Hello! My name is Debora, I’m 22 years old, and I come from Italy. I don’t think I was born with this condition because I remember the exact moment when everything changed. I was 10 years old, and I don’t know if a depressive episode triggered it or if the VSS (Visual Snow Syndrome) made me depressed. What I know is that when I was very young, I went through a period where I felt completely lost and disconnected from reality. I told my parents that I was seeing “little rain.” Soon, we visited an ophthalmologist who ruled out any eye damage and sent me home, saying I should just drink more water. So, I decided that it must be normal.
However, over time, and especially during periods of stress, these symptoms worsened. Around age 16, I experienced a further worsening of the VSS symptoms. Before that, I suffered from panic disorder, which eventually evolved into agoraphobia due to depersonalization and overstimulation. I can’t fully explain it, but it felt like everything was always too intense for me. Until I turned 18, I lived through constant ups and downs, where the lows were marked by severe depression.
At 20 years old, I was finally diagnosed with VSS, and I felt understood for the first time. Today, I’m 22 years old and still experience VSS, which causes me visual snow, tinnitus, palinopsia, and photophobia. But I no longer suffer from depression and panic disorder, which is a huge personal victory. There are still days when my symptoms worsen and pull me back into a loop of negative thoughts… but I’ve learned to accept them.
Thank you for everything you are doing. You give me hope during the difficult days, and I hope my story can give hope to others who feel overwhelmed by VSS. There were many times when I thought I wouldn’t make it. But here I am, living my life at my own pace, finding fulfillment even amid challenges. VSS has been a real trauma, but life and the world are full of fascinating and beautiful things when we learn to look beyond.
