Sensitivity to pictures and light?

[Ame568]

Sorry if this is in the wrong thread topic but I have a question. How many of you are sensitive to certain pictures like black-and-white grey scale or sepia tones and how many of you are sensitive to bright lights and flashing lights (I'm also adding slow flashing lights to this). I can't look at black-and-white grey scale pictures or movies, it hurts my eyes just like if things are too bright for me or fast flashing lights. (Though I used to handle fast flashing lights but now I can't.)

 

[Darkkin]

Light sensitivity is one of the most common issues associated with autism. Trying to define it is like trying to define autism in a linear progression. It is unique to the individual. It is a spectrum of sensory input.

I hate bright light of any type. The sound of certain lights annoys the bejesus out of me. I can see the blue, purple, and indigo auras around 'white' lights. Flashing lights trigger overload and shutdowns. Without my glasses, I navigate by colour because I can see little else in terms of detail.

And because of the nature of autistic brains, light is not just a visible phenomenon. Sunlight hurts. And a small dresser lamp, its light has a soft weight like a cat's shadow.

Pictures (motion) or (still) is yet another variable. Quantifiably overhead and environmental light needs to be taken into account.

Colour, tone, saturation, hue...refractive properties, reflectivity, etc...(This is why paint choices matter, folks.)

Light and colour are as complex as the autism spectrum. No two people are going to be the same and trying to put it on a linear scale like the visible light spectrum leave out a lot of the sensory input.

Consider scuba diving in the Caribbean. It is like falling into a crystalline watercolour. Everything so sharp, but the colours are impossibly soft. Ever been underwater in a pool at night with goggles on? It is like falling into a sunset, sensorally speaking, it is a delight. It almost lets one bend reality.

Then there are things like lightning, moonlight, snow...all these things contribute to the input of one's environment. The dappled, watery light of a late fall day in the woods. The thin sunlight of a grey day in December.

The question itself is vaguely specific, which means too broad and too shallow enough for a concise answer. There are too many variables.

Focus on a single topic light sensitivity (environmental, specifically sensory input) or light in motion (flashing, strobe, etc...also can cover movie mediums). Or still photography.

 

[Tom]

Flashing lights is my nemesis.

But certain colors and lights seem to have a very positive effect on my mood, sense of well being and also tend to spur on creative thoughts and ideas. (The air, it's smells and sounds are also factors) My all time favorite is a mixed forest lighting. Sections of shade and sunlit areas along with dappled places. In springtime is best because the lighter greens 'feel' better to me.

People generally talk about these sensitivities in the negative sense, but I wonder if there can be a positive side. Though I really have no idea what is causing what I describe above.

 

[Darkkin]

Framed photo I brought at a flea market when I was in college. I love the light in it. It is one of those things I can just stare at and get lost in like opening a door into a place like Narnia.

Sorry about the reflection in the glass...

 

[Forest Cat]

I have always been a little sensitive to light. The worst possible scenario for me is being out in the open in a big snow-covered field when the sun is shining, with no sunglasses. That's uncomfortable for most people but I can't see anything, it's blinding.

It will make anyone snowblind after a while, but I just can't see anything from the moment the sun comes out. Too bright. I have had snow blindness once, never again.

 

[Tom]

View attachment 79713

Framed photo I brought at a flea market when I was in college. I love the light in it. It is one of those things I can just stare at and get lost in like opening a door into a place like Narnia.

Sorry about the reflection in the glass...

Yes these views do draw you in. I often wish I could step into them. But not Forest Cat's pic. I think Jadis the White Witch has control there It reminds me of a painting I did. Based on a photo of a Japanese Moss Garden.

 

[Forest Cat]

View attachment 79713

Framed photo I brought at a flea market when I was in college. I love the light in it. It is one of those things I can just stare at and get lost in like opening a door into a place like Narnia.

Sorry about the reflection in the glass...

I like this one Forests are great places.

 

[Knower of nothing]

I use flashing lights combined with harsh noise when I'm very upset to sort of drown out my ability to process anything clearly so I can't say I don't appreciate them when the time is right

 

[Callistemon]

Forests are lovely indeed...

This is Karri/Tingle forest - GIANT trees. The Karris are the white, smooth-barked ones in the background here; Tingles in the foreground. If you'd like to do a vicarious walk with us in this forest, click here.

Re the topic, I tend not to be light sensitive except if there's a migraine brewing. But I'm really sound sensitive, especially when first waking up. Then sounds of normal volume can cause me to become instantly queasy. So I can't do normal alarm clocks or clock radios or phone alarms, just soft quiet old-style digital ones that sort of tinkle electronically. Otherwise you may as well wake me up by pouring a bucket of cold water on me for shock value.

Brett is very light-sensitive first thing in the morning. I suspect he has vampire DNA, judging by his reaction. "No! Not the light! Not the light! Aaaargh..." - so I am really careful not to open the curtains if it's a sunny morning, until he's had a cup of tea and some adjustment time.

Patterns - some optical illusions make me experience vertigo and just thinking about those can make me queasy!

Like this one. Blergh. It's the movement that does it. Also makes my eyes hurt to look at it! So I will put it in a spoiler so people don't have to look at it if they know they're sensitive to this stuff.

Spoiler

And fluorescent tubes give me eye ache and headaches, so we don't have them in the house.

Not crazy about fast-flash settings on fairy lights, but the slow trickles are nice.

Come to think of it, I hate fast intercutting in film and television, and the tendency for excessively loud soundtracks compared to conversation in many Hollywood movies. I like things that have space, and room to breathe - in film, and also in music.

 

[Tom]

I use flashing lights combined with harsh noise when I'm very upset to sort of drown out my ability to process anything clearly so I can't say I don't appreciate them when the time is right

That reminded me of a jump training exercise I did at one jump school.

You hung in a jump harness several feet off the ground and had to do 10 steps to practice pulling your rip cord, the failure of the main chute, releasing that and pulling the emergency chute. Once you could do that consistantly and smoothly they started to make you swing around wildly (you were on a swivel) and still do it well. Then they added turning on a stereo max volume and distorted, repeat the steps.... Finally they added turning off the lights and turning on a strobe light. And you had to stay up there and do it over and over till you had it down pat.

Inexperienced jumpers often end up in uncontrolled spins, and with the fact you are falling, the wind, inevitably some degree of panic sets in. The practice was an attempt to get you used to max overstimulation and still be able to concentrate on locating the right parts and doing the needed actions. It was actually my favorite phase and made me feel quite confident afterwards. But we called it the torture chamber.

 

[nervous habits]

I despise any artificial bright lighting (I love natural light). Flashing can get over whelming. I am sometimes okay at blocking these out but some times am not. I'm not sure what makes the difference.

I don't have issues with B&W/sepia, and as a matter of fact I didn't know that was a thing.

 

[Progster]

I'm sensitive to bright flashing lights, but also certain special effects in movies of documentaries, where there is rapidly changing or flickering images, or effects like a photography flash between shots. This can make it unwatchable for me. I particularly don't like white artificial light, but yellow light is ok.

 

[SusanLR]

Flashing lights like strobes that go on and off or flicker fast actually freezes me.
I can't move under lights that flash brightly.
The sunlight coming through a forest while driving past in a car does the same.
I get dizzy from the flicker of light dark.
Forest shades and light are beautiful if you are still or just walking through it.

As far as colour that bothers me is everything white.
Many houses have all white interiors. Can't stand it. I don't like the feel.
Don't like white cars either.
The low lights of glowing soft lights in shades of gold or golden green has a relaxing affect.

 

[Lucyd]

fast flashing lights set me off real quick. its like getting stabbed by tiny needles several times and its unbearable. the strobe lights that stores use to advertise is rough and flashy kids toys and games are a no. I literally have to turn off all my lights except one to cope unless they're low light input. sunglasses are a must outside or ill spend the rest of the day in pain with an added bonus of migraines. it ruins my day fast. which is ridiculous as i live in arizona.....
neons can bother me. bright colors are fine, neons are hard to process though.

 

[Ella Spell]

I've spent years and likely thousands of hours in a rabbit hole trying to choose a new paint colour for my bedroom, because of the NE exposure and the fact I get nauseated by light colours but I don't want anything too dark.

Ironically I'm in the middle of comparing three colours right now, using their LRV.

For the record:
Old Prairie vs Sheep's Wool vs Athena (Benjamin Moore).

I have about ten computer files of notes on about 2,000 different colours from different paint manufacturers.

Edit: Never mind. Those colours are wayyyy too light.

 

[Gerontius]

Never heard of a sensitivity to black-and-white or sepia pictures; I actually enjoy B&W pictures.
I also enjoy a lot of older films & was recently watching some found footage on a 16mm projector. Running at sixteen frames per second, with a shutter capable of flashing the screen 3 times before each new frame, you get the effect of "refreshing" your screen 48 times per second. If the motor is run just a tiny bit faster (depending on how fast they were actually cranking the camera) you can get an even smoother run.

It looks about like watching a television set, with a 60hz refresh rate, except the screen is massive and the light itself is much softer. I have no objection to watching movies.

Bright lights do bother me though.

 

[Dylan48]

I find this too, When I walk into coles supermarket the lights feel kind of menacing.
Traffic lights as well.

You really gotta be there to feel it though, an image doesn't justify it.

 

[Raggamuffin]

Depends on my mood. If I'm doing ok - it doesn't exhaust me too much. But if I'm feeling rather frazzled then places like supermarkets and places that are harshly lit, full of products, people, noise etc - then I'll often feel dizzy, overwhelmed and such like.

Ed

 

[GrownupGirl]

If I could I would live in darkness all the time, relying on my cat vision superpower to find my way around. Lights use up too much electricity, anyway. We're lucky we still even have it.

 

[Forest Cat]

Forests are lovely indeed...

This is Karri/Tingle forest - GIANT trees. The Karris are the white, smooth-barked ones in the background here; Tingles in the foreground. If you'd like to do a vicarious walk with us in this forest, click here.

A friend of mine sent me a video from Sequoia National Park. And I'm not sure if she is messing with me or not, because the trees in that park are just too big to be real. I want to go there and see them, it looks crazy.