# can the sun cause dp/dr??



## Josh_

im new here and i really just want an anser, but whenever the sun is out nothing looks real and it gives me great anxiety. the symptoms i get are exactly like depersonalization/derealization. i have a really good long term memory and i remember being like this since i was about 5 years old. when i was in 5th grade, when summer started is when i realized that something was wrong and it gave me a lot of anxiety. and it came every summer, and now whenever the sun is out i get derealization. i was suspected to have seasonal affective disorder because of depression i had but im pretty sure dp/dr has nothing to do with SAD. i am diagnosed with bipolar 1 and ocd, and i know dp/dr is a symptom of both of those. i have dr almost 24/7 and i have only got dp twice only for a few minutes, but my dr is literally like 50 times worse when the sun is out. the sun makes me feel sick and gives me a headache when ever its out, i also get depressed, and i get a lot of anxiety. right now i actually feel normal. but it hasn't been sunny in a while so that has helped. but i have always been like this and i want to know if anyone else has this problem with the sun.


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## Visual

Josh_ said:


> im new here and i really just want an anser, but whenever the sun is out nothing looks real and it gives me great anxiety. the symptoms i get are exactly like depersonalization/derealization. i have a really good long term memory and i remember being like this since i was about 5 years old. when i was in 5th grade, when summer started is when i realized that something was wrong and it gave me a lot of anxiety. and it came every summer, and now whenever the sun is out i get derealization. i was suspected to have seasonal affective disorder because of depression i had but im pretty sure dp/dr has nothing to do with SAD. i am diagnosed with bipolar 1 and ocd, and i know dp/dr is a symptom of both of those. i have dr almost 24/7 and i have only got dp twice only for a few minutes, but my dr is literally like 50 times worse when the sun is out. the sun makes me feel sick and gives me a headache when ever its out, i also get depressed, and i get a lot of anxiety. right now i actually feel normal. but it hasn't been sunny in a while so that has helped. but i have always been like this and i want to know if anyone else has this problem with the sun.


Welcome to the forum.

Usually the negative symptoms of seasonal affective disorders are from the lack of nice sunny days.

But something you should consider. The amount of light that the eye receives changes how contrast (difference between light and dark) is processed in the brain. Vision is heavily dependent on contrast processing. So some people with DR will experience changes in how things look depending on overall lighting.

You are not alone with this symptom. And you do not need to be afraid. Unless you are only 6 years old







, you have had this a long time and haven't died from it.

Another question, are you on any medications right now? Some of these can change a persons tolerance to the sun (amitriptyline as an example)

Hope this helps...


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## Guest

I actually have the opposite effect. When I spend a lot of time out in the son the intensity of my symptoms seems to decrease.


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## kate_edwin

I replied in another topic, but I have half the yeR where I spend lots of time indoors and then a season where I'm in the sun for a significant ammount of time, my dp symptoms are the same either way


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## Josh_

im not on any medication yet my doctor is still figuring that out. but i am really sensitave to light, do you think that might mean something??


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## kate_edwin

id see a neurologist or neuro ophthalmologist for that


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## SongBillong

Yeah, I'm the same with the sun (or bright lights at night), so that's why I feel a lot better indoors. It's also the reason why my DP/DR is at its worst when I'm driving or playing sports!









I have extremely dry tear ducts (the worst case of it my optician had seen in the whole of his 40 year career) so the fact that I find it difficult to focus visually probably just makes me more disorientated and consequently makes my DP/DR worse.

So yeah, I'd definitely say that sunlight can make it worse.


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## tengent

First post! I might make a thread later, but I identify with what you're saying. Just yesterday I was walking in the woods, and it was cloudy, how I like it. I've always liked cloudy days, but I haven't always had derealization. So I'm walking, and suddenly the sun comes out, and I spontaneously start getting that terrible feeling of intense fear. I'd usually call this a panic attack.


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## branl

I doubt it, I feel wonderfull in the sun if I am laying in it, but if its in my eyes it makes me feel a bit crap

lights make my dp and depression horrible, It really annoys me


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