I have adult ADD and have never taken meds and I have the same problem. Flashing lights or lights that are too bright make me confused and my mind seems to bounce around. This causes irritability and anxiety. I don't know how you feel about this but I'll share it with you. I always carry xanax with me and take 1/2 a pill if I get caught up in one of these situations. With me at least, it's very similar to a panic attack and the xanax totally helps calm me and I can enjoy myself. I hope you find what works for you. I know the feeling and it's aweful!

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I've had similar issues with certain things making my mind race even faster than normal. It's not a fun feeling, and in discussing the issue with my dad (who turned out to have similar problems) I found that it basically boiled down to feeling "overstimulated."

The tricky part with figuring this out though is that everyone has different triggers. Mine seemed to mostly visual and auditory, particularly lights and clashing colors. Christmas was very difficult for me (and my dad, as I found out recently) because my mother would insist on using every kind of light we had on the tree, all different colors blinking at different speeds, plus every single ornament and every color of tinsel. Just looking at the tree was painful for me, and led to many fights because just the sight of it made me feel jumpy and irritated, and it felt like I couldn't even think a coherent sentence much less explain to anyone how I was feeling.

Unfortunately this doesn't seem to be one of those things medication can help with. The best I've been able to do so far is try and pinpoint what my triggers are and then avoid them (hence why I start to panic if I have to take public transit or walk anywhere by myself without my iPod to block out background noise). Sounds like strobe lights may be one of your triggers.

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