Why don't you like eye contact?

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I don't know why I don't like eye contact. I know the result of trying to give it though...

If I try and look someone in the eyes, my eyes feel like they are stinging and I want to blink and look away and rub my eyes. It almost feels like i've just had a really intense staring competition for a very long period of time.
Or it's the feeling of having vibrations in my eye balls...very weird sensation.

Maybe we're all just psychic and don't know it.

Hmmmm.. Why?
I never thought as to why. My first thought is I don't like people looking at me in the eye. What are they thinking, are they judging me? Then my 2nd thought is it is too intamate. I can look certain people in the eye (like my kids) and some people I've known for ever, but even that is only momentary. Good Question.

I used to have an aversion to direct eye contact and it work cause my eyes to hurt. It is similar to if someone shines a bright light into you eyes. I did exercises with my ex shrink which desensitized them considerably. I still notice it partially with some people, but I can make eye contact and don't mind doing it. You don't have to make contact all the take and staring at people is not good. It is a balance. Generally speaking you make more eye contact as with people you know and trust or at least that is what is supposed to happen.

As to why this might offer some explanation:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/20 ... 151153.htm

It's honestly physically impossible for me, It makes me WAAAY uncomfortable,

I don't understand why it is that making eye contact is so difficult for me,and others with asperger's sometimes?

To me it feels just as others here have described it:kinda like you're being judged,or revealing your thoughts.It's all just a sensation overload thing & it really makes me nervous just having to do it with my therapist once a week....I'll find myself either shutting my eyes or looking in another direction on & off every few seconds.

Perhaps it could be because we see the other person as some sort of threat?In AS the brain's flight or fight response & startle reflex is much more sensitive than in those who don't suffer from the disorder who knows?

It's because every time I look at other people, I feel as though I'm stealing their souls or that they're stealing mine. Well, not literally, but it creeps me the *bleep* out.

I don't like eye contact, because I'm one of those people who wears every thought and emotion in my eyes and facial expression. I don't always want people to know what I'm thinking or feeling, but they ALWAYS know. I guess I'm transparent that way.

It's also physically uncomfortable. It feels very intimate. I have no problem with eye contact with people I know well and trust. But with acquaintances, I never know how long is appropriate to look, and a person's eyes are very riveting. It's hard to concentrate on what you're saying.

I have held entire conversations looking at a wall or the floor without even realizing it.

Exact same reason as the OP, plus it's also painful to me. Though not PHYSICALLY painful...it's like something inside me that isn't supposed to be touched is pulled/squeezed.

Especially when trying to think or/and speak something meaningful, it feels as our eyes are magnetic poles of the same type. They reject each other.

I don't feel like this in all situations - more often I end up staring.

Oh, I DO like eye contact. I stare at anyone who will stare back. XD

For me eye contact causes a weird sort of internal emotional unbalance and pain that would errupt into violence if I attempted it over too long a time. Eye contact feeds me signals cues and things that have no logical links in any of my life coping systems used to make sense of this typical world. For me eye contact is like looking into one of those spinning psycho-disks that just make me feel more detached from typical human culture than normal. Without eye contact I can at least focus my autistic energies productively on those logical literal aspects of the human condition that do make sense to me and I have at least a hope of building a mutual understanding upon.

I don't like eye contact because I often feel like I'm holding people's gaze for longer than I ought to, and that makes me nervous that I'm being rude (or something along those lines). I can manage it for a little while, and then I have to break it just to feel a little more secure.

someone told me you can feel a little more comfortable about eye contact by turning your head slightly to the side that way your half making eye contack

The only time I feel uncomfortable with eye contact is when someone's staring at me. That makes me more self conscious than I already am...

Looking in peoples eyes and having them look into mine just feels uncomfortable. I never know how long I should look in them or when I should look away. I also feel like people can tell how nervous I am by looking in my eyes. I spend a lot of time while conversing with others worrying about my amount of eye contact. It's really frustrating :\

I see my therapist once a week and the whole time I'm worried about my level of eye contact. Sometimes I'll count and stay looking in her eyes for 4 seconds then look away for 4 seconds and repeat.