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Eye contact

Autismman

I don’t mind giving eye contact to those I know well like my family but it can be difficult or almost impossible when it’s strangers in a non scripted environment like perhaps people outside in the general public. Not that I would need to stare for prolonged amounts of time but I know there should be some almost unconscious natural interaction between people  even with just the eyes in their everyday lives. I also struggle to do this with a lot of my work colleagues predominantly managers but also a few colleagues, it seems selective to whether I have a firm enough grasp on who I think they are at their core and the general feeling or vibe I get from their being. If I find their topic of conversation boring or they don’t want to stop talking the eye contact becomes even less I have noticed. I am super aware of how little eye contact I give which in turn makes my anxiety worse because then I think everyone must think I’m weird, I just cannot connect to people very easily. The eyes are the windows to the soul and it definitely feels this way for me. Giving someone your eyes is like opening up a door to let others into your world and it’s a scary idea. Do others experience anything like this? I am diagnosed with ASD level 1 but trying to get an understanding of it so that maybe I can stop being so hard on myself. I am trying to remember to remember that a lot of autism is invisible and only felt inside oneself.

Parents

  • When I was up younger, e.g. in my teens and 20s,  I would not hold eye contact and looked down.

    I asked my psychologist recently and I don't think they thought I am currently that unusual. However, once I started to think about it and observe myself, I now don't know what I do naturally.

    I can stare animals down. I have done it to dogs and even a cat once, which was hard. You need to not blink and just stare. Which I can do for long periods. Doing it to people though is not a good idea though.

    I can also do the thousand yard stare thing. Although this seems to be reducing since I've had diagnosis.

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  • When I was up younger, e.g. in my teens and 20s,  I would not hold eye contact and looked down.

    I asked my psychologist recently and I don't think they thought I am currently that unusual. However, once I started to think about it and observe myself, I now don't know what I do naturally.

    I can stare animals down. I have done it to dogs and even a cat once, which was hard. You need to not blink and just stare. Which I can do for long periods. Doing it to people though is not a good idea though.

    I can also do the thousand yard stare thing. Although this seems to be reducing since I've had diagnosis.

Children