I think we are very sensitive to our physical environments and react as such. Things I can be FINE with at time can make me crazy on other days. I love Chicago. LOVE Chicago. Have walked myself dead for endless days in a row. I have to go there in November and I'm already scared. What if I feel horrible? What it overwhelms me? What if I'm frightened?

I don't think what you describe is depersonalization. The light is changing so quickly now ... it just might be a reaction to that. "Night" is so much longer now.

What is depersonalization?

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

Although this has happened to me only a couple of times it did this summer before diagnosis.

Thanks everyone. Mine would be closer to deRealization. I feel like I'm a part of my surroundings, it just seems like I'm in a bit of a dream state and the way I see light changes. It doesn't make me feel bad or anything, however, it's just strange.

I can be fine and all of a sudden I have that feeling. If anything it tends to feel a bit like a euphoric dream while I'm awake. It's hard to explain, but that's close.

Based on the wikipedia site I believe it is a derealization. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derealization

INTERESTING distinctions, mycountry ... thanks!!!

You might benefit from some meditation techniques particularly the grounding at the end which reaffirms the connection to the here and now.
Chi kung sometimes uses stuff like imagining roots growing from your feet deep into the earth rooting you into it.

Eek! Stop with the psycho stuff already!

Three things you can check for:

Side-effects of medications. Yes, your doctor will probably tell you everything is quite safe. But if there's a weird rare side-effect, we're the ones who will find them. For example, pamelor causes me to have audio hallucinations. I thought I was going nuts. That was years ago, but my hearing is so hypersensitive that I often DO hear things others don't. Like a radio that was supposedly turned off in another room across the hall. The volume was turned down all the way, but I could still hear it when no one else could. It sounded like someone was whispering in my ear, but only at night. (Which is when the alarm would turn the radio on again. Doh!) Took me weeks to find the cause, and the solution was nothing more than flipping a switch. Lesson learned. Unplug everything in the house and see what happens. Sometimes, it's so very subtle and continual, you hardly notice it until it stops. And whoopie - you dial the crazy down a couple of notches instantly.

Another thing to check for - skotopic sensitivity. You can google it. It's not an eye problem. It's the way your brain processes certain light frequencies. Many of us live in darkened rooms and get weird visual effects such as blurring or odd sensations of shadows moving out of the corner of your eye. It can make you feel very jumpy and paranoid, and kind of stoned. It's entirely physical, and you can see a diagnostician for help with that. You'd be amazed what you can do by making some simple adjustments. I even have transparent colored filters over my monitor and TV screens to block the offending freqs. I read one account by a woman long institutionalized who later found out about the vision problem and is now living independently. Yes, she had other issues - bipolar, if I recall. But years of misdiagnoses had left her believing she was far more out of it than she really was. She's pretty mad about it now - can you blame her? It was stealing her life, just like us.

Last thing - low contrast sensitivity. This happens with people carrying a load of neurotoxins. They sit on the optic nerve and make your ability to sense contrast poor. You can do a test at chronicneurotoxins.com for less than $10. This is a computerized version of a vision test the military has used for over 40 years now. If that's the prob, detox and avoidance is the answer. Find a doc who uses this test. They'll know what to do.

Bottom line, it could mean you don't see well in light OR dark, but you can hear like Super Woman and your ability to sense some things is ramped way, way up. (I know, sux.) But it does NOT mean you're crazy or anything like it. Not being able to sense correctly will certainly make you FEEL nuts - but it's an entirely physical problem. Think about it - everything you know comes from your senses, and all of your senses are driven by your brain and your nervous system. When either or both malfunction, NOTHING works right. It would be a real wonder if you could digest a meal properly or sleep, or anything else that relies on your senses when your whole feedback system is on the fritz.

And now you know why I harp on this no-psychobabble approach. If you listened to the talk-therapy folks, you'd likely miss the real solutions and continue to suffer needlessly. And THAT really does make me nuts! What we call brain fog is actually a whole set of physical malfunctions - a little different with each of us, but manageable if you look in the right places for help. You wouldn't leave your computer or your television like this, so why do it to your own head, right?

Note that NONE of these management techniques are cures. They are absolutely essential workarounds, and you need them if you expect to feel good enough to go forward with the search for real causes and cures.

Go get 'em, girl!

[Rant completed, Serena descends from the soapbox once again. Mops brow, scratches backside, goes looking for that box of Famous Amos with the pecans in it.]

Worth checking out all avenues for sure, and an open mind but not so open that everything falls out. Good luck mycountry.

LMBO at AJ and Serena (very humorous, but informative at the same time)!!

It's weird you said that about the computer screen, because I do get that same vision change often on the computer. I HATE being in a dim house at night. My hubby loves the low or NO lights at night and I just can't and won't deal with it. I also don't like to run a ceiling fan depending on the shadow it casts on the ceiling because it's so bothersome to me to see it whiling I'm attempting to focus on something else.

Thanks again everyone. I'm really enjoying the interaction and feedback from everyone!!

God bless!

CFS plays tricks with your eyes and your head etc. If it is really bothersome then ask your doctor.

For me I was in a fog. A really thick confusing fog where nothing looked familiar even if I had been there a thousand times. For me I made my mom go with me everywherer. it was like having a very familiar thing like my mom with me it broke the fog a part a little. Mine just got better and went away. My treatments are curing me. Your's should get better...it usually involves a lot of research and a lot of trying and seeing what works.