staring at a face -- an old technique against social anxiety

Please take also a look at the video: 'Attention Modification Program improved -- AMPi '

If we look in the face of another human being it is for all human beings possible to detect seven so called "basic emotions" (Paul Ekman): Anger, Fear, Sadness, Happiness, Surprise, Disgust and Contempt. If we look at somebody, he/she is normally also able to look at us. So it is possible that he/she can detect or think that he/she detects in our faces the impression he/she makes on us. Probably we don't want to show another human being that we are anxious because of him/her. But there is another emotion that is much more problematic in interpersonal nonverbal communication. This emotion is: contempt. Some human beings can get anxious because of the more unconscious belief that someone can detect signs of contempt in their faces. So these human beings try to do everything to show nobody that they experience contempt, when they look at him/her, because this display of their faces could make others very angry. Sometimes social anxiety is so great that a social anxious human being decreases the contact to others.

Perhaps the reason for contempt it is the more unconscious experience that we and our social environment are too much determinate through some mad beliefs about life and feel that these beliefs are not correct. So there can develop contempt because of this circumstance. The German Philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche pointed out: "Madness is seldom in individuals, but madness is the general rule in groups, nations and ages." („Wahnsinn bei Individuen ist selten, aber in Gruppen, Nationen und Epochen die Regel.")

The "staring at a face" is one of the oldest techniques against social anxiety. Look only between the eyes of another human and then relax. First many people become a little bit nervous, because in their past they often have made the experience, that other humans beings do not like to be stared and can get angry. But in this video you can look at a face and nobody will be angry. Of course you can show contempt if you look at the face. But after awhile, you can think about mad beliefs. Sometimes it helps to speak out loudly your feelings and thoughts. And you can be relaxed and make the experience that "the face of our vis-à-vis is perhaps the most interesting place in world." ("Das menschliche Gesicht ist der wohl interessanteste Teil der Erdoberfläche." by the German Philosopher Georg Christoph Lichtenberg).

Ekman and Heider (1988) described the facial expression of contempt as follows: "An expression in which the corner of the lip is tightened and raised slightly on one side of the face (or much more strongly on one side than the other) signaled contempt."
But if a human being has a face, where the left side differ strongly from the right side, every time when this human being shows a smile, one corner of the lip seems to be more strongly tightened and raised on one side of the face. So another human being can perceive this smile not as happiness, but as contempt and can get very angry. So perhaps the whole life of a human being can be determinate through a little but relevant difference and it is not possible to find the reason for social anxiety, because the face is usually perceived as a whole and only if you make a photo of the front of the face and then divide it in the middle and mirror the both sides you can get a real impression of the true difference between face-sides (for this purpose you can use photoshop). It is known from studies of attractiveness that human beings with mental disorders have sometimes a great difference between both face-sides. It is also known that psychiatric drugs can decrease facial expressions. So it is possible that this is the main effect, because then other human beings would detect with less chance contempt and so would be with less chance angry. Perhaps a better solution can be learning to express emotions with the voice and reduce body movements. But if psychotherapy seems to be necessary, another strategy can be used, where no direct nonverbal communication between the human beings takes place. Please see the description of the video: 'Technique for overcoming depressions: The handwritten conversation in a face to face contact'

Surely it can be more helpful if you can do 'staring at a face' with another human being in real. But perhaps it can be better if you do it before with another video here on youtube: 'Jessica Alba The Stare Response' If you do it with another human being in real, please show this human being this description of the video and explain that for awhile your face can show some signs of contempt. But be critical, because sometimes you can see not only a face, then say to yourself: Everything will turn out all right.

Ekman, P., & Heider, K. G. (1988). The Universality of a Contempt Expression: A Replication. Motivation and Emotion, 12(3), 303-308.

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[WhatsHappening783402]

Face staring is something, but you still need to make direct eye contact with people. Its the only way to have a true connection. That 'friends,trust' connection. without it, people will shrug you off, or even see you as an outsider and won't want to talk to you or pay attention to you. Eye contact is nothing, its your mindset you need to work on.

[ansgar1965]

@WhatsHappening783402 Surely you are right, but in the recently changed description of the video I pointed out that face to face communication can be the reason of social anxiety. So another solution seems to be necessary. Please take a look at the description of the video: "Die Gesichtshälften von Adolf Hitler"

[boldswede]

i was thinking the other day, when does my SA kick in? its when i have to make eye contact. I thought if i practised just staring into a face it, i'd soon get used to it and feel less anxious. So i looked on the internet for this technique and some one else all ready thought of it. Does it work? I can imagine its better to do it with a human rather than a youtube vid....

[ansgar1965]

@boldswede Recently I changed the description of the video. Please look there.

[simplymeyoo]

I really need soome help with this anxiety :( please helP ??? everything i find you gotta buy but i hope i can get some help here

[ansgar1965]

@simplymeyoo You could try to talk in a handwritten manner to another human being. You can find some more information in the description of the video: “Technique for overcoming depressions: The handwritten conversation in a face to face contact” If you have no partner for a dialog, please write down an anxious thought and then imagine what a wise and caring human being would say to you. Please write this down. Practice this until your anxiety has gone.

[SirGrixxly]

I was scared to death that this was going to be a screamer.

[MisterMetadata]

This could not help me at all....the moment I looked at its eyes, the combination of the music and how it looks just made me burst into laughter! xD

[ESOTERICALADEPT]

This is like Kikaida's Professor Gil and the android lab!!

[pinksunflower100]

scarry ass music

[MyMansson]

screamer....... alert

[locote85]

I think this method is a good approach towards calming stress when talking to others. I've found this video to help quite a lot, i think being unconfortable with eye contact was what triggered my shyness in the first place.

Another good idea is to watch other videos of people talking, video blogs etc where you actually see real human emotions and gestures.

Thank you for posting - your video and your idea behind this has helped me tremendously...

[Proverbs29]

What's with the 70's sci-fi music ? This is a weird video. I could only handle about 4 seconds of it.

[alterbridgefan99]

yo! I'm gonna have nightmares lol

[danceisfun43]

This is creepy



[xlhotlx]

i dont think this is going to help at all...

[420Cecill]

this is more creepy than anything......

wtf.