L.E.D. strobe lights on vehicles: Cause of meltdown?

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This is a tough one for me to write about, but I have to set aside any shame or embarrassment and just blurt it out. First, let me say I'm a 43-year-old Aspie; happily married, and my wife and I run a successful business. I have not had a full meltdown in 20 years, until last night. I had a really rough last few days, as some rather heavy emotional issues have come up (but thankfully are being solved equitably) but not without difficulty. With that said, yesterday was, let's say, the beginning of a turning point very good in nature. I was proud of myself an of my wife, for making decisions as we did, and we will be a better, healthier couple for it.

With all that said, I had gone out on some errands, and was to meet my wife at the mall around 7PM. I had a little run-in with two men who may have been following me; motive unknown. That always causes a little bit of anxiety, as I was the victim of all kinds of bullying and even an armed robbery as a little boy. So I arrived at the meeting place, and it was very crowded at the mall; and lots of lights & action. Usually no problem coping for me. But the security guards ride scooters with insanely-bright LED strobe lights on the front, and just as I was thinking about what these two men were up to following me, this flashing LED light went WHAM in my eyes, at about a frequency of 10 or 12 Hz. I totally lost it. I screeched my tires, and ripped all around the parking lot with the throttle wide-open (unbelievably irresponsible and dangerous) with this security guard chasing me, and finally I spotted my wife and miraculously got the truck parked and got out, then I fell apart. I though the guard was someone else, and I was hallucinating that I was Jewish, and it was still World War II, and he was one of Hitler's men out to kill my wife and me. I ran as fast as I could, but my feet would't cooperate. My wife says I crashed square into a parked car that I never saw; still mentally blinded by that 12-hz strobe. (On foot, thank goodness). Today I'm all bruised up, and I don't really know what to make of it.

Has anyone else here experienced a total thing like this, with white or bluish-white LED lights flashing? It's the only thing I can think of, which could have catalyzed the (otherwise totally controlled) pressure of my day. 43 years, and I only remember one other similar incident, and that was when I was about 18 and wrongly medicated for paranoid schizophrenia (later 100% confirmed as a misdiagnosis).

Thanks for any input on this, and I intend to write a detailed letter to the mall security office, and to the local chapters of any disability support groups, and local law enforcement on this subject, if it becomes somewhat clear to me that these lights could be doing something to endanger the Aspergers and Autism communities.

Charles

They don't cause me to have meltdowns, but they make me feel very dizzy for a few hours and I feel disoriented for a while longer than that. They affect me as much, but in a different way. I can't stand strobe lights.

nothing like that. they just cause eye pain and migraines/nausea :/

Thank you for the replies... What I felt was panic and anxiety, I guess. I suppose the whole thing could have been coincidental, but somehow I have to think there was something that was a straw that broke the camel's back. I'm not on any new medication (nor am I newly off any), and there were no other influences that I can think of. As soon as I got out of the focus of that strobe, I calmed down and started feeling foolish.

Charles

Dunno about LEDs specifically, but strobe lighting does weird things to me, but I didn't know it was an AS thing.

Well if the security guard on a scooter (with or wthout antisocial lighting) takes on a truck, he's going to lose, so he won't. What's happened with this car you've crashed into?

I'm interested in this because I ride a bicycle. Vehicle lighting has become an arms race, and it's only now, with the advent of bright white LEDs and lithium ion batteries that bicycles have been able to carry the same standard of lighting as cars. And what a difference it makes to their behaviour when they can't claim not to have seen you.

With adversion to flashing lights I'd be thinking about photosensitive epilepsy rather than AS. Maybe it's going to become a problem and we'll need some standards for maximum intensity and flash rate. The best thing to do, if you are dazzled or otherwise harmed by someone elses' lights is to stop and wait until they've gone away of course.

As for the car I ran into (on foot), I doubt anything happened. My left knee, hip, and arm are all bruised and sore, but I wasn't wearing a big belt buckle, or anything that would have scratched it. Only a T-shirt and jeans. If something did happen, I know the security guard would have loved nothing more than to get me in any trouble he could, so he'd have told the car owner my license number if there had been anything wrong. I never saw any car anyway... My wife said I walked (ran) full-speed right square into it like it was invisible. If on the outside chance I did damage it, and someone contacts me, I'll write a check.

For the idea of bringing standards for various lighting, that's why I wrote this post here, among other reasons. These LED lights are a new thing, and if there's a problem, I'd hate to have society wait til somebody is killed before it comes to the attention of the officials, and the American Medical Ass'n, etc.

Charles

OMG, you poor thing!! I think it may have been an accumulative effect. I havent heard of this happening, but I am visually defensive. All lights bother me. lights that are in front of me cause headaches and nausea. flourescent, strobes, or flashing lights are horrible. I could see myself melting down if I had the additional stressors you had.

A good source of info might be the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation. They may be able to point you to research on sensory triggers.

Sorry, I miss read this and thought you hit it with the truck, which would have been a bit more destructive. Hope the bruises heal soon.

I've only really thought about lighting in terms of hazard perception. Eg UK police cars are permitted to use flashing red to the rear when stationary and therefore use it all the time, even when they pose no more risk than a parked vehicle with no lights. Therefore masking out an approaching cyclist who also has a flashing red rear light. Now that we have awesome LEDs, the cyclist could fit lights as bright as the police car (there's no upper limit to cycle light brightness), but that just causes dazzle to others and perpetuates the arms race. We ought to use light more intelligently, rather than just using more of it.

Have you been getting any weird smells lately? Kinda like burning?

Is there anything that you're overly sensitive to lately, like a taste or smell that hasn't really bothered you that much, until now?

Buzzing in your ears, kinda like fluttering?

Any pins and needles?

I would seriously get checked out for what could be a symptom of an aneurysm - they don't necessarily pop in an instant, some bleed very slowly causing very odd seizures.

Just a thought.

I dislike strobe lights of any kind. They hurt my eyes and are very distracting.

LEDs don't bother me and for strobes it depends with the speed knob is set to, when my buddy does his hunted houses every year I readjust the flash speed.

The skating rink I go to has strobes, not sure if they are LED or not but they are bright as hell and very rapid flashing and it definitely doesn't help my skating but it doesn't make me so disoriented that I can't skate.

Strobe lights can have a very negative effect on me as well.

i personally find strobes to be calming and generally awesome.

Strobe lights give me meltdowns. I feel your pain. Not about the WWII stuff I'm afraid.

Strobes should be illegal on vehicles. I don't like how if they cause me meltdowns at concerts I'm the one that has to leave.