Hi all, I had a stroke in jan 2024 and gradually I am in the recovery since. During my recovery I have started a part time work seeing concerts and sports. These things what makes me joy and yet I realise I don’t smile anymore even though I am very happy. I get a lot of people say my face looks not impressed/ nonchalant even though I am very grateful. is this just me or another outcome of the stroke?
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It’s hard to say. For me, I have inherited something I dub as the stroke stare. I look at people and things intently for prolonged pauses, my brain is slowly ticking over but I imagine it might unnerve some people. 
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It could be a stroke thing as that can affect emotions. If so it will hopefully improve over time.
Without knowing you it is difficult to say if it is you. Did you have this problem before stroke?
I don’t smile as much as I did but not sure it is stroke related per se.
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I’d say it’s the stroke effect, only because when I had my stroke all emotion was set to neutral or switched off altogether, including facial expression. Laughter was the only one that did work, in that I could laugh at anything, and I mean sometimes at inappropriate times.
I did learn to fake it until they all gradually came back online again. And it’s taken the 4+ years of my recovery to get there, but some of it is still a work in progress.
Time of day can play a part in that too. Also reaction time and facial response can lag behind…delayed reaction, and thats because the brain is working at a slower rate than it used to, before the stroke.
Friends and family all know and understand this in me now, and that’s all that matters.
Lorraine
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Thank you all, I do @Rups and stare until i realise lol.
@Mrs5K it is true because I am happy but the truth is I am fatigued. I thought happy outweighs the fatigue and it never does.
@EmeraldEyes Those are very true advice and I am happy you are conquering your recovery. I will understand about myself during this path.
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This is my eldest daughter,Alana helping me smile because post-stroke my face muscles have atrophied and I have what they call resting-bitch face❣️ 🜁
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Hello @EmeraldEyes i’m relieved to read that you have facial recognition issues too,I find post-stroke I rely more on the sense of sound than sight I recognise people by the way they sound rather than what they look like,two days ago I didn’t even recognise my mother,granted we aren’t very close and she didn’t raise me,but I’m still cross with myself.
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You have a lovely smile. Xx
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I’m sorry @Mich-mm, I can’t quite figure out where in my text you may have misread or misunderstood me. My own facial expressions and response/reaction times is what I was talking about. But I had no problem recognising others at all. And it wasn’t facial muscle atrophy that was the issue. It was more delayed signaling from the brain to my face. The issue often reminded me of The Two Ronnie’s Mastermind sketch with my delayed facial reactions times 
https://youtu.be/y0C59pI_ypQ?si=OjyvzVEqNZcvV6DI
Lorraine
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Sorry @EmeraldEyes lorraine ‘my bad’ as they say!
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