• Welcome to Autism Forums, a friendly forum to discuss Aspergers Syndrome, Autism, High Functioning Autism and related conditions.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Private Member only forums for more serious discussions that you may wish to not have guests or search engines access to.
    • Your very own blog. Write about anything you like on your own individual blog.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon! Please also check us out @ https://www.twitter.com/aspiescentral

Light Sensitivity

C

Caspar

Well-Known Member
When I am outside on a sunny day, I have to either wear sunglasses, a cap, or have a hand over my forehead. The latter makes me look really weird...Or maybe I'm just too self-conscious. I just can't stand walking facing the sun. Sometimes, even reflected sunlight and glare is too bright for me. Bright lights just make me tired and exhausted for some reason. I don't understand it at all.

Does anyone else have this issue? How do you cope with it?

Edit: Apparently, this is called photophobia which may be related to neurological conditions or eye problems...
 
I wear shades during the day in general. And I don't have that much lights on... so it's kinda dark in my room all the time.

Bright lights usually give me a headache, especially if I'm directly exposed to it. Also, there is a comfort thing I think. I feel that a dulled down light makes me feel less sensory aware much like one would have headphones on to "drown sounds". But I even have that with TL-tubes, those give me a headache often.

A few months ago I was sitting at the employment agency with shades on and the person I was talking to asked me a few times to remove them, but A. I don't want to have a headache over a silly conversation at such agency and B. I didn't feel comfy at all as I already had a hard time in ignoring all the sounds I heard at the department.

But in general I cope with it by being a night person. And I've been like that for a big part of my life. Yes I went to high school and such... but I had a few sidejobs in the night/early morning ever since I was 15, which worked fine for being more active at night. A lot of the time (especially since I don't have a job) I go to bed at 8 am, and wake up.. somewhere in the afternoon, and usually do my groceries either with my shades on, or wait until it's dark (which is quite early in the winter). I also go for walks a lot during the night, during the day it stresses me out a lot to for "recreational walking", cause I don't want to drown out sounds with music all the time.
 
Eh. Im kinda weird about it. Bright light makes me anxious and cloudy, dark days make me depressed. I geuss Im sorta picky about lighting and weather. Do the sunglasses work good for you? Havent tried wearing shades yet.

Might have to do like that old rock song, and be so cool that I wear my sunglasses at night ;)
 
@2010Dolby: Sunglasses work for me. But I was told that I look weird under sunglasses. Personally, I try to 'blend in' and look as plain as possible since once in a while I would hear people say that "something's not right" about me...

Sunglasses at night, eh? I'm not cool enough for that; plain old eyeglasses are good enough for me at night. :D
 
I am sensitive to light. Doctors offices freak me out as do overly-sunny days.
I prefer storm weather.

I usually don't wear sunglasses because I don't think to bring them with me.
 
Yeah, I can get a bit of a headache if I'm out in the sun too long, it's certainly a strain on my eyes at least.

My wayfarers are a prized possession=)
 
Sunglasses on all but the darkest days (rain, snow, etc. all require sunglasses). No overhead lights unless essential to task at hand, no unshaded fluorescent lights (compact fluorescents in a lamp with a dark shade are acceptable). I only learned recently that not everyone can see the flicker of fluorescent lights! I thought everyone noticed it. I also don't like the sound of those long florescent tube lights, but I believe that is another thread.:)
 
I've been really struggling with the sunlight these past few days. Going outside I have to squint constantly to block it out/put my hand to my forehead and I keep my head down, I really need to find some sunglasses that suit me, every pair I've ever bought have always made me look weird. Same with hats, I'm not a hat person either.
 
Mine comes and goes, but it's only sunlight that's troublesome. I had a lot of issues in the early-to-mid-1990s; then they went away; they came back around 2009, and have lightened up a bit again. :wacko:
 
For me it was a simple solution. I am extremely nearsighted borderline legally blind without my glasses, so since I need corrective lenses anyway, & suffer from severe photophobia, I got my glasses all made tinted/dark. So I can see well but also be protected from the sun. I don't care what anyone else thinks, if someone asks or on a job interview or something, I'll just tell them about my condition.
 
I love the sun, but am rather photosensitive and generally wear photoreactive glasses.. I also struggle with sharp contrasts between light and dark - driving in the dark and coping with oncoming headlights for example. I generally keep my home dimly lit, curtains drawn, for comfort.
 
I don't have huge issues with light sensitivities, and I'm not sure that they are really that much different to those experienced by NTs. For me the main sensory issue is sensitivity to sound.

If I'm out in the sun for too long, I get a headache and I sometimes feel sleepy. I always thought my headaches to be due to dehydration, but after reading threads about light sensitivity, I realise that they could be due to exposure to sunlight. I squint a lot, and need to shade myself from the sun. Cloudy days are not a problem.

I don't like artificial light, and like natural sunlight to come into the house. I don't like sitting in the house with the curtains drawn because I can't see out and the house is way too dark to read. Many people in this country close all the curtains and then sit in the house during the day with artificial lighting. That never made any sense to me. Dull winter days make me feel depressed.

I need pitch black darkness to be able to sleep. Even the landing light needs to be switched off because it shines through the crack in the door frame, and I can't tolerate stanby nd pilot lights on electrical devices. These need sto be covered up or switch up. I need to use shutters and blackout curtains.

I don't like flickering or flashing lights and can't bear to watch a movie or the TV with the lights off. Also, entering a supermarket with at night is a problem. The brightness all hits me at once and it feels really strange, as if not in reality, it's hard to describe.

I can't stand bright unshaded flourescent lights, especially the white ones. We had a flourescent strip light installed in the kitchen and I never ever used it, I hate it. For me they hum, but they don't flicker, though I remember flickering lights when I was at school, perhaps I'm less sensitive now. Old TVs flicker, and that drives me mad.
 
Sunlight does not seem to bother me. It may because almost all of my fun activities are done outside. Artificial, overhead lights do bother me. My wife thinks it is a man thing, but when I am in a store I just want to get what we came for and leave. The lighting makes me uncomfortable( and all the people). In our home we do not use overhead lighting much. We use a lot of lamps, which are a lot lower. When we are at one of our kids homes, they use a lot of overhead lighting and when it comes time to leave I am always ready because of the lighting(and all the people). Some times bright lights, including sunlight, make me sneeze. I have no idea why.
 
Caspar I know exactly what you mean. I used to work under fluorescent lights all day and always went home with a migraine. Artificial lighting in general makes me feel exhausted and anxious. I've always found standing with my eyes closed looking into bright sunlight to be a thrill comparable with how others describe riding a rollercoaster (I've never been brave enough!). I found this a way to try to explain to people why I needed the lights turned off if they wanted my full attention!

I've had a reasonable amount of success using coloured lenses in my glasses (I have a pink tint - I'm literally seeing the world through rose tinted glasses!). It was reasonably cheap to get a colorimetry test done (a local behavioural optometrist had the needed kit) and I'm almost blind without my glasses anyway! Irlen practioners are another option but much more costly for the same effect. The colour has been better than sunglasses for me as although it cuts less light out people can still see your eyes and I can drive in them at night - it really helps with oncoming headlights so may be worth a look spiller? As a bonus for me I have discovered that words don't move around on the page whilst I'm trying to read anymore! Never realised they weren't supposed to do that!

Hope that's of some use to you! LJ
 
Caspar said:
Bright lights just make me tired and exhausted for some reason. I don't understand it at all.
Click to expand...
Oh wow, you too? I hated driving to college in the evenings because the sunset would almost put me straight to sleep. It was very dangerous driving and I never could get my husband to stay on the phone with me until I got to college so I'd be distracted awake.

It also makes those vile halogen headlights a problem at night. One reason my husband and I agreed I shouldn't be driving unless there's something wrong with him.
 
Some fluorescent lights bother me, but sun glare is a killer, & glasses make it worse! Sometimes I can't see my ball in the fairway due to glare!
 
I have massive issues with light and have wondered what was causing this. When I a older teenager I would get the bus and in the autumn especially I would fall asleep as the sun hitting the windows and reflecting in I couldnt cope with, it made me exhausted and i literally couldnt stay awake. As an adult I have this when driving when the sun shines on the road. Again it is an overwhelming urge to sleep and I have to pull over. I have to wear shades to avoid this. It happens sometimes in other situations too though that can just be discomfort and strain, the sleepy thing only happens in bad glare.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New Threads

Top Bottom