My eyes notice certain things when I'm stressed/anxious...

Post Reply New Topic

Hi,

I was wondering if anybody else experiences this. When I get stressed/anxious, my eye catches certain things, for example, car licence plates. It happens automatically. I was wondering if anybody has any advice/tips to reducing/eliminating this as it can be annoying (if I am driving and I can't afford to have too much distraction). For example, should I consciously think of something else to focus on/think about?

I do that too, especially in noisy restaurants or with a large group of people. I find myself focusing on the ad signs or words on trophies that kind of thing. I remember focusing on the posters in church class too growing up as a way of stimming or coping with being there, to keep myself from crying, I guess.

Something I might suggest to get yourself out of it some while driving is to make a pattern of looking out your windows and mirrors, like in a certain, repetitive order. Not to get caught up in the stimminess of that, but just as a deliberate movement to stop from staring or catching your eyes on things. Another thing that might help is to just sort of relax and melt into your car seat before driving off. I do this a lot after I leave a store. I will sit there for a while to let the "store-feel" wear off, adjusting to the change, physically and mentally. Especially if I have a lot of errands to run.

It just happens to me too. If I try to put it off too long and control it too much, it forces itself on me and its kind of like a precursor to a mild shutdown state.

Yah - I get this too. It's like I've gone into aspie fight-or-flight mode or something.

Only thing I've found to get out of this mode is to try and force myself to calm down, which can be hard to do.

I sometimes play a game in which I 'drive' the car ahead of me or even the car ahead of that. I mean, I pretend I am seeing things from that driver's perspective and looking ahead at what he or she would need to see.

If I get it just right, I can feel myself float forward just a little, as if the locus of where I am is expanding. It's still safe since this no longer surprises me. It's a subtle phenomenon but a neat phenomenon. And plus, I really am looking ahead in the road.

Maybe you might want to experiment with something like this in a light way.

As far as focusing on specifics during times of stress, I think quote-unquote 'normal' people probably do this, too. of course no such thing as 'normal' anyway and his boring a place the world would be if there were! we may just tend to get stressed out more often from sensory issues and hard to follow social situations.

I'm kind of a fan of various zen tricks. For example, okay, then maybe I'll follow the social situation in a looser fashion. Sometimes it's an art of trying less hard, which can be tricky, just hanging in there and looking for reasonably good opportunities as they cone along. and even then, might work out and might not, just stay open to the next opportunity

Thank you for your suggestions - I shall take the advice on board

I don't do this. My vision blurs and I want a hug.

in groups, with more than one conversation going on- sometimes with only one conversation,- I zone out a lot and tend to find myself thinking about the strangeness of human physiognomy. For example, the point where the septum connects with the philtrum, where convex and concave shapes collide at the bottom of the nose. It stresses people around me out, because that basically means that I'm starting at their nostrils. Obviously, I don't follow any of the conversation topics, and find myself alienated and lonely.