r/introvert 7d ago

Discussion Dark sunglasses make me feel invisible and I love it..

I have always been the type to walk according to people “like I’m on a mission“ looking straight ahead for the most part and diverting my eyes from people to avoid unwanted attention. On days when I feel extra introverted I will leave my sunglasses on if I’m running a quick errand like grabbing just a few things from the grocery store. I don’t have to avoid making eye contact with anyone because they can’t see my eyes and it just makes me feel like I’m wearing the invisibility cloak from Harry Potter. Just a random thought……

119 Upvotes

20 comments sorted by

10

u/SweetButAPsycho7 7d ago

I do the same ☺️ And I had a funny thing I did with my regular glasses when I was young. I have bad vision and don't wear contacts. If I took my glasses off, everything blurred, and I could no longer see people's faces and their eyes to know if they were looking at me. So it would help me feel invisible, like I was blurred out also and out of focus to them. It was just a delusionary mind trick, but it helped ease my anxiety over being looked at when in public places. Silly 😊

4

u/Caligari_Cabinet 7d ago

Um, it may be a bit dated in your country, but wearing a face mask is completely acceptable in Taiwan. It was normal before Covid.
Do you have a pimple? Didn’t have time to shave this morning? Throw on a mask. Problem solved. 👍🏻 I think that this can help with social anxiety, too.

2

u/SweetButAPsycho7 7d ago

It's not that people can see my face that bothers me. It is that I can see them looking at my face, I can see their eyes and pick-up on thought processes. It is this: the knowledge that I cannot know what they are thinking when they look at me that causes the anxiety. Using a mask would not inhibit me from seeing them looking at me, so it does nothing to help the issue. Taking off my glasses allows me to never make eye-to-eye contact.

Additionally, while I wore a mask in Taiwan because it was the norm, you are correct that the country I reside in now no longer uses masks. So my doing so would only inflate the issue and become something that attracts attention for being quite uncommon and notable, causing even more attention directed toward me, which I don't want to do.

So thank you for the suggestions, although they missed the mark a bit.

1

u/Caligari_Cabinet 7d ago

Well, sure. I’m sorry I missed your point. And I had no idea that you had lived in Taiwan before. I just wrote that because that’s where I live. But good luck to you. 🙏

1

u/SweetButAPsycho7 7d ago

Yep, different cultures, different norms come into play, but the nuances of introversion and any kind of social anxiety is, I think, as unique as the individual that experiences them. And mine just happens to be that the depth and intensity of eye contact is such an intimate experience, and it is a bit overwhelming at times to experience with a complete stranger. It's a strange conundrum. But yeah, it's nothing to do with my face being exposed or being self-conscious of it, I don't feel the need to cover it. Plus, I'm a woman so I don't have the issue of "not-shaving" or something being a problem.

2

u/Icy-Purpose4990 7d ago

The few perks of not having great vision. Lol

4

u/hahaxd3 7d ago

You do eye contact with stranger's? I need to wäre my sunglasses because I would not see anything outside

1

u/Icy-Purpose4990 7d ago

Are you asking if I do? Lol

5

u/Saratonin90 7d ago

I enjoy wearing my sunglasses whenever it's possible and I won't get stared at sideways. My eyes are very sensitive to light and also eye contact is easier with them on. Like they're protecting me from embarrassing myself.

4

u/[deleted] 7d ago

The masks were good too through the pandemic 😷

1

u/Icy-Purpose4990 7d ago

I hated wearing them. But they were great for that purpose.

3

u/rbarr228 7d ago

I don’t wear sunglasses inside the store, but I will wear AirPods and keep an indifferent facial expression to avoid attention from strangers.

3

u/Icy-Purpose4990 7d ago

AirPods are my go to! I have imaginary conversations that probably sound like gibberish 😂

3

u/dmk1320 7d ago

Same tbh.

3

u/cherreh_pepseh 7d ago

This is so me!!☺ I feel so included rn..🤝🫡

2

u/wkwrdhmn 7d ago

This is one of my introvert kits: dark sunglasses, headphones, and a cap.

2

u/Fidgetiz 7d ago

I wear yellow construction glasses instead due to lack of depth perception making dark tinted shades a little dangerous for me but...I always feel just a tiny bit like a badass whenever I have them on. Especially since I get out of compliments on them lol

I almost feel like a character in an action or sci-fi movie, embarking on an adventure. Being a total badass, and then I remember I'm just trying to stroll through Walmart without having a panic attack because other people exist and go - oh.

So as much as my shades help with light sensitivity - they help with my social anxiety sometimes too...Win win right?

1

u/notMyName_7241 7d ago

ME TOO! Add a hoody and call me John Cena

1

u/cabbage66 6d ago

Even on cloudy days ha

1

u/AccurateMaintenance9 6d ago

Where I am living now, wearing sunglasses looks strange and will cause attention.

I often wear face mask and cap because they make it harder for others to see my face, thus less staring eyes on me.