# -- My Visual Symptoms Worrying Me --



## Acoustics (Jun 5, 2011)

Some of my visual symptoms include things like, floaters (especially after i workout), looking at a white wall and seeing flashes, in dim light i see visual snow, and others like that. But one that worried me today was I was laying down looking at my ceiling. I had two ceiling fans on each side of the spot I was looking, and when I was to stare directly into the middle of the ceiling, the fans disappeared, and the ceiling seemed to get bigger and consume my entire eyesight. This worried me, can anybody else relate?


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## Guest (Aug 3, 2011)

iLoganRoss said:


> Some of my visual symptoms include things like, floaters (especially after i workout), looking at a white wall and seeing flashes, in dim light i see visual snow, and others like that. But one that worried me today was I was laying down looking at my ceiling. I had two ceiling fans on each side of the spot I was looking, and when I was to stare directly into the middle of the ceiling, the fans disappeared, and the ceiling seemed to get bigger and consume my entire eyesight. This worried me, can anybody else relate?


Yes, I have all of your symptoms. Actually my weird vision stuff comes a lot at night, there is a picture frame on the wall that completely disappears and melts into the wall if I look at it slightly to the right...its strange.


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## Cambella2002 (Nov 25, 2010)

Yes Lisa, I do experience the same visual symoptoms (especially after I workout and at night). I use to panic from noticing those symptoms, thinking that I was hallucinating. But I finally started to use thought stopping in order to relieve the anxiety. For example, telling myself that those symptoms will disappear in 10 minutes and I'm over exaggerating their appearences. But Lisa, I found out that those symptoms are related to dp/dr.


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## Victor Ouriques (Jul 15, 2011)

Well seems like a heavy derealization.

I Had DR a lot too,more than DP.

It's fucking scary.I Don't know which is worse.When I was with DR i'd thought that shit was the scariest ever,then I got DP,and thought that was the scariest,then I got DR again and thought it was scarier than DP lol,it's pretty stupid.

I Remember looking to simple things like a box of chocolate and I remember seeing it getting bigger and smaller,I almost went to a panick attack.


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## Visual (Oct 13, 2010)

iLoganRoss said:


> Some of my visual symptoms include things like, floaters (especially after i workout), looking at a white wall and seeing flashes, in dim light i see visual snow, and others like that. But one that worried me today was I was laying down looking at my ceiling. I had two ceiling fans on each side of the spot I was looking, and when I was to stare directly into the middle of the ceiling, the fans disappeared, and the ceiling seemed to get bigger and consume my entire eyesight. This worried me, can anybody else relate?


Yes, have had this exact fan thing. Even had parts of people disappear and see the wall behind them. At the time it seemed the mind was really falling off the deep end. But it never happens looking at a picture - it has to be something that you have already seen what is behind.

A doctor explained that vision is highly memory intensive. And this symptom is just the visual system being unsure what to 'look' at - especially with motion (what was or what is).

Otherwise floaters and VS have not been an issue for me.

Actually, what you describe is very much the symptoms of HPPD. Did your DP/DR start a little after weed or E?


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## Timer (Feb 10, 2011)

Yep indeed, the visual part is the hardest part of this for me to deal with.

Seeing flashes on a white wall - completely relate, constantly have 'flashing vision' not bright flashes sporadically but constantly and subtly there. I often also have a feelinng as if still objects are shaking which can make them appear as double.

Also can relate to it getting worse immediately during and after physical exercise however it will calm down some time after.

Does it get worse in natural light or indoor light?

Do you have trouble with recognising people and things, like for instance, walk in a room full of people, takes you a while to 'scan' and take a note of who's there?

How long has your vision been like this?


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## Acoustics (Jun 5, 2011)

Visual said:


> Actually, what you describe is very much the symptoms of HPPD. Did your DP/DR start a little after weed or E?


The symptoms of HPPD do in fact include visual snow and floaters. But they also include crazy, crazy visual distortions that actually made me snicker when I read them. I did smoke weed, but it was a maximum of 9 times ever, and HPPD is rarely diagnosed and when it is about 99% of the time it's from heavy LSD users. But thanks for the little panic attack I got from reading this lol jk


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## Totally DP'D (Jun 8, 2011)

Couldn't the fan disappearing thing just be due to the fact that it was in your blind spot?.

I think that a lot of the symptoms (e.g. Floaters, etc) are entirely normal and that we just become hyper-aware of them with DP/DR


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## Guest (Aug 5, 2011)

Totally DP said:


> Couldn't the fan disappearing thing just be due to the fact that it was in your blind spot?.
> 
> I think that a lot of the symptoms (e.g. Floaters, etc) are entirely normal and that we just become hyper-aware of them with DP/DR


I tend to agree with this theory. My eyes have always been poor. Very nearsighted, I had eye surgery when I was 6 and again had detached retinas when I was 24. I have tons of floaters my eye doctor can see himself, lol, (a big one I call "Hawaii" in my right eye that is a pain with reading.)

I can also make "things disappear" if I stare at them long enough. I'm not saying this is true for everyone with DP/DR, but these things used to bother me MORE as a young girl with DP/DR than now as an adult. I do believe because we have lost our sense of "Self" we become more AWARE of it at the same time, but not in a healthy way. It is sort of a hypochondriasis of vision.

I also have static if I really think about it. At night when I close my eyes I see all sorts of stuff. But the eyes are stimulated by the brain and stuff is going on there all the time.

I think in many cases it is over awareness of normal functions. I am not afraid of any of these things, but I also am fully aware in my case that I have extremely poor eyes. Getting a cataract in one too! GAH. Mainly I hate it as it makes reading difficult. I LOVE MY KINDLE! I have it on large font, lol.


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## Visual (Oct 13, 2010)

iLoganRoss said:


> The symptoms of HPPD do in fact include visual snow and floaters. But they also include crazy, crazy visual distortions that actually made me snicker when I read them. I did smoke weed, but it was a maximum of 9 times ever, and HPPD is rarely diagnosed and when it is about 99% of the time it's from heavy LSD users. But thanks for the little panic attack I got from reading this lol jk


Sorry about inducing any anxiety. Diagnosis are merely possible categories to help one understand and treat disorders. Nothing really scary about them.

Anyone can simulate the effect of 'disappearing' by closing one eye. Or place a mirror in front of one eye so you see something else with the right then the left.

This gets to the very heart of what is happening - *the brain has to decide what to 'see'*, what to focus on, what to pay attention to. The above test is obvious. But the others are less so, though it is the same going on.

Whether high stress states, minor malfunctioning of visual processing, or just illusions from pictures:

Count the Black Dots









Stationary Wheels that Spin


















How many Legs









Try focusing (centering your attention) on one of the spinning wheels - it stops and the others spin. Then focus on another wheel - same thing happens: the one you look at stops.

Vision is a 'percept based on subjective experience'.

It really comes down to how much you experience "Illusionary Vision" under normal circumstance.


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## Acoustics (Jun 5, 2011)

^^ That was pro.


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## Visual (Oct 13, 2010)

Curious - was just trying an experiment with the 'Spinning Wheels'. If you broadening the area of focus (attention) you can make them stop.

[Technical Note: While the brain focus is wired to the macula, you can actually shift focus to other parts of the visual field. Likewise you can also narrow the area of attention]

When looking at one 'wheel', the rest move.

But look at all the wheels (widen your focus, concentrate on seeing the whole picture) then you can make them all stop. Notice that when you do this, you kind of feel brain fog, space out, or even 'tranced' like a zombie, as if time is slowing - common complaints found on this forum.


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## sunnydelight1499 (Nov 15, 2011)

*Lisa* said:


> Yes, I have all of your symptoms. Actually my weird vision stuff comes a lot at night, there is a picture frame on the wall that completely disappears and melts into the wall if I look at it slightly to the right...its strange.


that exact thing happened to me. theres this picture i drew years ago that was on my wall and when i looked at it at first it appeared to be either shrinking or getting larger. and i kept starting at it to the point where it when black and i couldnt really see it anymore... it was very odd


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## kate_edwin (Aug 9, 2009)

These visual thngs are likely normal illusions and artifacts of how the ees , nerves and brain work. I thnk the combination of the lights and paint use in dr's offices and hospitals make you especially prone to the flashing and static


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## Feelyourthoughts (Oct 28, 2011)

Acoustics said:


> Some of my visual symptoms include things like, floaters (especially after i workout), looking at a white wall and seeing flashes, in dim light i see visual snow, and others like that. But one that worried me today was I was laying down looking at my ceiling. I had two ceiling fans on each side of the spot I was looking, and when I was to stare directly into the middle of the ceiling, the fans disappeared, and the ceiling seemed to get bigger and consume my entire eyesight. This worried me, can anybody else relate?


I had the exact stuff happen to me too, everything you said I can compare to mine, sometimes things turned out soo blurry even in daylight that I wasn't able to walk home from college.. But.. I'm out of my DPD now and I can tell you nothing is wrong with my eyesight now. I guess maybe its cos of uncoordinated brain control or something?


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## toshibatelly (Sep 13, 2011)

I am forever seeing flashes of light, strange coloured shapes floating around in my peripheral vision, thinking I saw something and looking round only to see there is nothing there. It could be a visual problem which is independent of your DP/DR but I imagine it is probably just a sign of the stress DP/DR puts people under. And physical exertion seems to make most DP/DR problems more pronounced in my experience.


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