Afraid of eye contact

I'm afraid to make an eye contact with people I don't know in a street, in the shop, etc. I had some social phobia even before benzos, but not to this extent. Can anybody relate?

YES!  I hate eye contact.  and I'm terrible in social situations.  I too had social anxiety before but it was a fraction of what it is now.

Same here. I am in this mess because I made the mistake of taking drugs to try to alleviate social anxiety. And the eye contact thing was a very pronounced wd symptom for me earlier in wd. Still dealing with it to an extent but it is much better now.

I experienced this too when first off.  And, since you are very early off, it's normal under the circumstances.  It will get better as the months go by.

 

Also, most people on the street, passersby, people in stores, etc., don't generally make eye contact either.  It's not expected in our culture.  You are hypersensitive to everything right now (also normal in withdrawal).  Remember, though, that most strangers do not notice you at all.  They do not care and they're not even aware of whether you make eye contact or not.  So, relax.  It's OK and it's only temporary.

 

Now that we don't take Meds we will have to cope w social anxiety. IM trying to lol

I had this problem really bad for a while, especially at work. I could not look almost anyone in the eye. I did try. I'd start to look at them - then I'd look away. I couldn't even say Good Morning to someone without doing this. Well, of course, this led to problems. I began noticing that people no longer looked at me. They'd see me coming and they'd look away. I knew it was because that's what I'd been doing to them. So I forced myself to lock eyes with people when I talked to them. And the problem has gradually gone away.

 

I really doubt that life can get any more messed up than when you're recovering from benzos.

Yes, I find my eyes darting all over the place when I'm in public or talking to someone. Very uncomfortable.

My social phobia started during tolerance withdrawal, got even worse after my cold turkey, and has progressively gone away.  Finally.  I think I started getting some relief around month 4 off, or so.  Like Megan said, people who are out and about on the streets really are wrapped up in their own thoughts, their own worlds.    I think I was just hypervigilant in general..always looking around the corner or looking behind me as if I were going to be blindsided by some catastrophic event.  Benzo nerves, I call it.  This has passed.

 

Take care, all,

 

Sunnyside