Light Sensitivity (Photophobia) And Autism

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I'm light-sensitive, and have been lifelong. I cannot drive or even walk outside without good sun glasses, and I am subject to ophthalmic migraine attacks if I do go out naked-eyed.

I'll have to look up "photophobia"... Not sure of how that's defined, but a phobia is in my view, an irrational fear. I don't have a fear of light; just a discomfort or disability with it. And even if I did fear bright light, it would be by a rational basis. Hence not a phobia.

Charles

Yes, I get easily forming, long lasting negative afterimages, because of my HPPD. I also get visual snow, among other visual disturbances.

I see more of a "visual snow", it's quite distracting at times. And I am quite light sensitive, but luckily not often inside. Just when I can directly see the source of light, such as in my karate dojo, and I can't wear sunglasses there

Yeah, I get the visual snow, too. It's slight, but it's there. I notice it most in the dark.

What is HPPD?

Same. I sometimes see flickering green lights in my vision as well.

Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder. In other words, it's from taking too many psychedelics and also likely being predisposed to it, as it only took one 2C-I trip (a chemical related to mescaline) at 30mg dose (it's a dose that's on the heavy side, but not unreasonably so, nor terribly uncommon) to give me serious afterimages - there's not been a time since then where I've not had afterimages going on. Before that trip it was mostly visual snow, floaters, halos, and some weird color things when looking at certain patterns.

Eventually it gave me a moving transparent geometric pattern over my whole field of vision, comprised of rainbow colors (the colors are more vivid in the dark). More recently, I have begun having colors morph. For example, the blue and green of the wrong planet forum often switch for me, as if my brain gets confused which is which. This is likely due to me using 2C-E (related to 2C-I), which does that when you are under the influence.

It's fairly rare among psychedelic users - only about 4% of users report ever getting HPPD. I don't mind it, although when it was at its worst, it started being a little bit disruptive. It's a bit strong again now, after I did a rather large dose of two psychedelics last week. Most people who experience it also get things with it like anxiety, depersonalization, derealization, etc. I have not noticed any negative emotional effects, myself, but I find the constant visuals more interesting than worrying.

Wow, that must give you an interesting view of the world!

Well that explains THAT. I thought it was related to the visual distortions we can get by staring at something too long. I cannot even read by bright lamps. And that was the despair of my parents who thought I was wrecking my vision. But that light gave me headaches. I now realize school lighting also did that..

Sincerely,
Matthew

That's what I like about it - what I see nobody else around me sees, and there probably is nobody else on Earth with HPPD exactly like mine (they probably have some shared distortions, but some others that I don't have, or in different intensities than the ones I have), so I am probably the only person who sees things exactly like this.

An example of how some other people are affected by HPPD, is that some people recognize faces in places that no normal person would, like in a popcorn ceiling, or a hardwood floor, or dead leaves on the ground, any texture really. Some people have random floating globs of light, or positive afterimages/tracers, which is like the afterimages I get except shorter in duration, and with colors that are identical to the original object seen, instead of the opposite colors like what I see. If they moved their hand across their field of vision they would see something like a bunch of fading copies of their hand in a trail going down the path they moved it across their vision.

If you want, I can post some images that simulate what things look like for people with HPPD.

to me fluorescent lights are brighter then the sun and the noise they make makes them worse then the sun. I don't mind the sun every-time it's just when it's very bright.

I also think the photo-sensitivity we aspies experience is also connected to a heat sensitivity too.

I'm a light sensitive migraine sufferer.

Too much of the wrong type of light triggers migraine and severe visual disturbances.

My sunglasses are a permanent fixture when outdoors or when shopping in a mall or supermarket.

My otherhalf doesn't understand when I get pissed ta him for leaving on certain lights in the house while I'm trying to watch tv or use my computer. If the light is between me and the screen, or if it is behind the screen, it stabs me in the eyes.

Cloudy days are hard, it is generally darker but the glare of the clouds themselves brings on a headache

Normal light doesn't bother me too much. I get a headache if their too bright. Christmas lights kill me though, I absolute hate them. Before I was diagnosed my dad jokingly said I may have autism because of this. I can't look at them without my head hurting, I will mever put them up on my own I hye them.

Last edited by Taybot97 on 27 Feb 2012, 10:46 pm, edited 1 time in total.

I'm light sensitive in such a way that sunlight hurts my eyes and I need to wear sunglasses in the summertime.

I always either squint my eyes or look at the ground when i go outside in the sun.

I have been light sensitive all my life I think, always been whinged at for squinting or shutting my eyes in photos when the sun is shining directly in my eyes. Caps and sunglasses even when not especially sunny helps, tints or full sunglasses. I see the haze around lights and see double or triple rainbows. For this reason I have broad brimmed hats at camps, often highly decorated with badges.

I'm glad it is not only me who seems very sensitive to light.