Eye contact and facial expressions...

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It just occurred to me that not recognizing facial expressions and not making eye contact, for me, are basically the same thing. I don't even recognize people I know when I see them outside the usual environment, how could I possibly ascertain mood from facial expressions with so little experience in looking at faces? I'm always surprised when I see a new photograph of my own daughter because I don't know her face.

Also, with regard to emotions, I can "feel" a distinct difference between expressed emotion and actual emotion. And I have confirmed this with NTs I know and who just accept it as "normal". They fake and/or exaggerate their emotions a LOT. It's one of the things that makes interaction so blasted slow because their vibe is so obvious but you're not supposed to know they're faking and have to be careful not to show that you KNOW they're faking. It's like a mine field.

It's just...surreal. Surreal and convoluted and slow. Like a 20 minute long Rube Goldberg machine that doesn't do anything but open a box.