MY 15 year old son smiles when afraid,I have heard that some do this.?!
Question: I thought he was being rebellious but at the same time tears were rolling down his face . Can someone shed some light? thanx much.
Answers: I thought he was being rebellious but at the same time tears were rolling down his face . Can someone shed some light? thanx much.
Some people laugh or smile when they are nervous, or maybe there is something unusual about his trigeminal nerve (the cranial nerve that moves the muscles in someone's face). It's probably more likely that it's just nervousness, though.
He doesn't mean any disrespect. I'm 17 years old - when I'm scared, I start laughing. I don't find the situation funny, it's just something I do - I think it's a calming effect.
I know I have a nervous laugh and other people have notice too. So when stressed I laugh. Maybe your son is the same. The important thing is that you recognize it as a nervous laugh and not a serious laugh.
leave him alone! hes only little
Many many people smile (or even laugh out loud) when nervous or frightened. It's a biological defense mechanism present in many primates, including man. When a person is nervous, frightened or fears an attack it's a normal reaction similar to the fight or flight type reflex.
I'm a little concerned that you were thinking he was being "rebellious" though. Any situation between parent and child in which a 15 year old child find himself worked up in a state of fear and is frightened to tears worries me considerably.
My old best friend use to do the same exact thing. When she was nervous or scared, she'd smile and giggle. I'd HATE it. And my new best friend whenever he hurts himself, laughs so joyfully but hes like cursing too. Its so annoying. Trust me i know alot of others. This is very very normal.
the medical answer is that smiling releases endorfins into your blood that negate the effects of being afraid. (a sort of defense mechanism)
Please don't worry as this is a common defense mechanism. When I was younger I remember clearly two occasions when I found myself laughing hysterically in response to stressful events. My mother was present on both of these occasions and she was not impressed with my display of black humour. The first occasion was when I told her I had been involved in a 5 car accident in her car, the second time was 10 years later when the family home was on fire (I had put a leg of lamb in the oven to roast). At the very moment of her arrival in a taxi, my neighbour and I had burst out laughing when after many dramas we had sat down on her verandah and I had said to her "do you want a smoke", just smoke was billowing out of the family home.... this perhaps doesn't sound all that funny but at the time it was to us and our laughter helped up to ease the extreme tension we had been under, rescuing babies, dogs and chickens. Smiling, laughing and crying is a common way to diffuse one's uncomfortable feelings around tension, fear and stress. I hope this helps.