happened), or they were not born yet). I witnessed a lot of disputes and domestic violence against my mother. This left me with a phobia of screaming and dark. In school, when I was a child, I always tried to hide this sad part of my life, feeling the fear of being embarrassed or ashamed if someone ever discovered that part of my life, and I was pretending that I had a nice family who is living in harmony. The changing point was during my adolescence, I have had enough of living the same situation, which was not stable, and I felt neglected by both my parents even though I was a brilliant student and excelled at school. I would say that before turning 16 years old, I was overall somewhat "happy" in my life even with my parents conflicts. However, everything changed one day when I tried to have a discussion with them, and to my surprise, I found that this time they both agreed I was the disobedient daughter who became rebellious and deserved to be punished by not talking to me anymore. I remember that my father even slapped me and hit me with his feet, while my mom was watching and not defending me or saying anything. That day, I ran away from home, I had a little amount of money, and I went from a bus to another. Some buses took me to some places that I have never been before. I was worrying about the time running fast and me not having "a lot of money". I stayed in a park until it was dark and decided to go back home because I was afraid and disoriented. I again took many buses, and called my mom to come pick me up at the bus station because it was dark and I was scared to go alone from there to home. My parents came to pick me up, and they were very mad at me, insulting me, and blaming on me all the way back home. This left me with an extreme sadness and anxiety. I felt that my parents who were in conflict all the time, agreed only when they were against me, both thinking that I was a disobedient bad girl. They forgot and neglected the fact that because of them, I developed many psychological disorders, fears and embarrassments at school, even though they were not really revealed until that incident when i was in high school at the age of 17.


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## sas86

I blame on my father more than I blame on my mother. I think that my mother was kind of oppressed and weak in front of my father. They should have divorced since a long time, but they did not divorce until I turned 19 years old. It was too late. Inside of me I blame on them both, my father more than my mother, but I cannot change the fact that they are my parents, and I try to be nice to them to the best that I can. After high school, I passed the test and was accepted in the medicine college, but I failed twice in the second year because of my unstable life and social anxiety chasing me everywhere. I let everything down and I got married just to escape that life. I thought that marriage and love would help me overcome my problem. I was wrong, I did not take enough time to choose the right person, and I gave birth to my only daughter after the first year of marriage. Now my life is worse, my husband is a nervous man and he gets aggressive when we argue about something. He used to hit me before, but fortunately not in front of my daughter. This caused me depression in addition to the SAD and other anxieties that I already had. Now he is somewhat afraid because he cannot hit me anymore after I told him that I've been talking to a counselor at the college, and that she is encouraging me to be stronger and not let this happen anymore. My daughter is now 6 years old, and I am living only for her. She is the reason why I returned back to school two years ago. She is the reason why I try to survive and overcome my problems. She is the reason why I went to see a psychiatrist and a therapist to help me treat my anxiety and depression. She is the reason why I have to get out of bed and live my bedroom, and cook, and prepare her for school, and take her to play, and to activities and birthday parties and and and... Even though I would rather stay home alone, and not meet people in the fear of them noticing my SAD, my depression, and my sadness. She is the reason why I feel guilty that I cannot have siblings for her. But I rather do that than bring more children to this world who maybe would have the same fate as me. 

Sorry for my long story, but when I found that Juan's post reflected my exact same story with my first real experience with SAD,I felt encouraged to talk, and I could not refrain myself to write my story. I talked to the psychiatrist and to the therapist and explained to them, but I could never describe that first experience like the way Juan did with all those exact same details.

I hope someday we will all overcome our SAD and problems, as the proverbs says “When there is a Hope, there is a Life”.
Peace,
Sara


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## Fuzzycoffeecup

I used to have this problem, but it got better on its own as I got older.

Hopefully this will happen for you, too.


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## EmKae85

Thank you all for your input on this subject...the facial relaxing, focusing on what's really going on instead of myself, and CBT are the best suggestions I've found thus far....I've had this facial trembling in social situations since I was around 12 or 13. The first time it happened I was with close family, my brother in law at the time and I were playing that hand slap game where you hover over a person's hands and wait for them to try to slap them. I love my brother in law and we were having so much fun until the situation was just too overwhelming or stimulating to my nerves or something and my face just froze and started to tremble, my vision became blurry and I just sat there paralyzed while my brother in law was slapping my hands and I couldn't move them...I looked around at other family members and they were just looking at me with a puzzled judging look on their face like WTH is happening to her? My bro in law just got up and walked away and I just there not knowing what to do...it was the most embarrassing thing that has ever happened to me and it has been reoccurring ever since...I'm almost 30 now and it still happens...not often because I'm not often the center of attention in my work or family life but when I am, I completely crumbly, my face trembles, I can't show genuine emotion and I freeze. It is frightening and I feel like it is entirely out of my control and I"ve been fighting this for over half my life and can't figure it out. I know when it started, but don't know why. I constantly think "why me?" I have a great life- except for this. It has crushed my self-esteem and doesn't seem to get any better. I'm fine in one on one personal relationships and friendships with people I know because I'm not nervous with them so I know it's not who I am, but just a symptom of a problem, which seems to help...knowing that I am capable of acting normal and natural, but I am so used to it, that I' have just accepted that this is my struggle in life. I agree with not avoiding social situations. The only way to get better or over it is exposure, exposure, exposure. So I want to do more public or group speaking and get over the paralyzing nerves that have been associated with being the center of attention since that incident 17 years ago. I will continue to post anything I feel is useful for you other sufferers out there, please do the same, we can do this!


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## Leon73

Juan123 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I thought I'd google 'panic smile mouth fear social' - and this forum thread came up. Reading the posts, it's exactly the same thing that has made my life such a misery, so I thought I'd sign up and share my experience.
> 
> I first discovered I had this problem in school when I was required to give a presentation. I've always been a nervous person and when I stood up in front of everyone and started it, I thought I had it all under control.
> 
> It went reasonably ok. I reached the end of the talk, my heart was pumping ten to the dozen, and the teacher started discussing the subject with me in front of the class while I was still stood up and I handled that ok too, I thought - but then something happened that I couldn't handle. The conversation became jokey.
> 
> The teacher made a quip, and I did what I'd done countless times before when I've been too nervous to smile naturally - I faked it. They say you can always tell in someone's eyes if their smile is fake. It wasn't too much of a problem in this instance because I figured people couldn't spot it from this distance. But still, it took effort. The other giveaway is how quickly the smile vanishes from the face, and I was conscious of that.
> 
> The teacher had a reputation as being a bit of an aggressive guy - not physically but mentally. A very smart, very domineering man. And he started laughing and cracking jokes at my expense - banter I suppose most people would call it. To my horror I found that I was too anxious to be able to smile properly.
> 
> This was awful because I was desperate for people to not think that I was arrogant and couldn't laugh at myself - so with 50 students all watching, I tried to smile again, and suddenly one side of my face (from the corner of the mouth up to my eye) twitched so violently and unexpectedly that it stunned me. I don't mean a single twitch. I mean it started twitching and kept doing it, and wouldn't stop. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Everyone was sat there watching me, with looks of either bemusement or extreme pity on their faces, some openly laughing.
> 
> I knew I couldn't possibly just run out of the room without making it worse, so I forced myself to stay stood there, twitching like a sad pathetic crazy thing, trying harder to smile with them, and twitching more violently as a result. The ******* of a teacher, instead of sensing my discomfort, seemed to ramp up the aggression and it just became worse - my whole face was contorting almost like I was having a fit. I really thought I was going to pass out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sheer hell, I was invited to sit back down. I walked to my seat, sat down, and knew that my life had just ended.
> 
> Since then, the fear of recurrence has resulted in many awkward moments especially in social situations where banter and humour flies back and forth. I used to have friends who, like most males of a certain age, would show their bonding by ribbing and mocking each other. I know, it's kind of backwards but it's a guy thing isn't it? Anyway often I would be the butt of a concerted mocking episode, and my smile would fail me. I'd be desperate for them not to think I couldn't handle a joke at my expense - but that's how I'd be coming across, like I had no sense of humour. In the end it got so bad that I broke contact and moved away.
> 
> That was over 20 years ago and I have never properly recovered from that school experience. If I could sum up the one recurring emotion in my life now, it's embarrassment. Humiliation. A total inability to ever convey dignity and authority. I feel like a boy in a man's body. And wow has it held me back. Also I now blush at everything - even when I'm by myself I can read something and blush with a kind of empathy of what the person I'm reading about might be feeling. I'm a 40 year old man. It's pathetic. I regularly feel suicidal about what kind of adult I've become.
> 
> It might be relevant to mention that both my parents suffer from extreme social anxiety (my mother couldn't even attend my brother's wedding, it's that bad), so in terms of genes and upbringing I suppose I had this stacked against me! My brother is also very shy and introverted but not nearly as bad as me.
> 
> This is the first time I've ever recounted that day or this problem to anyone - I've never even told my family, but it changed my life forever. I was one of the brightest people at school and offered a place at the country's top university. My zero confidence led me to reject their offer - I know, madness - and I've been on minimum wage jobs ever since. I'm trying to save up enough money to buy some hypnosis sessions with a therapist, hoping that will help. Positive thinking books are also useful. Mostly I just shun social situations and come alive on the internet where I can appear like a fairly regular normal person. Thank god for the internet.
> 
> And thank you for reading.


_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Leon73

I have same kinda thing Juan.....it's held me back in life hugely got it first when I was about 16 I'm 42 now so had it almost all my life
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## lonerroom

pariscommune said:


> Hi everyone. I'm really really desperate in finding a solution. This problem of mine has completely ruined my social life and my entire existence..
> 
> My face twitches after I smile for a while, and because I don't want people to see that, during social situations my face just FREEZES up and I can just FEEL my face starting to twitch if I started to smile. It also happens during situations where I know I HAVE to smile, like if someone makes a joke or when I'm being introduced to someone...I just get paralyzed by the fear of my face twitching and I just freeze up... I've conditioned myself, it seems, to associate smiling with a negative feeling and the twitching and the anxiety just gets worse and worse...can someone PLEASE let me know of a solution. I really really would appreciate it if someone could post a solution for this problem instead of just reposting the same problem over and over on this page. thanks guys..


I don't know what to tell you I also have issues with smiling. One time I tried to smile and I looked like the Wednesday Addams did when she was asked to smile at Summer Camp, so I don't smile, ever.


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## Leon73

I'm glad I found this group....reading your stories and experiences I can relate with as I have never told anyone about my anxiety problems I've mentioned it here and there that I can get bit anxious at times but I have kinda tried to brush it under the carpet not make a big deal about it....I have good great days weeks etc but sometimes a day in work is like surviving a war like scenarios ducking and diving situation's that might trigger it off tiny little everyday conversation's become a nightmare I used to be more out going but this thing has held me back stopped me making more friendships getting better jobs but I'm always trying to beat it sometimes I thought it was gone but then something brings it back I freeze up again face twitches mind goes foggy can't hold a thought I think if someone even asked me my name while I'm like this I wouldn't be able to tell them lol seriously... I'm going to try magnesium and a thing called ashwagandha herbal tablets for anxiety for stress read some good things about I'll see if they make me feel less anxious...
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## varun

Hi guys
I wont waste time describing the problem. It is exactly same as yours. I think the following solution can work. I know it is really hard but this is the only way out. Else, we will have to live this way rest of our lives.

Before the solution, this problem happens to me in following cases:
1. When I am anxious/nervous.
2. When I m too excited ( like when I play a contest and I win and people gather around to cheer and congratulate)
3. When I am very very angry.

Solution:
1. Talk to yourself while looking eye to eye in the mirror. This seems to be helping me in overcoming my anxiety and nervousness.
2. Go in the public, talk as much as possible. Your lips will twitch, but dont run away, dont give up, let the other person see that u r freaking out, but just stay, face it, stay till it stops. If it doesnt stop, let it be. I know you will lose face and the other person will think what a freak you are. But I guess this is the only solution coz medical help is too costly.
3. Try yoga, it will help.

Solution points 1 and 2 are very very very important. There is no way out but this. 

Initially, the people you will talk to will see you freaking out and would probably not want to talk to you anymore. But let it be. Your purpose is not to make relationships with those people, but just to improve yourself. So dont care about those people. Think of the people you will meet in future. You may ruin your respect before 1000(lets say) people while trying this initially, but once you improve, everybody you meet will be a fan of yours. Just try it. 

And REMEMBER, you have no other option than trying.


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## Aksban

Hey people,Any chance of online meetups or whatsapp groups or facebook?
Very necessary for me.
Lonely world here........Please help.
anyone from india pune?


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## Professorofstupidity

Hi I'm a 32 year old male and have been suffering from social anxiety since I left school. In particular, just like many of you, I find it nearly impossible to smile without my face twitching, especially in front of camera. I'm sure it's a mental problem, which then turns into a physical response. The connection between mind and body is immense.

I'm just wondering, did any of you notice this twitching when smiling problem get worse after having acne treatment or some type of antibiotics? I can trace the beginning of my problem back to when I came off accutane (as well as other problems), although it could be a coincidence.

I've also noticed that if I don't eat for a long period of time or if I have a lot of sugar in one hit, the anxiety gets worse. So my blood sugar levels going up and down seem to play havoc with anxiety. Also being in a hot room, particularly with central heating exasperate the twitching problem bigtime.

So talking in front of a group of people in a heated room/environment after I've had any kind of sugar = HELL ON EARTH!!

It's been good to read other people's experience with this, and I'm sure we all feel a tad better than we're not alone with this problem.


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## Saima

Hii everyone...i want to give u a solution to this problem...but first of all u need to find the root cause of ur problem....we know we do self negative talk...in our mind...that..makes us nervous...by repeating negative thoughts again and again...we make our subconscious mind store that negative thoughts..habitually....and thus panic attacks occur....and we feel anxiety and smile twitching....the solution is...analyse ur thoughts and change ur negative thoughts... into positive or balanced thoughts...repeatedly..initially....it will take time..we should have patience.By repeating..positive thoughts...it makes our subconscious mind...positive...and thus we act...positively....and u will feel no anxiety and no face twitching.we should not allow negative thoughts to empower over us...instead we should give positive instructions to our mind.


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## mrdundee

Hey, Ive been getting this thing lately when im talking to someone or people and they make a joke and are laughing, or theyre asking me a funny question, I cant really laugh i try to smile but my mouth freezers up and my lips twitch. its doing my head in, i really need help as its stuffing my life up.


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## rmcginn49670

*Empathising, also have anxious facial twitching*



Juan123 said:


> Hi everyone,
> 
> I thought I'd google 'panic smile mouth fear social' - and this forum thread came up. Reading the posts, it's exactly the same thing that has made my life such a misery, so I thought I'd sign up and share my experience.
> 
> I first discovered I had this problem in school when I was required to give a presentation. I've always been a nervous person and when I stood up in front of everyone and started it, I thought I had it all under control.
> 
> It went reasonably ok. I reached the end of the talk, my heart was pumping ten to the dozen, and the teacher started discussing the subject with me in front of the class while I was still stood up and I handled that ok too, I thought - but then something happened that I couldn't handle. The conversation became jokey.
> 
> The teacher made a quip, and I did what I'd done countless times before when I've been too nervous to smile naturally - I faked it. They say you can always tell in someone's eyes if their smile is fake. It wasn't too much of a problem in this instance because I figured people couldn't spot it from this distance. But still, it took effort. The other giveaway is how quickly the smile vanishes from the face, and I was conscious of that.
> 
> The teacher had a reputation as being a bit of an aggressive guy - not physically but mentally. A very smart, very domineering man. And he started laughing and cracking jokes at my expense - banter I suppose most people would call it. To my horror I found that I was too anxious to be able to smile properly.
> 
> This was awful because I was desperate for people to not think that I was arrogant and couldn't laugh at myself - so with 50 students all watching, I tried to smile again, and suddenly one side of my face (from the corner of the mouth up to my eye) twitched so violently and unexpectedly that it stunned me. I don't mean a single twitch. I mean it started twitching and kept doing it, and wouldn't stop. It lasted for what felt like minutes. Everyone was sat there watching me, with looks of either bemusement or extreme pity on their faces, some openly laughing.
> 
> I knew I couldn't possibly just run out of the room without making it worse, so I forced myself to stay stood there, twitching like a sad pathetic crazy thing, trying harder to smile with them, and twitching more violently as a result. The ******* of a teacher, instead of sensing my discomfort, seemed to ramp up the aggression and it just became worse - my whole face was contorting almost like I was having a fit. I really thought I was going to pass out. Finally, after what felt like an eternity of sheer hell, I was invited to sit back down. I walked to my seat, sat down, and knew that my life had just ended.
> 
> Since then, the fear of recurrence has resulted in many awkward moments especially in social situations where banter and humour flies back and forth. I used to have friends who, like most males of a certain age, would show their bonding by ribbing and mocking each other. I know, it's kind of backwards but it's a guy thing isn't it? Anyway often I would be the butt of a concerted mocking episode, and my smile would fail me. I'd be desperate for them not to think I couldn't handle a joke at my expense - but that's how I'd be coming across, like I had no sense of humour. In the end it got so bad that I broke contact and moved away.
> 
> That was over 20 years ago and I have never properly recovered from that school experience. If I could sum up the one recurring emotion in my life now, it's embarrassment. Humiliation. A total inability to ever convey dignity and authority. I feel like a boy in a man's body. And wow has it held me back. Also I now blush at everything - even when I'm by myself I can read something and blush with a kind of empathy of what the person I'm reading about might be feeling. I'm a 40 year old man. It's pathetic. I regularly feel suicidal about what kind of adult I've become.
> 
> It might be relevant to mention that both my parents suffer from extreme social anxiety (my mother couldn't even attend my brother's wedding, it's that bad), so in terms of genes and upbringing I suppose I had this stacked against me! My brother is also very shy and introverted but not nearly as bad as me.
> 
> This is the first time I've ever recounted that day or this problem to anyone - I've never even told my family, but it changed my life forever. I was one of the brightest people at school and offered a place at the country's top university. My zero confidence led me to reject their offer - I know, madness - and I've been on minimum wage jobs ever since. I'm trying to save up enough money to buy some hypnosis sessions with a therapist, hoping that will help. Positive thinking books are also useful. Mostly I just shun social situations and come alive on the internet where I can appear like a fairly regular normal person. Thank god for the internet.
> 
> And thank you for reading.


I know this was posted like 4 years ago, but oh my god, I am so sorry that teacher traumatised you like that. I was reading and imagining being in your place and I literally don't know what I would have done. 
I have the same problem with facial (mouth) twitching when anxious. 
I really hope you have found some help with this issue.
What I found helped a lot was getting diagnosed with generalised anxiety disorder and being put on beta blockers (80mg slow release capsules), it reduces a lot of my physical symptoms of anxiety such as shaking, trembling, face twitching, blushing, sweating. 
I still struggle with the mouth twitching though (even though it has lessened slightly through meds).
I usually feel the twitch coming on if I'm speaking with someone (particularly one on one), and the conversation turns humorous so I know I'm expected to smile or laugh any second. 
If I could get rid of that, I would be a lot less anxious when socialising as it's what really gets the ball rolling with my other symptoms.

I'm definitly trying the magnesium supplements and will update if they work for me!


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## colbyjacky

*My Hypothesis*

I have this too but I believe it's a muscular issue. Over the past year I have been reading a ton about various chronic issues and am surprised to find that many of them are truly muscular in origin.

But here's the outline of my hypothesis:

1. Humans are AMAZING at mimicking other humans, and, for the most part, we do it unconsciously. This mimicking behavior is psychologically powerful and puts us in sync with the person we are communicating with (and so, for instance, is deliberately used by car salesmen to make buyers feel more comfortable). It also is more likely to occur "when affiliation goals exist" (i.e. meeting someone new or delivering a presentation) than when your are, say, working on a project together.

2. Extroverts and "popular" people smile and move their mouths a LOT more than socially anxious/shy people. If you don't believe me, spend some time watching YouTube videos, and only focus on people's mouths. You'll notice that when extroverts talk, their mouths almost look like they never close and are usually smiling. Also, their faces are generally more expressive - eyebrows go up, winks happen. When shy people talk, their mouths only open up enough to get out the words. It's very remarkable but you have to focus ONLY on the mouths. It's not something that you notice consciously unless your looking for it.

3. Your face is controlled by muscles. Smiling and talking and raising eyebrows and such strengthens those facial muscles on a regular basis. Thus, people who talk and smile a lot more get major facial workouts all day, while shy/socially anxious people who move their facial muscles much less are likely to have weaker facial muscles.

3. When we talk to extroverts and "popular" people, our anxiety makes us really pay attention to the moment, and their faces, and then the instinctual, unconscious mimicking behavior hardwired into all of us kicks in (and kicks in extra hard because of our "affiliation goals"), even though we are not aware of it. As we talk to them, we watch their smiling, mobile mouths and eyebrows and our subconscious tries its best to mimick their faces, but we don't have the facial strength, so our facial muscles do what any muscle does when it is weak and underutilized and is called into a sudden, uncustomary effort - they tremble and twitch.

4. There is an unconscious type of learning that occurs at the bodily level. Muscle memory, if you will. And our body is amazing at this kind of learning, even though we are usually not aware of it. So, the first time this happens, the body reads all the signals, sees the pattern, and commits it to memory. So, the next time you're talking to those people with the mobile facial muscles, your body is even more likely to try to mimick, and more likely to fall into the twitch.

5. Some people have said this doesn't happen with alcohol. Well, alcohol is a muscle relaxant, and that includes relaxing muscles in the face. Same thing with magnesium and beta blockers, which also relax muscles, including facial muscles. And things like mindfulness, or saying the other person is absorbed in themselves - in part, that could make us less focused on our "affiliation goals" as well as on the other persons' faces, and thus dial down the mimicking behavior.

Please test out my hypothesis for yourself:

Go to a mirror and try variations on smiling and see if you can trigger tremors. For instance: (1) try smiling using your lower lip more than your upper lip, (2) try half-smiling, (3) try really focussing on making the edges of your lip curve up, like a cartoon smile, (4) try smiling with your lower jaw slightly more forward than you are accustomed to, (5) try smiling without moving your upper lip, (6) try smiling with your eyebrows up, (7) try smiling with your eyes open wider than normal and looking up, etc. If nothing happens, try all of the above, but go into the smile extremely slowly, holding your face for a few seconds in all the degrees of smile from the very beginning of a lip curl to the giant grin, as if doing it in slow motion. Doing it slowly will tax your facial muscles more.

If you can trigger facial tremors, then it means that your facial muscles are weak from underuse.

Also, weak facial muscles go along with other things, so you might snore or have sleep apnea, or you might have a chin that's not as far forward as you'd like it to be, or you might have TMJ, and you might also have tight neck, back and hip muscles. All of which can be treated through different types of exercises.


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## conejito

I can definitely say that chewing gum or having a drink in hand helps me (I recommend something bottled rather than something with a straw). Drinks work the best but either one helps my muscles relax or at least do something else other than clench or twitch, it's kind of like a distraction, until I have warmed up enough in the situation <3


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## Kazem95

pariscommune said:


> Hi everyone. I'm really really desperate in finding a solution. This problem of mine has completely ruined my social life and my entire existence..
> 
> My face twitches after I smile for a while, and because I don't want people to see that, during social situations my face just FREEZES up and I can just FEEL my face starting to twitch if I started to smile. It also happens during situations where I know I HAVE to smile, like if someone makes a joke or when I'm being introduced to someone...I just get paralyzed by the fear of my face twitching and I just freeze up... I've conditioned myself, it seems, to associate smiling with a negative feeling and the twitching and the anxiety just gets worse and worse...can someone PLEASE let me know of a solution. I really really would appreciate it if someone could post a solution for this problem instead of just reposting the same problem over and over on this page. thanks guys..


Hey bud,

I too have recently discovered this about myself. I do enjoy some social anxiety time to time, really love it when my cheeks start dancin on me too.. I wish I could say it hasn't affected how much I smile but it has. One thing I've come across that helps with the twitchin' as well as my anxiety is flexin' and tightenin' up the abs. Sounds really simple and it is. This way I can re-avert my focus through flexing and releasing some of that dreadful pent up anxiety. If my anxiety increases I flex a little harder, and when my anxiety goes down, I release. Not only does it help me with anxiety and twitchin', but my stomach is stronger at the end of the day. Plus, it's good practice for the beach &#128521;. I've noticed that when my anxiety goes up, i'm barely breathing, if there's even a pulse. As soon as I focus on a long, full and consistent breath I immediately start feeling better.

To get over this anxiety we must first believe it's possible. Then, we must ask ourselves what we are afraid of most; The more honest the questions, the more we realize how irrational most of the answers are and the sooner we can change our old beliefs for healthier new ones. Hope this helps, much love to all

"Take a step back and inhale, we're never given anything in this world that we cannot handle. Be strong, be flexible, remember who you are and who loves you"

-Your friend


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## Haruka

Hi, I have the EXACT same problem with you as well. I avoid photos, talking with people face to face for any longer than 3 seconds, and i can not smile... people look at me and think im grumpy, when im not. So i do try fake laugh/smile a lot but i can feel my face start to twitch and i feel so depressed about it. A guy asked me to the school ball, and i find it difficult to say no, so i said yes. Its next week, and while others seem excited, all i feel is nervousness, worries, anxiousness, about talking with people, making sure my partner wont find me unfriendly or weird, and being able to NOT twitch when photo is taken. I hate my life rn, and because of other problem i have as well including this, i isolated myself from the few friends i used to have, and im currently just alone. Im really glad to know im not alone in this, it really helps. Sorry i personally still havent managed to find an solution to smile without twiching though.


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## Pongowaffle

I do the same thing I realize. Not as much now. After many socializing occasions, I notice my face to be very stiff and tired. A lot of times with a slight headache. That is when I realize I clench my face up when I socialize. I have no idea why. Maybe it is because I am trying to smile. Or put on a subtle grin to look friendly, outgoing and sociable.


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