Stupid question but I just found out that looking at the spot between someone's eyes isn't eye contact, apparently? So do people just stare at one eye? I don't understand. I thought I'd been making eye contact this whole time
I mentioned to my therapist that I think I'm autistic and during that conversation, she asked me if my empathy is natural empathy or a result of my hypervigilance due to a long history of trauma. My defenses immediately went up because I considered empathy a core part of who I am but as I slowly process this, I'm starting to wonder if it isn't a trauma response.
How can I tell the difference? My trauma started super early so there isn't really a "before" for me.