Look into my eyes: can 10 minutes of staring make you hallucinate?

Gaze adoringly at your loved one, and they will soon look deformed, monstrous or like your mother, according to a study. One writer puts it to the test

The first two minutes are the trickiest. My partner, C, and I are seated opposite one another in our bedroom, staring into each other's eyes. As she does every single morning after finishing her breakfast, our dog saunters in and burps resonantly, as close to our faces as she can aim. We burst into laughter but do not break eye contact. Only another eight minutes to go "

We're doing something we've never done in our 11 years together: looking into each other's eyes without pausing, smiling or talking for 10 minutes. No, this is not some Relate-endorsed attempt to save our relationship, though I wouldn't put it past C, who has just qualified as a Gestalt therapist and does this sort of thing for larks, to suggest it. "Ten minutes?" she splutters when I instruct her to come home immediately and look into my eyes. "Last time I did it, it was only four and I was in love with the man by the end!"