Smiling is a natural habit. People expect you to smile; it shows that you are calm, pleasant, and friendly.
However, do you find yourself smiling in inappropriate situations like a funeral? Has anyone asked you why you are smiling?
Nervous smiling is a condition that many people suffer from. So, when you find yourself smiling or laughing inappropriately, do not panic.
A nervous smile happens as a result of the involuntary response and is something you can do away with gradually.
This article is about why you might find yourself smiling nervously and how you can control it using hypnosis or self-hypnosis. Read on.
Hypnosis Downloads for Nervous Smiling
Nervous smiling can be an embarrassing reaction, especially when people around you do not understand what you are going through. However, hypnosis downloads for nervous smiling can help you learn what triggers the reaction and retrain your mental commands. When you listen to the audio, you will learn how to become conscious anytime you want to smile inappropriately.
Hypnosis is a safe way to reduce the trigger effects and train your mind to order your muscles to maintain a socially acceptable facial expression. When you listen to the hypnosis audio, it will boost your confidence and help you feel calm when in uncomfortable situations.
Hypnosis Downloads can help you convey the appropriate expression for the right occasion. People will understand you rather than be left wondering what could be wrong with you.
Hypnosis can help you communicate bad news without nervous smiling. You will lead a happier life as you will not be left feeling uncomfortable because you smiled inappropriately. You can download the audio and get started on the journey to stop nervous smiling
What Is Nervous Smiling?
Nervous smiling is a spontaneous reaction. It is an instinctive response triggered by your feelings. Nervous laughter occurs when you laugh or smile at or in an inappropriate situation. For instance, someone might be telling you they are in pain or how much they are disappointed by an occurrence, then you burst into laughter. Clearly, these are not funny moments, nor are they laughing matters.
Nervous laughter is not a way to connect with someone in pain. Strangely, nervous laughing or inappropriate smiling is uncontrollable and occurs to almost every person at some point in life; it is something that comes from deep within.
Is It Normal to Smile When Nervous?
Laughter discharges energy and makes one relax. When you laugh, there is a relaxation effect that follows.
Co-author of “Dimorphous Expressions of Positive Emotion,” Margaret Clark says that a nervous smile has the same effects as laughter. She further says that a nervous smile is more self-regulatory that balances nervousness.
Clark’s research suggests that self-regulation is an emotional balance or emotional homeostasis that balances low and high emotions like uneasiness or sadness. The laughter, together with nervousness, implies to other people that they should also help ease that nervousness.
Professor of Evolutionary Psychology at the University of Oxford Robin Dunbar posits that laughter also stimulates the endorphin system in the brain.
When the brain releases the endorphins, the laughter activates the same receptors in the same way drugs as marijuana or heroin do, thus producing euphoria or pain-killing effects.
Why Do I Smile at Inappropriate Times?
Have you ever smiled inappropriately, or laughed nervously? Do you wonder what could have been the cause? Nervous smiling could be a result of the following factors:
Psychological Reasons
A study conducted by Stanley Milgram, a Yale University psychologist, indicated that people nervously laugh when in uncomfortable circumstances. People who participated in the study were put through electric shocks and responded by laughing.
The study seems to be vindicated by a person walking on a tight rope; they respond by smiling or laughing.
Neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran proposes that laughing is a cognitive mechanism to self-regulate when anxious due to discomfort.
The author of “A Brief Tour of Human Consciousness,” further says that nervous laughter is a way to reassure yourself that all is well or will be well during a situation where you feel uncomfortable. Nervous laughter can distract you from sad emotions or traumatic events like funerals. When you are overwhelmed, you may laugh involuntarily to down-regulate the pain associated with the trauma.
Medical Reasons
There can be medical grounds when you smile nervously. Some medical conditions responsible for nervous smiling are:
Pseudobulbar Affect
Pseudobulbar affect (PBA) occurs when you experience incidents of strong emotions that can not be accounted for. The emotions tend to be inappropriate for a given situation. For example, someone injures themselves, then you start bursting out in laughter. Reacting in such a manner could be a sign that you have PBA. PBA can be attributed to neurological disorders like multiple sclerosis (MS) or Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
Graves’ Disease
When your immune system produces too many antibodies and they end up linking with thyroid cells, they might lead to Graves’ disease. The thyroid cells enter into the thyroid gland and overstimulate the gland causing it to produce excess thyroid hormone. The thyroid hormone affects your nervous system. One sign that the thyroid hormone has affected your nervous system is nervous laughter.
Hyperthyroidism
When your thyroid glands produce many T3 and T4 hormones or both, it leads to hyperthyroidism. The two hormones are responsible for maintaining your metabolism and regulating cells’ energy. When you have hyperthyroidism, you may have nervous laughter.
How Do I Overcome Nervous Laughter?
Socialize Frequently
Lack of socialization may make you feel nervous or feel awkward during social interactions.
The discomfort that arises may make to respond inappropriately to usual occurrences.
To avoid feeling nervous, socialize more by trying to meet new people and accepting social invitations. The occasions may not help stop smiling immediately but you will learn how people communicate as well as body language, such as facial expressions.
Focus on Present Moments in Life
Another thing that can be useful in overcoming nervous laughter is being mindful of your present life. Do not focus on the past and avoid focusing on the future. When you pay attention to the present moment, you can control your emotions easily. By focusing on the future or the past, you allow the emotions of those particular moments to take control of you.
Prepare for Social Interactions
Practice mindfulness by taking a few deep breaths before social interactions. Place your hand on your belly, take a deep breath and hold it for a moment. Then, release it slowly for another moment. Repeat the routine several times.
Practice the habit every time you are about to engage in any social interaction. The routine helps you to feel less uncomfortable or anxious.
Avoid Focusing on Yourself
One way to avoid nervous laughter is to focus on the speaker instead of yourself. When your attention is on the other person, you will tend to be less nervous and conscious about yourself. Allow yourself to become engaged in the conversation other than your well-being. When in these circumstances, you will unlikely start smiling or laughing nervously.
Practice Self-care Daily
Practicing self-care may not stop laughing nervously. However, if the nervous laughter results from discomfort or anxiety, hypnotherapy may help with the management of the emotions.
Self-care will help you connect with people, build confidence and improve your social skills. It helps you appreciate yourself, so you do not feel anxious or uncomfortable when in new surroundings.
Is There a Word for
Nervous Laughter?
Nervous laughter is stimuli induced for self-regulating pain caused mainly by pseudobulbar affect (PBA). It is not genuine laughter nor a genuine smile. It can be regarded as a courtesy laugh or titter.
Final Thoughts
Nervous smiling is caused by an involuntary reaction to self-regulate for emotions. Many people suffer from it or have experienced it at some point in their lives. Nervous smiling could be a result of underlying medical conditions. However, you should consider hypnosis for nervous smiling to end nervous smiling gradually.