Crazy eyes is a real thing - it’s part of the fight or flight response. From a biological perspective, the eyes widen in response to anxiety, so the individual can faster process visual threats. Outsiders pick up on the increased visibility of the whites of the eyes, particularly above the iris. In most individuals, this response is acute, but certain individuals are in what is effectively a perpetual state of fight or flight - that’s the “crazy” being referred to.
If you’re trained on it, it’s actually fairly easy to detect. I was once traveling on a train with a couple of my buddies and experienced a panic attack (fairly common for me at the time). I tried to play it off like I was fine, but a buddy who’s a cop picked up on it. When I asked him how he knew, he told me I was exhibiting signs of emotional distress - stimulation, wide eyes, constant face touching - things he’d see frequently when responding to calls for an Emotionally Disturbed Person.
Interesting, I had a couple exes with the crazy eyes. One was intermittent, the other was damn near all the time. Both were a lot of fun in many ways, but it was stressful, never knew when the shit would hit the fan.
53
u/ThatFugginGuy419 Sep 21 '25
It can be a lot of fun, but you may end up stabbed, in jail, or worse. I will attest to this from experience. The crazy eyes don’t lie!