What makes you not want to look into other people's eyes ?

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I do find it strange that people call eyes the windows to the soul. Mostly I find that eyes are just what someone else said above - gooey stuff and collagen. Also, eye colors tend to very strongly trigger my color->taste synaesthesia.

There's something about looking into human eyes that makes my mind go blank...

I think along the lines as myth about this subject. There does seem to be some kind of 'rape' often occurring when I look that closely at a person. It very much seems like an invasion when I do it to someone else...and the only thing I can think next for that is there must be 'levels' to visually interacting with somebody. There are ways of respecting someone else's 'bubble', their visual privacy, and when I bypass the 2 or 3 more polite, more courteous and respectful levels to just jump right into a level that, to me, is only one or two levels away from outright 'stripping' them... it's as if I've corrupted my own sense of morals/ethics -- all in the name of performing an act 'they' say is appropriate and expected. I can already see/understand so much about a person before I ever get around to making the type/length of eye contact 'they' or society demands, yet they're sure I'm not seeing/understanding what I need/should be because I haven't used my eyes (MY eyes...shouldn't be at their command) in the ways they think fitting. When I do use my eyes 'their' way, I see even more. I see too much. Jumping into such a hastened familiarity ('intimacy') seems...FEELS... wrong to/for my own code. It's too close to having some raunchy magazine shoved in my hands, told to scrutinize the material, and then scornfully questioned as to why I'm so 'squeamish'. ...bleeech.

I can't explain exactly why, it just makes me uncomfortable. When I was younger I couldn't have pictures in my room because I felt like the people or animals were staring at me. For years I didn't even know what color my eyes were because I would never even look myself in the eye and I avoided mirrors altogether.

It just makes me uncomfortable. Especially if they're looking at me at the same time. I'm always afraid if I do look at them, it will be creepy and make them feel uncomfortable. And I'm shy, so if I look at the person, it just makes it more obvious that I'm speaking to someone and my mind is more likely to go blank. If I pretend I'm talking to an object, it's easier.

Not to mention, if I look elsewhere, it clears up resources in the brain that normally would've been used for facial processing. I'd rather focus more on what I'm talking about.

Lately, I met this guy, the boyfriend of my flatmate, he has only 5% of vision and is nearly blind so he just sees shapes but he hardly sees facial expressions. I found that speaking with him was a different experience from what speaking with someone normally is, because he doens't see my face. I find it very securing. I have no fear looking into his eyes when I speak to him. I found out that the fear of looking into somebody's eyes is more related to somebody looking into MY eyes.

Sometimes it's easier to do than at other times. I can go from being very uncomfortable looking at someone I know in the eye to (days/weeks later) catching myself unintentionally staring them out (I think because i'm so fascinated that the discomfort has temporarily gone). It's just more tricky to achieve 'normal' eye-contact (whatever that means for such an individual / cultural variable).

One thing remains constant - I can look at someone, or listen to what they're saying, but not both. It'd be useful to have a flashcard to hold up that explains this - 'choose the former if you are only interested in superficial attention, choose the latter if you're actually bothered about having a meaningful interaction'

I have problems doing this, too. My dad was always adamant that I look people in the face when I'm speaking to them, and look them in the face when I shake their hand, too. He always says it's rude not to - but with some people, I really cannot help it. And it's not the people you might expect, either. I have a real problem looking my girlfriend in the face sometimes - and I always feel like it might be something to do with feeling slightly ashamed. Of what, I'm not entirely sure.

Jack

I rarely look strangers in eye the because I feel uncomfortable about it. I only make real eye contact with friends and family. Usually while talking to strangers I look above their heads and trick them into thinking I'm making eye contact.

I see looking into somebody's eyes as an extremely intimate gesture. It makes me feel exposed and embarrassed. It's a strange a concept to me as, say, "holding somebody's hand when you talk to them". I don't understand why it's necessary.

I tend to look especially at people's mouth and I'm not sure about it, but I guess it helps me more to understand what they are saying, a little bit like "lip-reading", if this is a good word to describe it. I realized that I also do it watching the news, I focus at the mouth. Then I tried to focus at the newsreader's eyes and I a bit got confused.
So it is probably not that I don't "want" to look into people's eyes, but that it is more a necessity.
I guess, I still need to think a bit more about this.

I agree with the lip-reading comment as well. I tend to have trouble filtering out noise in a noisy environment and can't hear the person who is talking to me so looking at their lips can help me figure out what they are saying.