Why do some people close their eyes while talking?

[WhitePhantom]

I know a few people who do this, and I find it really weird and disconcerting!

They close their eyes for most of the time while they're talking, and open them as they're coming to the end of what they're saying. All the time, not just the odd time while they're concentrating hard / trying to remember something!

Just wondering, if you're a eye-closer, why do you do it?

Overwhelm of the senses

I think it’s this and yes in some cases also linked to ND.

I suspect I have autism and it's more comfortable for me to sometimes close my eyes. I tend to do it briefly and more often if I'm addressing more than one person. I have to force myself to open my eyes and actually look at people sometimes, it's most uncomfortable.

I'm not anxious but I do have ADHD. I do this sometimes and also look away from people's faces sometimes when I talk. Too much stimulus.

I have to make appropriate eye-contact and look normal with clients at work. So I save it up for them.

i’m autistic

i don’t tend to do it around the very few people in the world that I am truly comfortable with

I'm in Oxford and it's very common here. I think it's a posh thing!

Long posh drawls and eyes closed to not have to look at the peasants when you talk to them! :)

I also think it's an older generation thing that will die out.

Drives me crazy!

Exactly. What you’re communicating is ‘I’m afraid/unwilling/determined not to see how you’re responding to what I’m saying.’

When I lived in Oxford, the working and lower-middle classes were as in evidence there as anywhere else…

Oh, I also do it if I am writing code or a research paper and really get into the zone. I just sit at my computer with my eyes closed and type like a mad woman.

This is a really good point that I’ve never even noticed before in myself or anyone else but realised I do it automatically when trying to recall a memory after reading you say it. 😁

I know a few people who do this, notably my old GP and my old boss. For them it's definitely discomfort at the social interaction.
The boss is one of those super clever people who's won loads of science prizes and heads up massive projects.

It reduces cognitive load shutting your eyes. If you're trying to cope with overwhelm and/or trying to construct a sentence or struggling with an idea/emotion, it helps.

Not only did this person I met once do this , she also held her hand up to her neck as if she was trying to strangle herself
People have some odd habits I think.

Thanks everyone, some interesting replies!

I hadn't thought about ND / shutting out sensory overload - I guess that's a thing with some people.

Re. struggling to concentrate / angry / etc. I'm not talking about scenarios like that. I'm talking about light casual conversation about nothing in particular. Every sentence is accompanied with a closing of the eyes! It really is off-putting and limits communication when you know that your expressions and reactions are not part of the conversation. As a pp said, so much of communication is non-verbal, and they're completely shutting that out.

Thinking
Avoid eye contact
Collect thoughts
Ground self

The only people I've known to do this have been very self absorbed and not interested in anything anyone else has to say.

I can not make eye contact with people when talking, or if they are talking to me... and if I am trying to concentrate or recall something, I do close my eyes. It shuts out visual stuff, so I have a slightly better chance of keeping my thoughts on track.
That, and I once read about when people lie, they look to the left, so if my eyes are shut, no one can try and judge if I am lying or not.

The actor Rose Leslie does it, well she did in Vigil, and The Good Fight I think. Not seen her other work.

Having looked her up on Wiki, she's definitely posh.