Cannot look in people's eyes

[WoW_GOD]

I'm not sure if this is the place to put this, but whenever someone looks me in the eyes and I'm looking at them I immediatly feel intimidated and look away, towards the ground anywhere to escape the look. I can only look a few people in the eyes without looking away, and I'm not sure if there somthing wrong with me.

[INFERNO]

Many people are uncomfortable with looking others in the eyes or being looked in the eyes. To many, it seems confrontational, much like if you look an animal (i.e. dog) in the eyes, they take that as being confrontational and a sign of aggression. It can be taken as having lower self-esteem, or it can be taken as not being aggressive or confrontational. The actual act of being unable to look someone in the eyes is not a "bad thing", the reasons for being unable to do so are more important to consider.

If you feel intimidated, it's leading to more self-esteem issues, which can be dealt with accordingly. However, different people have different reasons. I myself am able to look people in the eyes, generally stare right into them, and strangers or my friends who have a healthy high self-esteem tend to look away. So, it may not be simply low self-esteem, it can be other factors at work but without knowing them, resolving the overall issue you're having is going to be harder.

[AutumnDae]

Many people have problems with maintaining eye contact. *Raises hand* I am one of them. There are only a few people I can look in the eyes.

There's nothing at all wrong with you.

One thing that I have recently started doing: If you find yourself in a position that you need to look someone in the eyes, look at their eyebrows. I find that that to be a lot easier and less pressure put on me. You're looking at their face, just not in their eyes, but its so close it looks like you are looking in their eyes. :)

[Triceratops]

This is very common, I also have problems looking people directly in the eye and I feel awkward and nervous whenever someone else looks me in the eyes. So you're definitely not alone there. :)

The fact you feel intimidated may be due to issues with self esteem? Lack of confidence? Past experiences? Also, looking at the ground when talking to someone will give off the impression that you're being rude, ignoring them or that you're not interested in what they're saying - even though they're not the reasons why but they might not realise that. So you could try looking at another part of their face INSTEAD of their eyes, that does helps me a lot at times. Or you can find help to boost your self esteem and confidence somehow.

Good luck. :)

[Donkey]

I'm like this too. It's totally normal, as you can see from all of the people who are the same in the above posts. I don't think it's a mental illness rather than just a human trait. I haven't been able to do this since I was four. I think if you get into the habit, and start practising to do it, it might become easier to do. Luck to you man. :)

[House]

My mum said that I always made eye contact when I was little and I just won't mode my eyes or anything. But know I can't, and I try to avoid it, even when I have to do presentations in class it's important to make eye contact but when I do I forget what I have to say so I just look at anything else.

[Miss Punk]

That's perfectly normal, personally I think it's just extremely rude for someone to look you right in the eye and it's just as bad as if they were invading your personal space. It's ok to want to avoid it.