Visual snow?

[Davaadtron]

Has anyone had a symptom like this before?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_snow

I think I have it when I look at the sky or monochrome walls and it's really scaring the hell out of me.

My psychiatrist says that it is due to anxiety but I'm having a hard time believing him....is it possible that anxiety could cause such a thing??

[Davaadtron]

Oh, and my eyes are perfectly fine, according to my opthamologist.

[Davaadtron]

And also, I didn't start noticing it until AFTER I read about visual snow, and now I can't stop noticing it!!! :(

[nomorepanic]

Eyes, Blurred vision, Eyes sensitive to light, Dry, watery or itchy eyes

What you feel:

You may see stars or movements out of the corner of your eyes that don't exist. You may also see flashing lights in your eyes or your vision may seem almost kaleidoscope-like. Sometimes you may feel that there is a dark object or something just on the outside edge of your vision, or that your vision is narrowing.

It seems your vision is blurry or out of focus, and it's more apparent now than before.

There are times when your eyes seem more sensitive to light than at others, even to a point of regular light being too bright so that you have to wear sunglasses or squint.

You feel as though your eyes are either always dry, constantly watering or itchy. And often, your eyes are red or 'glossy' looking. Even a good night's rest doesn't help.

Ciliary muscles relax - pupils dilate focusing on distant items sometimes disturbing your vision or allowing odd colours or floaters to be noticed.

What causes this:

Eyes are nerves. The nerves in the eyes send their information to the brain through the nervous system. When the nervous system is over active, the nerves in the eyes can play tricks on you which means we sometimes receive false information. These symptoms are some of the ways we receive this false information.
None of these symptoms are serious when they are attributed to anxiety disorder. However, it is important that you get a professional medical evaluation completed to ensure your condition is related to anxiety disorder.

[Davaadtron]

But is it possible that anxiety could cause these visual symptoms 24/7??

[Davaadtron]

Because I'll tell myself "ok I'm going to accept this visual symptoms because I know that they're just anxiety" (even though I don't believe that)
And then I can go for about 3 days without worrying, but then since the symptoms don't go away in that time I get stuck back in my obsessive worrying mode.

If it really is anxiety related it would take longer than 3 days to go away right? (After once has accepted the symptoms, stopped worrying constantly, and stopped fearing them.)

[den68]

its not true symptoms go within 3 days once you stop worrying and fearing them. I had a headahe that lasted weeks even after i had totally accepted it had been caused by anxiety and palpatations and chest pain after i knew my heart was fine

[Davaadtron]

So is it possible that one could have vision problems 24/7 due to anxiety if they worry about it and focus on it all the time?

[Davaadtron]

Actually now that I think about it I don't really think I have visual "snow," it's more like... "flickering" or "shimmering" (it's hard to describe) when I look at blank or monochrome walls and the sky.

And there are floaters too. So it's the two combined. It's so hard to convince myself that anxiety can do this!! 3 months ago I never had any of these symptoms!! :(

[Jackieww]

Hi

I also suffer with this............thought it was blood pressure at first...........but no.......it's anxiety.....and the more I think about it the more I get it......a good sleep normally makes mine go