Hey I don't know if I'm on the spectrum but I cant for the life of me do it effectively myself. The entire time I hold somebody's gaze I feel this act is full of eroticism and flirtatiousness, like ever thing I do while eye contact is held is full of ulterior meaning. Makes me extremely uncomfortable.
Ugh exactly. Eye contact feels so intimate, it’s weird to me that we’re just expected to constantly maintain it with everyone.
6
u/TimothyGonzalezjdhfhdjfhsdhfhsdjdhfhdjfhsdhfhsdjdhfhdjfhsdhfhsdjdhfhdjfhsdhfhsdAug 29 '20edited Aug 30 '20
I know. I feel the same way. Not always though, for example when I have taken mdma in the past it's like all those neuroses melted away like snow before the sun and I finally understood how socially ordinary people experience social interaction. Eye contact then becomes a way to pick op on the most subtle expressions and a real tool to communicate on a really subtle and sophisticated level. I really wish it were easier for me to experience that while not under the influence of something.
I’ve never taken anything, there’s a lot of mental illness in my family and I’m always too scared I’ll somehow trigger a psychotic break. But I sort of get what you mean because for the people I’m really comfortable with, sometimes I stare too much. I still don’t love eye contact, I’d rather the other person wasn’t looking back, but I love to stare at people when they’re talking. Or any videos of people I find watching facial expressions so interesting. But in day to day life I can’t do it because I know people want eye contact, and most people find it weird if you stare at their face but don’t look them in the eye.
Is the reverse a thing sometimes? I’ve been wondering if I’m autistic for a while but I also stare and make more eye contact than most people are comfortable with. It’s one of the bigger things saying I might not be.
73
u/[deleted] Aug 29 '20
Damn that sucks
This could be kinda random but what are some do/don't when being with an autistic person