I'm in high school, and i constantly feel started at. Especially at lunch. I can't enjoy my meal without usually feeling like someone is watching me. Is there any way i can just let it go or at least feel more comfortable being watched?
This is actually a documented phenomenon called imaginary audience. It is a common experience for teenagers. It likely results from a combination of being self-conscious and the wish to avoid negative attention.
Although we experience the judgment of others throughout life and perhaps even more so during our teenage years, you are not being watched as often as you think. Regardless, there are a few things you can do to grow more at ease despite the scrutiny of judgmental eyes.
“When you judge another, you do not define them, you define yourself.” ~ Wayne Dyer
Although it may feel like how other people see you defines who you are or effects the way you feel, it is not really so.
The way we see and judge others is a reflection of our own state of mind. We judge others according to our own mental and emotional limits. Therefore when you judge someone, it says more about you than it does about the person you are judging.
When you feel differently because someone has judged you, it is because you have placed undue emphasis on their perception. The less you know yourself, the more value the opinions of others seem to have. You stand to know yourself better than anyone ever else will.
“Judge not and you shall not be judged.” ~ Jesus
On the other hand, if your mind is in the habit of judging others then you will experience their judgments of you more intensely.
On a neurological basis there is the saying, “What fires together, wires together.” This mean that when certain neural pathways fire often at the same time, they become associated. Thus the more you engage judgmental and negative thought patters toward yourself or others, the more “ready” you are to experience them.
Work on noticing when you are unduly judging yourself or others.
“From the very beginning you are being told to compare yourself with others. This is the greatest disease; it is like a cancer that goes on destroying your very soul. Each individual is unique, and comparison is not possible. I am just myself and you are just yourself. There is nobody else in the world to be compared with. Do you compare a marigold with a roseflower? You don’t compare. Do you compare a mango with an apple? You don’t compare. You know they are different - comparison is not possible.” ~ Osho
In order to compare two things, you must reduce them to something that is comparable. This can be useful when comparing two cars. It is a consumerist mentality. But when it comes to perceiving living things, it is hopeless. It is hopeless because it is reductionist.
Accept that who and what you are is utterly unique. You will be judged and compared throughout life–just wait for college applications. But know that you are more than the sum of your parts. You are more than the ways in which you are judged and compared.
The way to really drive this all home into your heart, beyond just knowing it in your head, is to practice daily meditation and mindfulness. I’d also strongly recommend the book The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle.
And when you’re eating lunch, just be in your body. Taste the food, breath the air, and be grateful for that simple experience.
Namaste my friend. Much love.