Posted by Kim on December 6, 2022, 9:00am
The Festival of Being Excellent to Each Other continues, and today's topic is eye contact!You may have seen some people entering the custom gallery image warning "eye contact," or mods adding this as the explanation to pictures of faces that the uploader tagged as needing a warning prior to viewing. And you might have wondered, why is eye contact something that anyone would want a warning before seeing? Well, get ready to learn about the fascinating range of people around you!
Eye contact turns out to be a potential trigger for folks with a wide range of issues. For example, some autistic folks, or folks with PTSD or C-PTSD experience eye contact as uncomfortable, overwhelming, or even physically painful. In high school, one of my closest friends found that eye contact was a strong trigger for her newly-onset schizophrenia, causing her to begin hearing frightening voices if she had to maintain it for more than a moment.
This is one of those issues that many who experience it try to manage themselves, in silence, because they don't want to have to disclose the trauma (or diagnosis) that the issue stems from for them. But it's more common than you might imagine!
Again, adding warnings to images for eye contact isn't a rule. No mod is going to force you, or be upset with you for not putting warnings on gallery images of characters looking directly back at the viewer. But this is the Festival of Being Excellent to Each Other, and we're arming ourselves with knowledge to take that extra step and be truly excellent to everyone around us! So the next time you're uploading images, (or picking an icon to represent yourself!) consider how intense a direct gaze may be for those around you, and think about adding a custom warning for eye contact to make the world feel safer and more excellent.
Every five kudos you write this week will earn you a special winter candle accolade to display proudly on your profile, available only during FOBETEO.
Remember, to be eligible, a kudos needs to contain a clear "why" explaining what makes your friend so special! Don't just say "He's awesome!", tell the world what makes your friend so awesome. Click here for the complete kudos guidelines.
Post tags: FOBETEO FOBETEO 2022
Comments
That was very interesting read, there is little trick when it comes to eye contact. Look at person you talk eyebrows or their forehead. It helped me in the past I hope this little "trick" can help more people who have hard time making eye contact.
oven
December 7, 2022
8:35am