What does eye contact actually do to you?

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What does eye contact actually do to you?

Make you cringe	32%	[ 29 ]
Make you fearful	28%	[ 25 ]
Make you giggle	0%	[ 0 ]
Make you cry	3%	[ 3 ]
Make you angry	0%	[ 0 ]
You NEVER give eye contact	12%	[ 11 ]
Nothing, you just don't like it	24%	[ 22 ]

Total votes : 90

ProfessorX
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11 Jun 2009, 9:42 am

Kaleido, in regards to eye contact, I may not be that very good at it yet, when I'm actually speaking with someone I tend to look more at the brigde of one's nose rather than the eyes since, Ive never been very good with reading & deciphering body lanquage and all.
I conclude that such difficulties most likely have negative impacts on my life yet, I simply try to do as best as possible....

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pschristmas
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11 Jun 2009, 10:29 am

I guess "cringe" was closest. I tend to feel a little nauseous. Also, when I force eye-contact, there's sometimes this odd vertigo feeling that's very distracting. I'll find myself staring.

edit: Someone mentioned not being able to think -- this is part of the vertigo feeling I get: lack of thought with an odd falling or floating sensation. Overstimulation, I guess?

When I'm with people I know very well, I'm fairly natural. With others, I'm very aware of eye contact, moreso than when I was younger, though. It seems to be getting worse. I tend to look around people's eyes a lot, now.

There are a few people that I've found whose irises are an unusual color or combination of colors and I enjoy looking at their eyes, but that's not quite the same thing.

Regards,

Patricia

Kaleido
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11 Jun 2009, 10:37 am

pschristmas wrote:

I think you are right about overstimulation, I do find eye contact to be part of getting sensorarily overloaded.

I agree too that looking at someones eyes is not the same as using them to communicate.

ghfreak13579
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11 Jun 2009, 10:43 am

Eye contact makes me cringe and it also gives me great pain. I can make eye contact with familiar people [ie: friends and family] but not with certain people and strangers.

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ASMJT
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11 Jun 2009, 11:15 am

DarrylZero wrote:

For me, I'd say "It depends." When I'm with people I know or am comfortable with, it's not an issue for me. However, I can be easily distracted by sounds so I wonder sometimes if they feel I'm ignoring them when I look away for the source of the sound. Sometimes I also worry I give too much eye contact because I'm trying to take in everything they say.

Eye contact with people I don't know tends to make me self-conscious, so my gaze tends to dart around somewhat. Sometimes when I'm looking around (I like to take in what's around me) I'll make eye contact with someone unintentionally and I instinctively look away. Most of the time, though, it's not really an issue.

I concur with your statement. Does anyone else experience the same emotions while viewing their own eyes in a mirror? I feel very uneasy looking into my own eyes in the mirror, but ONLY if I am consciously looking into them(as opposed to removing an eye lash from my eye, or fiddling with my hair, etc.).

Kaleido
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11 Jun 2009, 11:23 am

ASMJT wrote:

DarrylZero wrote:

I don't have problems looking at my own eyes but I dislike looking in the mirror and always put the mirror face down in the bathroom - thats how everyone knows I was the last one in there lol

BelindatheNobody
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11 Jun 2009, 11:45 am

ASMJT wrote:

Looking into my own eyes, is another story. If I look into them for too long, I start greying/blacking out around the edges of my vision, and go into some weird trance-like state, which is very hard for me to snap myself out of. I've stood in front of the mirror for hours because of that..

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WardenWolf
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11 Jun 2009, 11:58 am

None of the above. I don't like it, and I lose about 50% of my ability to think while doing it. I instinctively break it, but I can force myself to do it and work through it for job interviews.

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11 Jun 2009, 12:07 pm

BelindatheNobody wrote:

ASMJT wrote:

Wow! I could not even try to stare for that long. It would most likely end up in me having a meltdown. I can reproduce the blacking out by relaxing in the dark, and staring into nothingness until everything starts dissolving, but this is the only way for me.

mechanicalgirl39
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11 Jun 2009, 12:20 pm

Mostly, I am fine with eye contact.

Sometimes though keeping eye contact with someone feels weird, like that connection you make with someone when you do it is so acute, you feel raw, like your skin was taken away and your vitals are exposed. Too acute.

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DarrylZero
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11 Jun 2009, 12:33 pm

ASMJT wrote:

Does anyone else experience the same emotions while viewing their own eyes in a mirror? I feel very uneasy looking into my own eyes in the mirror, but ONLY if I am consciously looking into them(as opposed to removing an eye lash from my eye, or fiddling with my hair, etc.).

I'm similar. I generally try to avoid mirrors, but if I start looking at my own eyes I get uncomfortable.

MattShizzle
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11 Jun 2009, 12:40 pm

I don't like it at all - makes me cringe. I've read in some Asian cultures direct eye contact is considered extremely rude and aggressive. It's also a sign of aggression in many animals.

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11 Jun 2009, 1:01 pm

I keep seeing that people end up dazed, trancey and staring. Same here, even with my own eyes. I think I scare people when I blank out and stare directly into their eyes. But it's hypnotic. Maybe it happens when overload melts my brain :lol:

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11 Jun 2009, 1:04 pm

I think someone said this phrase before, but it makes me feel like I'm going down a rabbit hole.

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Dilbert
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11 Jun 2009, 1:14 pm

None of the above? Eye lock makes me uncomfortable. I don't look at the eyes for longer than a few seconds before I look away for a while and then make eye contact again for a bit.

It doesn't make me fearful and I don't freak out. Just unnatural and uncomfortable.

Vimse
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11 Jun 2009, 1:16 pm

sartresue wrote:

For me, it is my looking that has people fearful, perhaps due to my stare. However, I practice the three second rule, nod my head and look somewhere else. I have disliked looking at men's eyes, as they have taken it the wrong way, and I would rather not explain anything. :roll:

Same here.

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