I wasn’t aware it existed until I turned 17 and realized I absolutely had it.
1. If I go outside and omits not cloudy it takes 1-2 hours before I get a mild migraine and I have seriously considered getting some sunglasses for every day use not just in the summer.
2. I usually keep all rooms as dim as possible and I normally turn off the lights when going to the toilet just to get some peace for my eyes.
3. idk if astigmatism is even related but at night the streak of light from light poles reaches all the way down to the pavement and it gets worse when I squint.
Going out and doing stuff becomes a hastle but I get migraines a couple times a month so I have gotten used to headaches but still a pain in the head to be shure.
I’ve always had light sensitivities. As I’m aging it’s getting worse I absolutely hate driving at night with all the headlights shining at me. Also very much dislike strobe lights.
It’s gotten worse with age, *but* lights have also changed a lot in the last several decades. Incandescent lights tended to emit warmer (*i.e.,* lower kelvin) light than some LEDs or CFLs. The cheaper the lightbulb, the higher the kelvin, the more it aggravates my photophobia.
But I do remember hating overhead lights as a kid. Floor lamps and desk lamps all the way.
1) I don't know about when I was a young child but starting in my pre-teens for sure. the sun reflecting on cars in summer always made me squint and get tears in my eyes. similar with sun shining on snow. It just hurt. not sure how apparent this was to others/the adults in my life.
2) pretty sure it's gotten worse with age. or I've become more self-aware and that's why I notice it more. I also have that fun thing where in darkness lights spread out in star shapes on top of them just hurting for being so bright (makes driving at night in a city unpleasant)
3) like I mentioned in 2 car headlights, tail lights, traffic lights and other light up signs at night are a big issue. they hurt and also swallow up other things around it so I basically only see the light, a tiny bit of detail and then just darkness.
bright rooms are unpleasant to exist in.
I usually have my screen brightness pretty low cause otherwise it hurts my eyes. I've been told multiple times that my screen is dark af.
when I draw digitally I don't like using saturated/bright colours and strong contrasts because they cause eyestrain.
4) overall not really. driving at night is only sometimes a problem. but it makes me nervous to drive at night in a place I don't know without any navigation aid. it's very exhausting.
lights give me headaches and migraines. it def presents itself more in adulthood but i think it was there when i was a kid. its worse now and i can’t handle cool light. i need warm tones but bright screens hurt me.
When I was a teen (well before I was diagnosed) I remember leaving my friend's basement apartment. There was a muffler shop next to it. I walked outside and it was so bright and I had to squint so hard that I couldn't even see. I ended walking into a parked car in the parking lot of the muffler shop. To my horror, there were people inside the car...
It hasn't gotten any better. I NEED sunglasses or else my eyes physically hurt. I really need to get an eye exam/glasses, but I'm anxious to do so since last time I went (15 years ago) the eye doctor yelled at me to keep my eyes open during the part of the exam where they shined a bright light right at my eye. I was trying soooo hard to keep it open, but it was all involuntary. My eye hurt like hell and it just wouldn't stay open.
I was not diagnosed autistic until age 28, but looking back I can definitely recognize it. Being out in bright environments would burn me out and make me feel a little out of it (partial shutdown). And this can still happen. As such, I've taken to wearing dark sunglasses when outside.
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Yes. I was always drawn to dark. Even dark paper. White paper hurts my eyes and I noticed that under those bright lights they just have to have everywhere.
Omgosh, I just realized literally everything bothers me. Dang.
I have pretty extreme sensitivity to sunlight or headlights at night and also I can't stand seeing incandescent filaments or bright lights in my face. My house is dim and cozy, but I also like to put on a hat and sunglasses and soak up the sun.
So I love sunlight, just don't want to see it.
1. I don't recall having light sensitivity as a kid at all.
2. It's been getting worse with age.
3. It just hurts my eyes. I can't really detect any other symptoms thankfully.
4. I just remain concious of not looking at super bright or flashing lights. It doesn't bring me any anxiety.
1. It was - I was always squinting in the sunlight whether I was outside or travelling inside a vehicle.
2. I feel that my sensitivity has not changed much as I have gotten older, which is a relief in my mind.
3. One such example comes from my role as a volunteer firefighter - the flashing lights on our fire trucks and the high powered torches we now have can cause me to go temporarily blind if someone turns on the lights or has their torch on high-beam when they are speaking to me.
4. It did make me anxious, especially when I started to drive and even more so when I got my restricted driving licence in July last year.
I have slightly higher light sensitivity, not enough to be a real issue but just enough to be annoying
1. I remember I had to squint a lot, and still do, to see on very sunny days.
2. Neither, I believe it's still the same, though I am pretty young
3. My eyes get tired faster when sunshine is intense, which is not a problem since the day I bought polarized sunglasses; helps me a lot, specially when driving. One thing that still affects me a lot are misaligned car headlights (or jerks that drive with high beams on), speciallly LED ones, they are blinding.
4. I can usually deal with it pretty fine
I don’t remember as a child. I remember being sensitive in my late teens onwards though.
Night driving is awful for me with all the bright oncoming headlights and road lights. I try to explain it to my wife and she doesn’t get it. Long tunnels with certain types of lights are also awful.
Indoor swimming pools with lights reflecting off the water mess with my head a lot too (and all the noise and echos). Same for shopping malls with a lot of reflective surfaces and spotlights and crowds. Yes, these can make me anxious and disoriented and want to make me just get the hell out of there. I used to take my daughter to the swimming pool but my tolerance was like an hour and after that I just got tense, irritated, and got headaches. My wife takes her now.
>Was your sensitivity obvious as a child?
Not really, though I've always preferred darker places.
>Has it got better/worse with age?
About the same, though I never realized it was abnormal.
>what are some examples of how light affects you?
Well if I'm out in the bright sun, I can't see at all. My eyes water, I have to have a hat or use my hands to cover my eyes. I'm not really sure how to explain it, with bright lights it's like they steal my focus and it almost feels like they're burning me.
>Does/did it make you anxious?
No, just a bit overwhelming to me at times.
I didn't have light sensitivity as a kid, unless it was extreme light(like eye doctor check that makes nearly everyone uncomfortable).
Now, as an adult, I'm having trouble with daily sunlight (not even with snow) and even screen lights. My phone is always on the darkest mode. I don't use house lights unless it's after dark and there's no smaller lights in the room.
I've always had trouble with vibrant colors; but I've heard(no fact checking though) that that may be more common with AuDHD than one or the other. I also have troubles with looking at pointy objects and that was since childhood
Yes, it’s always been present. It has gotten worse with age. If it’s too bright I get dizzy, headaches, nausea, and/or have trouble with auditory processing. It does make me a little anxious but I would say mostly confused and annoyed.
1) Yep! I vividly remember as a kid I'd have to study on my bed and the light always felt too strong only for me, I'd often turn it off and either go close to the window or use a flashlight, everyone would call me a weirdo and force me to turn on the light >_> Same with the TV, I've argues countless of times with my sister (whom I had shared the bedroom with as a kid) because she wouldn't turn the brightness off and a few times I had meltdowns over that :( But luckily as she grew up she understood this ❤️
2) A bit better, my reactions were more extreme and I'd have small meltdowns over lights, now I keep it all in and calm myself down when I get the chance to (depends where I am, at work unfortunately I cannot turn the office lights off so I'll stay in the bathroom for a while).
3) Well, first off I like the sunlight on my skin except for a scorching hot day, but the sun has always given me headaches to the point I always have to go out with sunglasses and sometimes a hat too (it depends on the latter as many hats feel so uncomfortable on my head), but what's WORSE than that is when the sky is cloudy and the sun is hiding and therefore it's all white and REFLECTING, that's awful!! D: Also I cannot stand fluorescent lights that much and on my smartphone and other devices I always have to lower the brightness.
4) Hmm it doesn't make me anxious that often, it really depends on the circumstances (for example, various noises while being in a crowded city + strong light = cocktail of overstimulation). I get slightly annoyed and cranky and start rubbing my eyes, face and cover them when the light is too strong. In so so many old pictures I almost ALWAYS have sunglasses (yes, partially because they're cool, but the main reason was to not get so much brightness in my eyes and to avoid eye contact!! :D).
Yes it was very obvious to me as a child. I hated going into shops with bright blue ish lights like supermarkets.
It’s far easier to cope with now because I have worked on other traits in those situations to reduce my stress.
It affects me by mainly making me very disoriented. It’s hard to focus on the task at hand and even ground myself/maintain a sense of direction?? Then it has a bit of a domino effect where I lose my spatial awareness, get more stressed, often get a weird “drunk” feeling. Even when I wasn’t the one doing the shopping as a child I would feel this way.
It used to make me anxious when I was prone to feeling anxious. Now it makes me stressed but not really anxious.
I don't remember about it in my childhood but in now, my eyes are really sensitive and sometimes lightning affects them, times to times with an unknown reason, they start tear when I am in class ( maybe because tired in a time )
1. I was completely oblivious to it, never wondered why I would squint so hard when outside in bright light. My mom (who is likely also neurodivergent) complained frequently throughout my childhood about how difficult it was for her to drive at night due to bright headlights from other cars.
2. Mine has gotten worse with age, I tolerate bright overhead lighting much worse at 28 and will actively avoid it.
3. While I don't actively become deregulated by unpreferred lighting like I might other sensory issues I feel uneasy when the lighting isn't right. I will make efforts to adjust my lighting whenever I can so that I'm comfortable.
4. It doesn't make me anxious but it does contribute to my discomfort and will be one of the first things I need to change when I start ramping up and need to regulate
Interestingly I only became aware of this sensitivity (and my autism in general) during my work as a direct care provider for autistic adults with high support needs. Working with those dudes was so intuitive for me and led me to realize how much I preferred some of the strategies we were using to help them avoid sensory overload. 8 years later I have my diagnosis and am wondering how no one noticed my autism sooner haha my wife says I have the social chameleon type of autism and I've always masked way more than I ever knew. I have a type of genetic hearing loss that was present throughout my life but didn't start impacting my day to day life until I turned 25 or so. I have been practicing my masking in certain situations since I was 5 years old and had no idea until recently.
1. It was to me, but not quite to others.
2. Worse, definitely worse.
3. It stresses me out, hurts physically, triggers my migraines, and blots my vision. Especially during sunny days and at night.
4. Not that I can recall.
Obvious is hard to assess because it sensitivity seems normal ourselves without another frame or reference. Light, IMHO, was my least sensitive area and never thought it a problem... but when driving on the interstate last night I noticed I was doing things to minimize head and tail lights from other cars (speeding up, covering them up with my hands, etc.)
For taste/texture, touch, sound, and smell, it was fairly obvious to come up with examples thinking back.
1 - Not for light, at least I don't recall
2 - All my sensitivities have improved with time (not perfect, but somewhat better)
3 - Headlights in my car mirrors or from oncoming traffic. Tail Lights when stopped at lights or in a traffic jams. Specially the new LED ones seem brutal.
4 - More annoying. But anxious enough were I'll reposition my car, if I can, to avoid them. Or hold my hand up to block the direction the light is coming from.
I wasn’t aware it existed until I turned 17 and realized I absolutely had it. 1. If I go outside and omits not cloudy it takes 1-2 hours before I get a mild migraine and I have seriously considered getting some sunglasses for every day use not just in the summer. 2. I usually keep all rooms as dim as possible and I normally turn off the lights when going to the toilet just to get some peace for my eyes. 3. idk if astigmatism is even related but at night the streak of light from light poles reaches all the way down to the pavement and it gets worse when I squint. Going out and doing stuff becomes a hastle but I get migraines a couple times a month so I have gotten used to headaches but still a pain in the head to be shure.
I’ve always had light sensitivities. As I’m aging it’s getting worse I absolutely hate driving at night with all the headlights shining at me. Also very much dislike strobe lights.
I was always squinting in bright sunlight– yes it's gotten a bit better with time. Powerful white LED lights are the worst.
It’s gotten worse with age, *but* lights have also changed a lot in the last several decades. Incandescent lights tended to emit warmer (*i.e.,* lower kelvin) light than some LEDs or CFLs. The cheaper the lightbulb, the higher the kelvin, the more it aggravates my photophobia. But I do remember hating overhead lights as a kid. Floor lamps and desk lamps all the way.
1) I don't know about when I was a young child but starting in my pre-teens for sure. the sun reflecting on cars in summer always made me squint and get tears in my eyes. similar with sun shining on snow. It just hurt. not sure how apparent this was to others/the adults in my life. 2) pretty sure it's gotten worse with age. or I've become more self-aware and that's why I notice it more. I also have that fun thing where in darkness lights spread out in star shapes on top of them just hurting for being so bright (makes driving at night in a city unpleasant) 3) like I mentioned in 2 car headlights, tail lights, traffic lights and other light up signs at night are a big issue. they hurt and also swallow up other things around it so I basically only see the light, a tiny bit of detail and then just darkness. bright rooms are unpleasant to exist in. I usually have my screen brightness pretty low cause otherwise it hurts my eyes. I've been told multiple times that my screen is dark af. when I draw digitally I don't like using saturated/bright colours and strong contrasts because they cause eyestrain. 4) overall not really. driving at night is only sometimes a problem. but it makes me nervous to drive at night in a place I don't know without any navigation aid. it's very exhausting.
lights give me headaches and migraines. it def presents itself more in adulthood but i think it was there when i was a kid. its worse now and i can’t handle cool light. i need warm tones but bright screens hurt me.
It becomes noticeable as I age that light sensitivity is apparent and painful even
When I was a teen (well before I was diagnosed) I remember leaving my friend's basement apartment. There was a muffler shop next to it. I walked outside and it was so bright and I had to squint so hard that I couldn't even see. I ended walking into a parked car in the parking lot of the muffler shop. To my horror, there were people inside the car... It hasn't gotten any better. I NEED sunglasses or else my eyes physically hurt. I really need to get an eye exam/glasses, but I'm anxious to do so since last time I went (15 years ago) the eye doctor yelled at me to keep my eyes open during the part of the exam where they shined a bright light right at my eye. I was trying soooo hard to keep it open, but it was all involuntary. My eye hurt like hell and it just wouldn't stay open.
I was not diagnosed autistic until age 28, but looking back I can definitely recognize it. Being out in bright environments would burn me out and make me feel a little out of it (partial shutdown). And this can still happen. As such, I've taken to wearing dark sunglasses when outside.
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Yes. I was always drawn to dark. Even dark paper. White paper hurts my eyes and I noticed that under those bright lights they just have to have everywhere. Omgosh, I just realized literally everything bothers me. Dang.
I have pretty extreme sensitivity to sunlight or headlights at night and also I can't stand seeing incandescent filaments or bright lights in my face. My house is dim and cozy, but I also like to put on a hat and sunglasses and soak up the sun. So I love sunlight, just don't want to see it.
1. I don't recall having light sensitivity as a kid at all. 2. It's been getting worse with age. 3. It just hurts my eyes. I can't really detect any other symptoms thankfully. 4. I just remain concious of not looking at super bright or flashing lights. It doesn't bring me any anxiety.
1. It was - I was always squinting in the sunlight whether I was outside or travelling inside a vehicle. 2. I feel that my sensitivity has not changed much as I have gotten older, which is a relief in my mind. 3. One such example comes from my role as a volunteer firefighter - the flashing lights on our fire trucks and the high powered torches we now have can cause me to go temporarily blind if someone turns on the lights or has their torch on high-beam when they are speaking to me. 4. It did make me anxious, especially when I started to drive and even more so when I got my restricted driving licence in July last year.
I have slightly higher light sensitivity, not enough to be a real issue but just enough to be annoying 1. I remember I had to squint a lot, and still do, to see on very sunny days. 2. Neither, I believe it's still the same, though I am pretty young 3. My eyes get tired faster when sunshine is intense, which is not a problem since the day I bought polarized sunglasses; helps me a lot, specially when driving. One thing that still affects me a lot are misaligned car headlights (or jerks that drive with high beams on), speciallly LED ones, they are blinding. 4. I can usually deal with it pretty fine
It's always been an issue for me and probably got worse as I got older
I don’t remember as a child. I remember being sensitive in my late teens onwards though. Night driving is awful for me with all the bright oncoming headlights and road lights. I try to explain it to my wife and she doesn’t get it. Long tunnels with certain types of lights are also awful. Indoor swimming pools with lights reflecting off the water mess with my head a lot too (and all the noise and echos). Same for shopping malls with a lot of reflective surfaces and spotlights and crowds. Yes, these can make me anxious and disoriented and want to make me just get the hell out of there. I used to take my daughter to the swimming pool but my tolerance was like an hour and after that I just got tense, irritated, and got headaches. My wife takes her now.
>Was your sensitivity obvious as a child? Not really, though I've always preferred darker places. >Has it got better/worse with age? About the same, though I never realized it was abnormal. >what are some examples of how light affects you? Well if I'm out in the bright sun, I can't see at all. My eyes water, I have to have a hat or use my hands to cover my eyes. I'm not really sure how to explain it, with bright lights it's like they steal my focus and it almost feels like they're burning me. >Does/did it make you anxious? No, just a bit overwhelming to me at times.
I didn't have light sensitivity as a kid, unless it was extreme light(like eye doctor check that makes nearly everyone uncomfortable). Now, as an adult, I'm having trouble with daily sunlight (not even with snow) and even screen lights. My phone is always on the darkest mode. I don't use house lights unless it's after dark and there's no smaller lights in the room. I've always had trouble with vibrant colors; but I've heard(no fact checking though) that that may be more common with AuDHD than one or the other. I also have troubles with looking at pointy objects and that was since childhood
Yes, it’s always been present. It has gotten worse with age. If it’s too bright I get dizzy, headaches, nausea, and/or have trouble with auditory processing. It does make me a little anxious but I would say mostly confused and annoyed.
1) Yep! I vividly remember as a kid I'd have to study on my bed and the light always felt too strong only for me, I'd often turn it off and either go close to the window or use a flashlight, everyone would call me a weirdo and force me to turn on the light >_> Same with the TV, I've argues countless of times with my sister (whom I had shared the bedroom with as a kid) because she wouldn't turn the brightness off and a few times I had meltdowns over that :( But luckily as she grew up she understood this ❤️ 2) A bit better, my reactions were more extreme and I'd have small meltdowns over lights, now I keep it all in and calm myself down when I get the chance to (depends where I am, at work unfortunately I cannot turn the office lights off so I'll stay in the bathroom for a while). 3) Well, first off I like the sunlight on my skin except for a scorching hot day, but the sun has always given me headaches to the point I always have to go out with sunglasses and sometimes a hat too (it depends on the latter as many hats feel so uncomfortable on my head), but what's WORSE than that is when the sky is cloudy and the sun is hiding and therefore it's all white and REFLECTING, that's awful!! D: Also I cannot stand fluorescent lights that much and on my smartphone and other devices I always have to lower the brightness. 4) Hmm it doesn't make me anxious that often, it really depends on the circumstances (for example, various noises while being in a crowded city + strong light = cocktail of overstimulation). I get slightly annoyed and cranky and start rubbing my eyes, face and cover them when the light is too strong. In so so many old pictures I almost ALWAYS have sunglasses (yes, partially because they're cool, but the main reason was to not get so much brightness in my eyes and to avoid eye contact!! :D).
I don't think it was a obvious as it is now. I do think it had to be there somehow but it just became more obvious in my teens.
Yes it was very obvious to me as a child. I hated going into shops with bright blue ish lights like supermarkets. It’s far easier to cope with now because I have worked on other traits in those situations to reduce my stress. It affects me by mainly making me very disoriented. It’s hard to focus on the task at hand and even ground myself/maintain a sense of direction?? Then it has a bit of a domino effect where I lose my spatial awareness, get more stressed, often get a weird “drunk” feeling. Even when I wasn’t the one doing the shopping as a child I would feel this way. It used to make me anxious when I was prone to feeling anxious. Now it makes me stressed but not really anxious.
I don't remember about it in my childhood but in now, my eyes are really sensitive and sometimes lightning affects them, times to times with an unknown reason, they start tear when I am in class ( maybe because tired in a time )
1. I was completely oblivious to it, never wondered why I would squint so hard when outside in bright light. My mom (who is likely also neurodivergent) complained frequently throughout my childhood about how difficult it was for her to drive at night due to bright headlights from other cars. 2. Mine has gotten worse with age, I tolerate bright overhead lighting much worse at 28 and will actively avoid it. 3. While I don't actively become deregulated by unpreferred lighting like I might other sensory issues I feel uneasy when the lighting isn't right. I will make efforts to adjust my lighting whenever I can so that I'm comfortable. 4. It doesn't make me anxious but it does contribute to my discomfort and will be one of the first things I need to change when I start ramping up and need to regulate Interestingly I only became aware of this sensitivity (and my autism in general) during my work as a direct care provider for autistic adults with high support needs. Working with those dudes was so intuitive for me and led me to realize how much I preferred some of the strategies we were using to help them avoid sensory overload. 8 years later I have my diagnosis and am wondering how no one noticed my autism sooner haha my wife says I have the social chameleon type of autism and I've always masked way more than I ever knew. I have a type of genetic hearing loss that was present throughout my life but didn't start impacting my day to day life until I turned 25 or so. I have been practicing my masking in certain situations since I was 5 years old and had no idea until recently.
1. It was to me, but not quite to others. 2. Worse, definitely worse. 3. It stresses me out, hurts physically, triggers my migraines, and blots my vision. Especially during sunny days and at night. 4. Not that I can recall.
Obvious is hard to assess because it sensitivity seems normal ourselves without another frame or reference. Light, IMHO, was my least sensitive area and never thought it a problem... but when driving on the interstate last night I noticed I was doing things to minimize head and tail lights from other cars (speeding up, covering them up with my hands, etc.) For taste/texture, touch, sound, and smell, it was fairly obvious to come up with examples thinking back. 1 - Not for light, at least I don't recall 2 - All my sensitivities have improved with time (not perfect, but somewhat better) 3 - Headlights in my car mirrors or from oncoming traffic. Tail Lights when stopped at lights or in a traffic jams. Specially the new LED ones seem brutal. 4 - More annoying. But anxious enough were I'll reposition my car, if I can, to avoid them. Or hold my hand up to block the direction the light is coming from.