Is it normal that i never take my sunglasses off?

49 Comments

I wear my sunglasses indoors, in the dark, and regardless of weather, season or occasion. I don't do this to be "cool", most days I just don't like to take them off. Some of my friends think this is a sort of trademark for me, while others think it is a bad habbit. My sunglasses are the very dark kind, so people whom I've known for several years may not know what color my eyes are. I have been getting migraines from bright light and usually use this as the excuse not to take sunglasses off, although I do not nearly get migraines to the extent that I have to wear sunglasses indoors or in the dark.

I think this is fine 48
I think this is strange 31
I do the same thing 37
I think you're being rude by doing this 18
I don't trust people who do this 15
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Comments ( 49 )
  • Acerbic
    11 years ago

    I agree with VioletTrees on this one. If it's a legitimate medical condition, that's fine. If it's not, that's also fine- as long as you're truthful.
    As a sufferer of PMLE (acute sunlight sensitivity/allergy) bright light causes me near blindness during exposure and migranes afterward. It also causes skin rashes, but that's off-topic.
    I do think wearing them indoors in dimly lit or even dark areas is a bit excessive and naturally some people are going to be thrown off by the lack of eye contact as upwards of 60% of communication is through body language- a large portion of that using the eyes.
    I think you should be cautious of never exposing your eyes to light; they could actually become super-sensitive to it due to your pupils never having to dilate much, rods and cones and all that. It's sortof like muscles; if you never use them they lose strength and ability to function properly. Just a suggestion.
    By the way, have you given thought to why you do this? Could it be a security issue? Sometimes people with these issues will wear sunglasses because it makes them feel safe and hidden.
    In any case, if it makes you happy and doesn't bother those you care about, go for it.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      I started wearing sunglasses for the same reason as and other person: to protect my eyes from the sun. But sometimes I started to forget to take them off for short times indoors, like running to Starbucks to get coffee before work. That happened more and more, to the point where I almost never took them off at all and people started asking. I told them the "migraine" thing,(I do get migraines from bright light, but definitely not to the extent of having to wear sunglasses all the time.) Now people look at me strange when I DO take them off, so I don't.

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  • prasatko
    11 years ago

    As a matter of fact, I like your attitude. I do not like sunlight outdoors or indoors or any bright light indoors.
    I have had conjunctivitis repeatedly each year and my problems with eyes (sore, red...) drive me mad quite often, so I wish I had the courage to wear sunglasses all the time. In a way, I admire your attitude.

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  • TerryVie
    11 years ago

    I was honestly expecting Corey Hart lyrics in here. I'm disappointed.

    I think it's strange and rude, at times.
    I want to be able to look my friends, not to speak of my partners, into the eyes. Its an important avenue of communication for me, by "cutting" it off, i instantly feel more distant to you and more coldly about you.

    Just my 2 cents.

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    • VioletTrees
      11 years ago

      You must be really awful to autistic people.

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      • TerryVie
        11 years ago

        why would i be?

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        • VioletTrees
          11 years ago

          Because autistic people often have difficulty with eye contact.

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          • TerryVie
            11 years ago

            yep? so?
            They don't cut the eye contact out on purpose.
            Its part of a "disability", why would i feel they are acting rude? I don't really understand you here...

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            • LaMer
              11 years ago

              It's because you said "Its an important avenue of communication for me, by "cutting" it off, i instantly feel more distant to you and more coldly about you."

              You're not going to know if someone is autistic right away a lot of the time. Your statement implies that you will change your own body language towards them because of their problem with making eye contact even if they're doing nothing else that's considered rude by you.

              I also don't appreciate the scare quotes around disability.

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    • anti-hero
      11 years ago

      Damn it you beat me to it.

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    • Anonymous Post Author
      11 years ago

      Would that change if I told you I was wearing them for migraines and you assumed that was true?

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      • TerryVie
        11 years ago

        not really. I would probably suggest darkening the room by using the blinds, or going to a darker place, or meeting later, near evening.
        By what you described, we could meet past sunset in a dimly-lit bar and you would still wear them.

        In the beginning, i may believe you, but urge you to get yourself checked out...because obviously it's not the light giving you migraines then. After a while, i won't.

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        • VioletTrees
          11 years ago

          Also, some people can get seizures from light, which can be deadly. And some people wear sunglasses because they're blind.

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          • TerryVie
            11 years ago

            OP is not blind, and, sorry if i have a wrong view on that, i was always under impression that those potentially deadly seizures are triggered by certain light patterns(e.g. stroboscopic). In which case sunglasses will not really help.
            As said, may be all wrong, but thats my view, feel free to educate me, though.

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            • VioletTrees
              11 years ago

              Fluorescent lighting can trigger epileptic seizures, particularly if they're malfunctioning or in the process of burning out. Filtering out some of the light with sunglasses can help with that. It's not terribly uncommon for people to have epilepsy and migraines, either, so you can have more than one reason for light sensitivity that requires the use of sunglasses.

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        • VioletTrees
          11 years ago

          Some people are so crippled by migraines and light sensitivity that that's not really practical, though. Your assertion of "obviously it's not the light giving you migraines then" wouldn't help. People with migraine disorders often have multiple triggers, but if light is one of those triggers, identifying other triggers doesn't mean that you don't have to still protect yourself from light. As for seeing a doctor, doctors can't always help people with chronic migraines much. One of the ways that they can help you is to tell you how to manage your symptoms, such as wearing sunglasses indoors. Also, it's not always just the levels of light that matter. For instance, some people are sensitive to fluorescent lights, even if they're dim, but sunglasses can help with that.

          It's rude to pretend to be doing something to manage a disorder when you're not, but it's much worse to judge other people for how they manage their own health problems. I have a good friend who frequently wears sunglasses indoors because of chronic illness. It would be pretty shitty of me to stop believing her about her illness just because she has to work to manage it.

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          • TerryVie
            11 years ago

            My point was in regard to the multiple triggers.

            If light IS one of your triggers, and i go to great lenghts to eliminate that trigger because it's important to me to look into your eyes, but you don't try to identify and isolate other triggers and still blame everything on the light+wear sunglasses(which ultimately then wouldn't help, since it's other triggers than light as well), i will feel taken lightly.

            Sorry, just the way it is for me. If you go see doctors and try to work on it, thats one thing. If you only wear your sunglasses and thats the end of the story, then, unfortunately, it DOES have a negative effect for me. Just being honest here, as this avenue of exchange is important to me.

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            • LaMer
              11 years ago

              My main trigger is light. It got so bad that I had to pull out of public school even though I was allowed to use sunglasses and a hat. I've lost leg function, vomited repeatedly, and been bed ridden in excruciating pain for days all after being under lights for long periods of time WITH sunglasses on. It would be way worse without them and they do minimize the damage when I'm under lights for shorter periods of time.

              I do see a doctor by the way, since that seems to be a big sticking point for you. They can't magically fix it. It doesn't work that way. My doctor is the one that recommended I wear sunglasses whenever I need to and stay away from lights as best I can in the first place (how do think I got permission from the school to wear them?). I never wore them in the past.

              My choice is basically wear sunglasses or never leave my house.

              Also the only way to "eliminate that trigger" is to have a completely dark room so you wouldn't be able to make eye contact with me anyway.

              Your preference does not override my health.

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            • VioletTrees
              11 years ago

              So your preference for eye contact takes priority over their medical condition? Sometimes doctors can't fix these things. You can't always "work on it".

              Also, having other triggers doesn't mean that sunglasses "ultimately wouldn't help". You try to avoid all the triggers that are possible to avoid. If one of those triggers is light, or certain types of light, wearing sunglasses can help with that. Expecting your friends to take their sunglasses off to interact with you, risking that they'll get sick (in some cases for days), is inconsiderate and ableist in the extreme.

              It's not your job to decide what lengths to go to to avoid their migraine triggers, either. That's the job of the person with the migraines. If you want to communicate with them about how you can meet up somewhere where they won't need their sunglasses (if there is such a place where that's guaranteed. For some people, there isn't), and you can do so in a sensitive manner, go ahead. But I find it worrisome that you find something that serves as a tool for disabled people so offensive that you'd arrange your meetings around not having to see it.

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        • Anonymous Post Author
          11 years ago

          Here I would actually agree with you, although there has been a time when I was at a party at like 10 or 12 at night and there was a blackout, and my friends still took "migraines from light" as an excuse not to take them off.

          Thank-you for answering!

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  • lalaaa
    11 years ago

    Just do what you want...wear what you want...you are the same person :-)

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  • ToxicCrayons
    11 years ago

    I wear sunglasses when I'm going out. Sometimes I leave them on when I'm in a shopping centre or building because I can't be bothered taking them off.

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  • dirtybirdy
    11 years ago

    I wear a welding helmet 24/7. It automatically darkens. Ya that's right

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  • Cuntsiclestick
    11 years ago

    Normal. Keep wearing your sunglasses. Most people have never seen me without a hat. No matter where I go, I have a hat on.

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  • Austalien
    11 years ago

    I used to do this it's to be detached and people get really weird about it, The eyes are the window of the soul so they say or you been doing drugs that make your eyes sensitive to light.

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  • VioletTrees
    11 years ago

    Wear your sunglasses however you like, but don't lie about it. If you must lie about it, stick to your lie, man. There are people who legitimately do have to wear sunglasses all the time, and you're really not giving them a good name right now.

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  • Bonnabell
    11 years ago

    I wear my sun glasses at night.

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    • Bonnabell
      11 years ago

      That is a song from the 80s.

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