Hallucination or real?

Newtype

Well-known member
From spending some time here, I know that many people here feel like everyone is looking at them. I'm sort of like that too, but less now than before.

Sometimes, I get these glimpses of girls looking at me and smiling... For example, yesterday I was at school doing some math homework and there was this really beautiful girl sitting across from me and she was doing math homework too. She got up to ask the teacher a question and when I looked up, I saw her looking at me and smiling... But you see, I don't know if it's an hallucination caused by my social anxiety, as if my brain was playing tricks on me by making me see what I want.

Earlier this week, in the library, another girl did the same thing, and a few months ago, something similar happened as well. I don't know these girls, never seen them before. Also, these girls never said a word to me.

I dunno, sometimes I feel like I'm going crazy like Natalie Portman in the Black Swan. I'm at a point where I don't know if what I see is reality or fiction.
 

hoddesdon

Well-known member
The looking you mention originally is framed in a negative context, whereas instances of girls smiling at you are obviously positive. When males start looking at you and smiling, then you have something to worry about. The two are not the same thing.
 

planemo

Well-known member
No I don't think you're hallucinating. I think it's more a lack of understanding. If guys like us likes a girl, we probably wouldn't even look in her direction. Now, if a girl is looking at you and smiling, it is a positive thing, but because that behaviour is so unnatural and probably alien to us, we just assume there must be something sinister about it. I have no doubt the girls in question were looking at you with a positive intention. If it happens again, just smile back. What do you have to lose?
 

Deus_Ex_Lemur

Well-known member
No I don't think you're hallucinating. I think it's more a lack of understanding. If guys like us likes a girl, we probably wouldn't even look in her direction. Now, if a girl is looking at you and smiling, it is a positive thing, but because that behaviour is so unnatural and probably alien to us, we just assume there must be something sinister about it. I have no doubt the girls in question were looking at you with a positive intention. If it happens again, just smile back. What do you have to lose?

Agree. When you have no sense of self for a while, it's hard to discern what's real and what's in your head. We're always viewing things under anxiety colored glasses or other shades. Im in a similar confusing situation - been so long I just go up and down about what signs may mean I've bought tea leaf tree to help me out. Heh. It's hard when hasn't been tangible objective evidence.

Smile back is the best first step. Eye contact too. Nothin' to lose with those things.
 

R3K

Well-known member
ya that's what girls do... it's like they're allowed to tease us with these little glimpses and semi-suggestive smiles. but we (men) aren't allowed to do this, and we have to deal with their teasing and not let it get under our skin. tell yourself this: there's hundreds of girls and guys in my school, this probably happens to every other dude and it's not really a big deal most of the time.
 
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