Closing your eyes during eye contact?

[tvktvk]

My question relates to Chase's article about looking away after initiating eye contact:

https://www.girlschase.com/content/book-excerpts-dont-look-down-and-heres-why

Sometimes when I start drifting my gaze to the side I close my eyes. Sometimes I do it intentionally, sometimes it feels like a reflex.
Is closing your eyes a sign of submission? I am myself unsure and I would love your opinion on this.
If it is I will work on cutting that reflex out.

TVKTVK

 

[Richard]

Closing your eyes is usually a subtle sign of submission/excess energy. Body language gestures are the manifestations of energies expended in some "reasonable" or "acceptable" way. Often times you'll see public speakers who are nervous do something to use that energy and different gestures have different meanings.

Closing your eyes is a blocking behavior, a way to mentally distance yourself from something you dislike. Briefly touching the eyes, closing your eyes and then slightly delaying opening them again, and tightly closing your eyes are all attempts to block out some information, feeling, thought that you don't like. Touching the eyes is the most passive, and tightly closing them is the most aggressive.

However, closing your eyes can also mean low confidence. If you say something, think something, or do something that you aren't totally sure of then you might close your eyes as a response. For instance, when I was still suffering from approach anxiety (or rather, couldn't properly control my approach anxiety) I would catch myself looking at a girl walk towards me, look at her, look away and then close my eyes until she walked past me.

-Richard

 

[tvktvk]

Thank you for your answer Richard.
I really admire the knowledge you possess and your LR's are nothing short but legendary.
I will work on cutting my reflex out.

TVKTVK