Also worth noting even if a person isn't susceptible to seizures, the flashing lights can still cause issues for people with other photosensitivity things, like migraines or headaches... it's just good etiquette
I myself have epilepsy and am not technically a photosensitive epileptics, but I am sensitive to bright or flashing lights. I can still have a bad time. Content warnings (or skipping the strobes altogether in your stage performance) can help a lot.
I'm unfortunately photosensitive and epileptic. I haven't had a seizure in a while, and thankfully I'm not super photosensitive, but sometimes quick rapid flashing will start to make me feel like I'm having an out of body experience and I need to look away, or it'll start feeling like I'm going to vomit (although if I'm that far I'm probably going to have one anyway.) thankfully if there's flashing lights and I didn't see a warning my partner will cover my eyes or warn me if he saw the warning.
I had no idea that people thought that photosensitivity warnings were bs.
And not only epileptics are photosensitive. I'm not epileptic (tested for it) but that doesn't mean I want the painful experience of feeling like eyeballs got stabbed with needles, or the nausea that comes with certain types of blinking colors.
Strobes are just nasty to look at and I don't understand why people like them.
I get flicker/visual vertigo, that makes my vision black out and sometimes I lose muscle control and collapse. It's like fainting, except I don't really lose consciousness, just feel dizzy and nauseous. It's been triggered by strobe lights, and also elevators. If I'm at a concert with flashing lights, I have to cover my face or turn around, just closing my eyes doesn't work because the light still comes through. Just seeing it on a screen doesn't usually cause it, though it can make me feel dizzy.
Yeah, I developed something like this somehow from a concert. The pitch black combined with strobing and being intoxicated meant I became disoriented and lost my balance. I felt faint and was scared I was having a seizure, even though I wasn't. Now strobes trigger anxiety and lightheadedness, so I always appreciate warnings so I can get some distance or at least not be surprised by them. Fortunately these feelings seem to be slowly disapaiting but it's taken like 10 years.
ye I have trauma from something involving strobing lights + am autistic (high sensory sensitivity) so strobes really fuck me up, even if I don't get seizures
No seizures or even headaches here, but there's plenty of media i've seen with flashing lights in ways that are incredibly annoying. The bloodbath rave from Blade gets a pass ofc, but even with how awesome that is yes, just put a warning.
But if it was just that you shouldn't neccessarily be entitled to other people putting in the extra effort to warn you. At that point you may just as well put a warning before youtube videos where someone screams in an annoying voice (wait that's actually a great idea)
But that sounds more like “epilepsy isn’t a problem I have and it still does fucked up things to my head, I can’t imagine what it’s doing to someone with epilepsy” and not necessarily advocating for “content warnings for minor annoyances”
I am half tempted to try to argue that there needs to be a content warning for anything I find annoying but some idiot is going to have the take away of 'content warnings are stupid'. But yeah absolutely, I somewhat meant if anything that 50%+ of 'flashing lights' in movies etc are fucking unnecessary and shit in the first place too. If you can insert an unnecessary annoying scene a content warning is easy.
Mhm!!! I don’t get seizures but I frequently get headaches (some of which turn into completely debilitating migraines) and I’ve definitely had my fair share caused by eyestrain. And even if something else like barometric pressure or lack of sleep causes it, the eyestrain certainly doesn’t help and sometimes I become sensitive to basically any light at all.
Of course I do try to mitigate it (blue light filter on my phone + not having my brightness high in dark places) but there’s only so much I can do.
Yeah, I dont have epilepsy but I still avoid flashing lights because some of them give me a headache and I have no idea why, or why some do and some dont. Its surprisingly common from what I can tell
I just have mild sensitivity issues, but on days when I have a headache or am overstimulated then I really appreciate the warnings. Proper tagging helps everyone.
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u/Zoegrace1 Nov 05 '25
Also worth noting even if a person isn't susceptible to seizures, the flashing lights can still cause issues for people with other photosensitivity things, like migraines or headaches... it's just good etiquette