i get this quite often. might have something to do with my past drug abuse though i always thought. it gets me into a bit of trouble every now and again because i might think somethings going on that i dont know about or whatever.

it happens alot when im on a bus or a plane, walk down a crowded city street maybe. somewhere not to big with alot of people usually. i get this exactly sometimes followed by really strange breathing patterns. hard to explain but basically i get paranoid people can hear me breathing or that im not breathing enuff and ill start gulping in air and making weird noises or stop tryin to breath so muchn and go red in the face.

Have you ever gotten to know someone and compared your intial assessment to what you know now?

i think the face can potentially reflect a lot of whats going on (or not going on ) inside the mind. It can be misread a lot though... one facial expression could mean a lot of different, semirelated things.

Particularly in people who are feeling down/depressed, a blunting effect comes into play which dampens or completely deadens facial expression. The end results is something that looks ugly, odd, dumb, angry, weird.

The problem is that I don't get to know a lot of people, so I can't really compare. I see this as a big lack in my life in general, and it detracts from my analysis of people. I surmise that sometimes I'm right, sometimes I'm wrong in my perceptions.

I have to admit to being fascinated with people's faces, too. I like to study them and try to work out their biography from it, and sometimes it can get me into trouble.

I watched a group of travelling people in a bar one night and I became completely absorbed in the face of one of the men - to me it seemed almost non-human, like the face of a wood nymph or a mischievous sprite. When I went to leave, I was followed outside by two of the women in the group who pulled a knife on me for staring at their man! It took some quick thinking to get out of that one.

I find myself staring at people on public transport. I often wish I could be invisible so that I could study their faces more intently. Today I saw an Indian woman on my bus with a face that looked almost beatified. I kept glancing at her, then looking away, then back again, and then she smiled at me.

Sometimes you see a face in a crowd that seems to resonate with you. This was one of those times.

I am a people watcher, I suppose. Sometimes, though not often, I have experienced what you describe, Philo - being so irritated by a face that it almost maddens me. But a voice can be even more maddening and I find that in a restaurant I cannot sit near anyone who is talking or laughing too loudly. To me it is offensive and sometimes downright painful. I hate loud voices and people who talk too much! Perhaps I am overly sensitive, but hey, at this point in my life I can pick and choose who I want to be around - one of the benefits of middle age!

That's interesting that you say that. I'm not schizophrenic, and I'm not exactly sure who is and who isn't on here, but I too like to look at people's faces a lot. I didn't really realize what it was until now. I know I find myself looking at people a lot, and I thought it was mainly because I was an artist at first, but now I think it's more like what you guys mentioned.

Sometimes I'll see someone who's sad and I just want to study their face and feel and understand what they're going through on the inside. I find myself doing this a lot, even with people who talk a lot and seem outgoing. I'll want to look at them and study them and try to understand from their face, how they became such a happy person and if they're really happy or just that way in public. Sometimes I find myself having to look away from people a lot and I'm always afraid that they probably think I'm some weird stalker guy for wanting to catch glimpses of them.

I am not schizophrenic either, slider_alt, but I do like to come here as I think you can gain some really valuable insights into the human psyche from reading the posts here.

What you describe sounds exactly like the sorts of things I do - like you, I try to see behind the 'mask' or work out what their life experience has been.

You're an artist and I'm a writer and I suppose that may be part of the reason we spend our time studying facial expressions. I also like to observe the interaction between two people in order to understand the dynamics of the relationship. Maybe people would consider that to be 'nosy' and meddlesome but I am not really interested in their personal business, I am merely interested in their behaviour.

Anyone else care to admit to this particular foible?

Yeah, I like to look at people in groups too and try to figure out the dynamics of their relationship. For instance, there may be 3 guys and 2 girls...and I'll try to figure out if they're all just friends, who might be dating who, and which one of them is probably the "ringleader" that everyone listens to.

I guess you're right about the whole artist and writer thing. Since I also write, I guess I like seeing how people interact so that way when I'm writing or drawing something, I can make it look authentic by giving the audience something they're familiar with seeing. Also since I have to establish relationships in stories, I guess I want to make it easy for the audience to understand the dynamics of the characters in my stories easily as well.

So yeah, I love to people watch. I could just sit some place like at the mall or in a park and just watch people come and go and be entertained by that to a certain degree.

Ok, I admit it. I do this also, especially in the mall where I walk. I didn't realise it was unusual. I guess I assumed it was just something that everyone does to a degree.

I am also a writer, so maybe it does have to do with trying to solve the mystery of the psyche behind the face. I don't think it's a bad thing to do unless it progresses to the point where someone takes offense (like Galaxy found out).

I also think because I am basically shy, I have become adept at sizing people up by their facial expressions and rarely talk to them.

When I look at people's faces I often see ignorance, stupidity, immaturity, ugliness, aggression... It makes me feel bad that I think that of them because I seem to think that you're supposed to love people, etc. You know, the spiritual message and all. I try to muster up a positive approach to people, but it works just for a few minutes and then I'm back to not liking them and them not liking me. I used to get in trouble with bosses, co-workers and other people because of mutual aggression. It seems like no matter how patient and tolerant I am with people we end up pissing each other off.