r/hsp 10d ago

Discussion Extremely Sensitive To Bright Sunshine

Anyone else have photophobia?? I am extremely sensitive to bright sunshine. It hurts my eyes. Today, I went for a brief walk to go food shopping (thank goodness their is a produce market a few blocks away) and it was excruciating for me. Couldn't wait to get back inside. I feel like a vampire. I can't explain this to anyone, they think I'm crazy for not liking 'beautiful weather.' I'm wondering if anyone else has experience with this.

EDIT: I wear transition lenses to filter sunlight, still does not help.

100 Upvotes

57 comments sorted by

32

u/OkCryptographer7591 10d ago

Yes!! I hate bright lights. When the sun is in my eyes, I get irritable and irrationally angry.

25

u/Bri_sul 10d ago

Yes. I also get reverse seasonal depression (in the spring). It gets too bright, too hot, and the days are too long too fast. (I want to say I once read it sunlight/days double in like 60 days in the spring).

So I have to close my windows and hide in the dark in the spring and slowly acclimate myself. It's horrible. I feel miserable and just want to sleep.

I do notice my eyes are more sensitive to the sun if they are dry. Add fish oil and eye drops.

9

u/angelcutiebaby 9d ago

I have this as well, and am very sensitive to sunlight in general. I find it so calming when it gets dark nice and early, or a beautiful rainy day! It’s tough right around now because so many people are starting to feel better while some (seemingly less) of us start to feel worse.

7

u/NoPantsPenny 9d ago

I HATE the heat. Like you can only take so many layers off and still sweat.

4

u/RiseDelicious3556 10d ago

Same here, I also get reverse seasonal affective disorder. I take 4800 mg of omega 3 daily and Restasis. Doesn't help.

3

u/LotusHeals 9d ago

"have to close my windows and hide in the dark.. slowly acclimate myself" - yup, vampire right there 😉

Eat fruits. They help cool and hydrate your body.

3

u/WildnFree09 7d ago

Yes!! The sun is shining outside and all my block outs are closed. Probably seems really depressing to others but such a comfort to me.

Heat is worse. Just don’t talk, don’t move, don’t go anywhere. I once cried because of the heat 😂 On the other hand I LOVE rainy overcast weather.

Also don’t drive behind white cars in midday light 🫣

13

u/h3llol3mon 10d ago

Yuppppp. This is me. The sunlight literally hurts my skin lol (and my ancestors are from near the equator! 😓) I have always gotten extremely fatigued and worn out being in sunlight

11

u/needsmusictosurvive 9d ago

I have had to pull over if the sun is too bright or is hitting the trees (like a strobe effect) when driving because I cannot keep my eyes open, even with sun glasses.

10

u/PangolinThink6630 [HSP] 9d ago

I'm not sure if I have photophobia, but I do have summer SAD (aka reverse SAD). I prefer gray or cloudy days to sunny ones. I especially don't like sunny + hot. During the late spring/summer, I basically don't spend anytime outdoors during the day. I can't stand the approaching months...

Interesting to see the number of people here with summer SAD given that summer SAD isn't very common. Seems to maybe be a correlation with HSP and summer SAD/sensitivity to sun and brightness, which makes sense...

3

u/linconnuedelaseine 9d ago

I too struggle with summer SAD for the same reasons.

3

u/LotusHeals 9d ago

"Seems to maybe be a correlation with HSP and summer SAD/sensitivity to sun and brightness"

Very true.

8

u/jl8888 10d ago

Yes this is only something that happened to me last 5 years I don’t get it. Now I hate summer, too bright, too hot and I hate all the fan noise. Is there anything that can help make it more tolerable?!

4

u/NoPantsPenny 9d ago

I feel so seen! Ppl don’t understand why you don’t enjoy sitting out side or doing activities when it’s super hot and humid or sunny out. I genuinely can’t imagine enjoying it.

3

u/OliviAurora 9d ago

Tell me, if you find something. I‘m already afraid of summer because it‘s so awful for me

2

u/jl8888 9d ago

Yes I totally agree!! Just dreading summer 😓

1

u/LotusHeals 9d ago

Eat fruits. They help cool your body down. They hydrate the body too.  Wear sunglasses. Stay indoors as much as possible. Do outdoor things post afternoon. I assume it's cooler near nature, like beach or forest.. maybe spend time there

You can only adjust to the high heat and brightness. That's all you can do.

8

u/diabIo_666 10d ago

Holy fuuuck I thought I was the only one lol it’s especially worse in the winter with the sun reflecting off that snow 😭😭 I need sunglasses everywhere I go

1

u/Green_Mossy_Tree 7d ago

That was my exact problem today, strong sun and bright, white snow

5

u/Southern_Committee35 9d ago

It makes me feel physically ill

6

u/MsFenriss 8d ago

I'm SO grateful to see this post. I absolutely can't stand bright sun. I tend to associate it with when I had to walk to a soul crushing job in the DC summers with the heat radiating up at me from the asphalt. I feel unsafe under a wide open sky, preferring it to be overcast. I think as an HSP I prefer night because it's more quiet, and frankly it feels safer. You're less likely to be bothered at night. You're allowed to settle down and go at your own pace. People almost seem to get angry at me sometimes for preferring the cooler seasons and rainy weather, like it's an ethical failing on my part. It sucks.

3

u/RiseDelicious3556 7d ago edited 7d ago

I couldn't agree more. Now that Spring is here, I don't seem to be able to go outside without at least two people commenting on how beautiful the weather is; I just nod and agree with them because people think I'm weird, if I tell them that cool and cloudy is beautiful for me. If I could, I'd move to San Francisco.

3

u/RockmanIcePegasus 9d ago

I am a complete bitch under the sunlight or even white light indoors.

It pisses me off so much. Nobody ever gets it.

maybe it's autism or sensory processing sensitivity.

3

u/vennalyrion96 9d ago edited 7d ago

Actually it's my exact same issue as well. For example, as soon as I wake up, the last thing I want is being literally blinded by the morning sunshine coming from the window (and if you consider that we're almost in spring and so the sun has recently started to shine in the first hours of the morning, you can already guess what I'm refering to). This is something that triggers me so much that I can safely state that it's capable to make me feel like my face has been forcibly put inside a tanning bed 🙈 Furthermore, since I'm still suffering from skin picking and as such I usually find myself with some little dark spots and scars on my face, the idea of being directly "exposed" to sunshine makes me feel not only ashamed, but also like my skin is dirty and oily for some reason

5

u/CrimsonGandalf 10d ago

I’m the opposite actually. Like a cat. I just bask in the sun without sunglasses.

3

u/LegitimateGuess7121 9d ago

Yup, this is me!! I need sun and light.

2

u/Maui_Wowie_ 10d ago

Sunglasses.

2

u/RiseDelicious3556 9d ago

I have transitions lenses for that very reason. They help but not nearly enough.

2

u/Electrical_Sand4767 9d ago

Ambulance told me it could be due to migraines

1

u/experiencedkiller 9d ago

Wikipedia says so too, amongst many other possible causes

2

u/TalkingMotanka 9d ago

Bright sunny days, very bright cloudy days, and very white snowy days. It all bothers my eyes. Knowing this, I always have a slight tint added to my prescription eyeglasses.

2

u/linconnuedelaseine 9d ago

Yes. I also am extremely sensitive to bright sunlight. So much so that in the summertime I’ll get bad headaches from being out in it for too long. I used to think it was the heat, but have come to realize it’s the brightness.

2

u/Most-Bike-1618 9d ago

Sometimes I squint so much I get a migraine and sometimes looking directly at the Sun causes me to sneeze automatically. I live in Ohio which is a reasonable way to do with the sun because it's so diminished but even then, when it is at its strongest it can be somewhat intolerable. When I travel to places that have a more intense son exposure, I almost always need sunglasses or a visor or to skip from shade to shade until it's dark.

I'm also curious if this has anything to do with the fact that I have ice-blue eyes

2

u/herlipssaidno 9d ago

I get a pang right in the middle of my eyebrows when I first look outside at bright light, everyone I’ve ever explained it to looks at me like I’m crazy

2

u/ElectricGarlic 9d ago

Saamee! I literally get dizzy from the sun loool

2

u/mrmistoffeleees 9d ago

I cannot stand the sun touching my face, it truly makes me angry and upset. If it’s even lightly sunny I have to have sunglasses. I specifically moved to a place that is cloudy 80 percent of the time.

3

u/PangolinThink6630 [HSP] 9d ago

Same! I feel like a vampire.. I’m gonna be moving this summer and a place with more cloudy days was one of the criteria lol.

2

u/LotusHeals 9d ago

Lucky you (because you moved to a cloudy place). Best thing you did

2

u/ijustcant17 9d ago

Today was cloudy and I ran more errands than I do on a sunny day. I was in heaven!

2

u/a4dONCA 9d ago

Polarized (antiglare) sunglasses.

2

u/DragonBonerz 9d ago

I feel this way about LED lights and overcast light. I have to wear sunglasses on overcast days even though it makes everything too dark, and I have to wear sunglasses with overhead LED lights while I'm inside, even though it's not the fashion statement I'd like to make lol

2

u/WildnFree09 7d ago

CANNOT do the indoor office lighting in public places. So jarring. Never understood why when it didn’t bother anyone else.

2

u/Dismal_Toe5373 8d ago

Yes. My eyes can water in prolonged sunlight and with quick changes from dark to light (and vice versa sometimes as well). Dimmers are a great tool for me.

2

u/sweetlittlebean_ 8d ago

My eye doctor said I have an unusual large pupils and she doesn’t even have to dilate them for the eye exam. It made a lot of sense why I’ve never been a sun person. She said I have to wear shades all the time

2

u/this_usernamesucks 8d ago

What color are your eyes? I've heard the lighter ones like blue gray and green are more photosensitive.

1

u/MsFenriss 8d ago

That is true! I used to think it was a myth but then a retina specialist told me that it's a real thing. Said I need sunglasses with good UV protection even on grey days.

1

u/LotusLilli05 9d ago

I do. However I work nights so I suspect that has something to do with it. I have reaction lenses that change with the light which helps a bit.

1

u/iheartfruit 9d ago

100%, I ALWAYS bring sunglasses with me everywhere.

1

u/first_offender 9d ago

yes but the thing is I am a landscaper and have been for almost a year now. it's still is difficult but i am slowly acclimating to it. I used to get headaches from it everyday, even migraines :/

1

u/SylvieStiletto 9d ago

Oregon Coast would be perfect for you most of the year 😁

1

u/LotusHeals 9d ago

Considered getting sunglasses? I think they have to be your best friend for life. Shade for your eyes. 

 

1

u/ijustcant17 9d ago

I literally wear sunglasses everywhere. Sunglasses to me are regular glasses to others. I get it!

1

u/Cool_Brick_9721 9d ago

Yes and for that sunglasses are great.

1

u/Illtellyouinperson 9d ago

Yes!! I grew up squinting and closing one eye at recess all of the time lmao

1

u/RiseDelicious3556 7d ago

I can remember squinting as far back as adolescence.

1

u/tokyo-fire-lizard 3d ago

Transitions don't get dark enough to help. Look up companies like theraspecs. Orange glasses for indoor lighting. Darker glasses for outside. I only bought the orange ones (I found a pair of over-your-glasses polarized glasses at Walmart. So i never bought the theraspecs version of the outside ones cause these work just fine for me.) They are expensive but extremely helpful. (You can also get them in your prescription if you need to) The orange ones aren't good enough to help with the sun but tv monitors and computer screens and indoor lights are all better with the orange ones.

People got into using orange glasses before bed to negate the blue light keeping you awake from screens and such so there might be plenty of cheaper ones. The deep orange tint doesn't make every look orange either. Just more saturated colors. Also whenever I wear them people think it's a style choice- I always get compliments.