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So I just came back from a meeting at work. I don't drive so I had to call my dad to come pick me up after the meeting was over. I was standing outside in the front of the store and I began to feel anxious because there were people everywhere and I just felt uneasy. It was a bit bright out so I put on my sunglasses. Almost immediately, my anxiety went away. The reason? I think my anxiety is shown more in my eyes than in any other part of my body. When I'm not wearing sunglasses, I feel tense and rigid (without even realizing it) and I can't look at other people comfortably without thinking I'm being rude by staring at them. You know how some people like to "people watch"? Not me. I just feel uneasy when I do it. And it's almost like I'm constantly subconsciously thinking about where my eyes SHOULD go and I find myself looking at the ground or off to the side so I can avoid looking at someone.. When I have my sunglasses on, I can look at people the way I want to. I can people watch comfortably. I don't ever think about what everyone else is thinking of me. And if I look away from someone, I know it's because I WANT to, not because I'm feeling anxious and feel like I NEED to.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that a big part of my anxiety is from eye contact. If I'm walking alongside someone, I'm absolutely fine talking to them. If I'm facing them, I'm a mess. If I could, I'd wear my sunglasses all the time and my anxiety would practically disappear. It's tough because if I want to fix this eye contact problem, I have to find a happy medium between looking at someone normally and staring at them. Any advice or thoughts?
So I guess what I'm trying to say is that a big part of my anxiety is from eye contact. If I'm walking alongside someone, I'm absolutely fine talking to them. If I'm facing them, I'm a mess. If I could, I'd wear my sunglasses all the time and my anxiety would practically disappear. It's tough because if I want to fix this eye contact problem, I have to find a happy medium between looking at someone normally and staring at them. Any advice or thoughts?