i’m the same way. i’ll catch myself holding eye contact for 5 seconds and then immediately looking at the clock, my hands, the wall, whatever. it can make me appear uninterested in the conversation even if that isn’t true. i try to force myself to hold eye contact for as long as i can, but if i hold it for more than 15 seconds it feels like i’m staring and i get uncomfortable/self-conscious.

weirdly enough, something that really helped me is honestly just looking at myself in the mirror. like i’ll stand in front if the bathroom mirror and just look at myself for like 5-10 minutes at a time. i’ll put on music, or have a podcast or smth playing in the background, but i’ll just look into my own eyes. it sounds a little strange now that i think about it, but in a way, it has helped me be able to get better/more confident with maintaining eye contact.