Stress Center Peer Support

My eyes are so sensitive to light. it's weord. someone told me its a symptom of anxiety. when i am outside all day and go into my very dark apartment i feel like i cant see very well and my eyes are just bothersome. And sometimes certain lighting (like in a store) makes me feel dizzy and its just too bright for me and hard for me to see. does anyone else get this and thinks its because of my anxiety ? i really only notice it when im anxious which had been everyday the past 2 months. sometimes it feels better to wear sunglasses and sometimes it doesn't. its weird. anyway if anyone has any insight with this it'd be great. thank you.

Being out in bright light and then going inside afterwards always will make things look darker until your eyes readjust - so that is normal and in no way anxiety related. Sunglasses will help with this if it bothers you.

As far as other lighting - it can depend on a lot of things - some flourescent bulbs may flicker causing your reaction.

It wouldn't hurt to get an eye exam - only a professional can really diagnose you for sure.

Hi Holly,

Do you have headaches along with the light sesitivity? I used to get frequent bad migranes and one of the symptoms is the sensitivity to light.

Where are you in the program? ...and how is the driving?

Wishing you well!

Barbara

I agree with wireman to go to the eye dr to get an exam.
It can be photophobia. I get sensitivity to light when a tension headache is coming on or if I'm staring at the computer for too long.

I have the same problem.

I am sure it is related to anxiety b/c I never had a problem with it really until I started having severe anxiety a couple of months ago. Ever since then it has been very frustrating and annoying. I went to the eye dr. I had several different tests run and he told me that my eyes were fine....it was a "brain" thing. Normal with anxiety.

Good luck!

I also have light sensitivity and wear my sunglasses alot. I was told by an "expert" in the field of anxiety that our eye muscles are affected with the tension we have during all this stress, so that things look distorted and our eyes become very sensitive to light. I was out today in the sunlight and noticed today especially it was very bright and caused some anxiety. BUT....if you can, maybe you should have your eyes checked to make sure every thing is good there.

Good luck!

i am sure it has to do with anxiety to because i never really had this prob before. sometimes i see dark spots too. wow thats interesting Sidd that our eye muscles are affected with tension we have from stress. once i get insurance ill go to see an eye doctor. thankyou all

If I have been informed correctly, the sensitivity to light is because when we are anxious our pupils are more dilated than usual, therefore letting in more light than what we are used to. Don't worry, wear shades outside and know that as you learn to overcome your anxiety the sensitivity should lessen. Mine has.

Holly,
I am interested in what you had to say. I have had the same problems with my eyes ever since i started to have anxiety and phobias of being outside. I have had eye examines and nothing really comes up. If you see an eye doctor keep me updated I'm really curious about this. I get worried and freaked out by it. Thanks for the post.
Lynne

Yeah that's been the main source of my anxiety/depression. The last time I had bad anxiety/depression was over three years ago. Things have been going fine, and then I got accidently poked in the eye two weeks ago. The next couple of days I was at work obsessing about my eye and then worrying about my vision. I had Lasik two years ago, and my eyes have been sesitive to light, but not to the point I have been focusing on it lately. Like you mentioned, I only notice it when I'm obsessing or having anxiety. When Iam able to focus on something else for a while I forget about it and it's fine. The problem is that my thoughts keep coming back about my eyes. My vision is not blurry just sensitive to light on the computer and the sunlight. It's hard at work, because I'm looking at a computer with the daylight coming in. I keep wondering whether my eyes were always like this and I'm just super sensitive about it now about it now, or is something wrong with them. The problem is I don't have insurance and can't afford an eye exam right now. But that's interesting about the eyes and stress, thanks for that.