Social Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
8. Difficulty Maintaining Eye Contact
Eye contact is a way to establish connection or intimacy with another person. For people with social anxiety, however, a practice that seems so easy for others can be difficult. When you take into account the social difficulties that sufferers experience, this makes sense. The tendency to analyze every nuance of a social interaction, including nonverbal behavior, can make exhibiting common behaviors difficult.
What further complicates this symptom is that there is a stigma attached to it. Many people read into a lack of eye contact, assuming that it means the person is being insincere or deceitful. If you notice that a friend or co-worker doesn’t look at you when you converse, try to keep an open mind. It may be a sign of some level of social anxiety rather than nefarious intentions. If you experience difficulty with eye contact yourself, getting professional help for your anxiety may be useful in overcoming the issue.
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