@Absinthe That's a good question! I had wondered about that, too.
My understanding is that the threshold for the discomfort of sustained eye contact may be significantly reduced for people with (for example) PTSD, autism, alexithymia, or social anxiety.
Some people's brains have atypically high activity in the subcortical pathway, which processes facial expressions. Due to this hypersensitivity, too much exposure to eye contact can in fact hurt their brains.
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@Absinthe
That's a good question! I had wondered about that, too.
My understanding is that the threshold for the discomfort of sustained eye contact may be significantly reduced for people with (for example) PTSD, autism, alexithymia, or social anxiety.
Some people's brains have atypically high activity in the subcortical pathway, which processes facial expressions. Due to this hypersensitivity, too much exposure to eye contact can in fact hurt their brains.
https://www.thecut.com/article/heres-why-eye-contact-is-so-awkward-for-some-people.html