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Dr. Bob is Robert Hsiung, MD,
bob@dr-bob.orgShown: posts 1 to 12 of 12. This is the beginning of the thread.
Posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
I have this problem, eye contact, I can't make any! And when I do make eye contact, i bulge my eyes to look at the person and it looks so freakin weird, i have social anxiety but Effexor has helped big time, is there any meds or Anything that can help?
Regards
Matthew
Posted by phidippus on January 28, 2014, at 16:08:57
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
Sounds like you have a touch of OCD as well. The best way to treat OCD is with an AD and if there isn't enough response to an AD its recommended that an atypical antipsychotic be added.
Ask your doctor about adding something like Invega or Zyprexa.
Eric
Posted by linkadge on January 28, 2014, at 17:42:14
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
Caffeine might help (or green tea)
Linkadge
Posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 19:09:20
In reply to Re: Eye Contact Please Help! » thumb8822, posted by phidippus on January 28, 2014, at 16:08:57
> Sounds like you have a touch of OCD as well. The best way to treat OCD is with an AD and if there isn't enough response to an AD its recommended that an atypical antipsychotic be added.
>
> Ask your doctor about adding something like Invega or Zyprexa.
>
> EricI take 20 mg of Zyprexa. :(
Posted by phidippus on January 28, 2014, at 20:13:08
In reply to Re: Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 19:09:20
Then you may need some ERP (Exposure and response prevention) to treat the anxiety about eye contact.
Eric
Posted by Phillipa on January 28, 2014, at 20:34:06
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
When you say bulge eyes is this visible to the other person or just what you feel your eyes are doing? Phillipa
Posted by alexandra_k on January 28, 2014, at 21:25:56
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
why do you want to make eye contact for?
Posted by gadchik on January 29, 2014, at 7:24:50
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
Hi, I used to have trouble with eye contact, I would start thinking about, should I look away?, should I look into their pupils?, etc, not really concentrating on the conversation at hand. I have to say since starting on klonopiin 5 yrs ago, I never think of eye contact now. I am immersed in the conversation at hand. It's been a great med for me.
Posted by SLS on January 29, 2014, at 7:51:12
In reply to Re: Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by gadchik on January 29, 2014, at 7:24:50
> Hi, I used to have trouble with eye contact, I would start thinking about, should I look away?, should I look into their pupils?, etc, not really concentrating on the conversation at hand. I have to say since starting on klonopiin 5 yrs ago, I never think of eye contact now. I am immersed in the conversation at hand. It's been a great med for me.
:-)
How have you been feeling in general?
- Scott
Posted by gadchik on January 29, 2014, at 9:40:42
In reply to Re: Eye Contact Please Help! » gadchik, posted by SLS on January 29, 2014, at 7:51:12
I turned 50 in November. Took it well. I hike daily, do push ups, eat good, sleep good. I take .5mg Teva clonazepam at 9pm every night, and have been experimenting with 12.5mg zoloft for neck pain/shoulder tension. Im not depressed or anxious, in remission now I guess. For how long, who knows? Thanks for asking. I hope you are doing well. We have had extremely cold temps, snow/ice for weeks. And had a full week where we could not use our tap water for anything. I dont know if u saw the news, chemicals leaked into the water supply for 300,000 people, it was crazy here. State of emergency/federal disaster. But I maintained my sanity thru it all! : )
Posted by Hugh on January 29, 2014, at 17:32:51
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
Neurofeedback helped me a lot with this problem. It's now much easier for me to make and maintain eye contact than it was before doing neurofeedback.
Posted by bleauberry on January 30, 2014, at 10:27:29
In reply to Eye Contact Please Help!, posted by thumb8822 on January 28, 2014, at 14:24:40
Eye contact is hard for all of us, I think. It's a natural defensive mechanism to look the other way when we are feeling lousy. Low self esteem, guilt over the psych issues, fear....these are all of Satan, not of God. So right off the bat, you know you are under attack from the evil side. Anxiety, same. The *ssh*l* attacks in both physical and mental ways, whatever ways we are vulnerable to and is easiest. Our job is to fight back!
I do not feel a medication will improve the eye contact thing. That is a learned thing, a trained thing, a practiced thing. It doesn't just happen, and it is not triggered into action by a medication.
A mirror could be a good friend for you. Practice. See what others are seeing. Adjust your expressions to get them the way you want them. Stare at your own eyes and pretend it is someone else. Practice.
I have always had a hard time looking someone in the eye, and I have usually been the shy quiet guy in the corner. My years working in a big box retail store cured all of that. The most helpful thing to me was observing how other employees did it and made it look so easy. I watched them, learned from them, and practiced what I saw.
The only way to change something is....to start changing it! You can do that. It will take purposeful effort and it will be worth it. It will feel unnatural. It will feel awkward. But not forever. The more you do it, the more natural it becomes. And then eventually it indeed becomes natural without so much effort and without so much thinking about it.
A mirror can help. If you have someone in your family, or a friend, who you trust and feel comfortable, have them get involved and be your practice buddy.
And here is a perspective to consider.... When you look away from someone, afraid to look in their eyes, guess what they see....a shy person? No. A fearful person? No. They see a stuck up snob too good for anyone else. Think about that next time you turn your eyes away from someone.
> I have this problem, eye contact, I can't make any! And when I do make eye contact, i bulge my eyes to look at the person and it looks so freakin weird, i have social anxiety but Effexor has helped big time, is there any meds or Anything that can help?
>
> Regards
> Matthew
This is the end of the thread.
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