Desensatising myself.

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I'm really really sensative in my eyes to the point that it's impossible for me to to use contacts or open my own eyelids with my finger. Last time I saw an opthalmologist he tried to put drops in my eyes and I almost had a panic attack while trying to push him away with my feet. It was embarassing because I was 16 years old at the time. Needless to say the doctor and my parents thought I was acting like a little kid. I really really want to get contacts now because I look much better without glasses and I'd have a much better chance of hooking up with someone. Is there any way I can get myself use to the feel of contacts and putting them in. Before in the past I tried to desensatise myself to it by trying to open my own eyelids with my fingers but it was a complete failure. I started fealing sick to my stomach and couldn't continue further.

Anyone? Has anything worked for anybody else who have tried to desensatise themself to something?

I could use help with this, too, for a lot of things. The only things I've been able to successfully desensitize myself to have been some music and moderate violence in films.

I believe that desensitization of all sorts can work; but it must be slow and gradual enough. Perhaps you are trying to go too quickly?

My own experience with desensitization involves a phobia, not oversensitivity; but I think the principle is the same. As a child, I was extremely frightened of dead bodies. I had never seen one, but I had seen pictures of Egyptian mummies, and even the thought would make me freeze with fear. Strangely enough, I had never seen a horror movie with a walking corpse in it.
My first step was to look up the word "Mummy" in the dictionary. At the time, I was about eleven years old; and I reflexively threw the book across the room twice before I managed to do so and read the definition; and I was frightened for an hour afterwards!

I also looked at the golden death-mask of Tutankhamun; and I read a few pictureless books about mummies, I looked at anatomy diagrams of skeletons, then pictures of bodies laid out for funerals, then pictures like that which had frightened me in the first place. Each small step did not (for the most part) induce a panic attack; and each one took me further. This took most of my high-school years. Thankfully, I was wise enough not to reveal my fear to anyone; being bullied in both my family and my school, I knew better than to let anyone see my weak points.

To this day I am still unsettled by dead bodies; but the thought of one no longer induces a panic attack, and a picture only produces, at most, a jolt of fear and a few minutes of shaking while the adrenaline filters out of my system again. I have even written fantasy stories that mention and even describe the undead (in this case, the Barrow-Wights from the Lord of the Rings trilogy).

The lesson here is that one must start very, very slowly--perhaps touching your closed eyelids, or your eyelashes, might help?--and not attempt to move too quickly. It might take years; or maybe only weeks; but persistence is really the key.

Maybe you may decide that contacts simply aren't for you--I myself have decided they are much too uncomfortable and inconvenient for me. There are many styles of glasses which can actually make a face look better; it's really a matter of picking the right frames... You might find a female NT friend who knows about styles and can advise you. Generally, dark frames, plastic frames, and very large frames are unflattering; but some faces apparently look good with any or all of these styles.

Sometimes, when one is overly sensitive to something, it is really best just to avoid it, since learning to tolerate it would create very little benefit--that is the reason I avoid sporting events or any other event with large, loud crowds...

I would not dismiss the idea of glasses entirely. Yes I know many or most of the frames they have at the optometrist look dorky, but if you look around, you can find ones that are a bit artistic and look good. You might have to go to different optometrists to find one that stocks frames that look good. Also note that some sunglasses can have prescription lenses fitted in them -- you purchase them at a sunglass place, and then take them to your optometrist (but write down the brand name and model number and check it with your optometrist first).

If they are not sunglass frames, then you do not want big round lenses, that looks terrible. I think small to medium rectangular frames look good on a guy.

My friend told me if I get big glasses with black plastic frames then I'll look like Gordon Freeman. Look at how good it worked for him, he saved the planet and got Alyx too. Maybe I should carry a crowbar everywhere I go too.