Haha, yeah eye contact is a pain in the back end. Seriously, why is it so important to people? I really don't get it.

Over the years I've gotten a lot better at it with close friends and family. I can sometimes maintain eye contact for 10 seconds or so now which is a lot better than when I just never looked at them at all. But with people I don't know so well I still really struggle.
A 'trick' my PDoc suggested, which is something I'm trying out just now, is to look at people's forehead. It's almost impossible unless you're very close to them for them to notice you're looking at their forehead instead of their eyes and it avoids the complete awful sensation that comes from making eye contact.