Direct gaze - that is, eye contact with another person - causes the subcortical system to overload, and the parts of the brain that deal with arousal and calming are failing to strike a balance. The end result is that direct eye contact triggers a physiological response which makes it physically uncomfortable to maintain eye contact.
It doesn’t feel like burning to me. But it does feel deeply odd.
I had to work hard from an early age to make eye contact because I’d get disciplined if I didn’t.
Funny that now I work remotely, I don’t have to make eye contact at all.
It’s the best ✨
Making eye contact with people gives me the same feeling as looking at the sun, but mentally.
I don’t know if I would describe it for myself as ‘burning’. Making eye contact to me feels overly intimate in a way that feels uncomfortable with people I’m not close to
For me (am ASD) it always feels a bit overstimulating. A bit like staring at the sun. Or even more, like trying to do complex math in your head while also maintaining a conversation with someone. I am bound to lose my train of thought while keeping eye contact. I have to break it away to actually use my brain
is that what that is?
