Paddy Considine 'gripped by despair' before diagnosis of rare medical condition
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Actor Paddy Considine has told how he was gripped by despair before doctors found out he was suffering from a rare condition that made it difficult for him to cope with light.
The Bourne Ultimatum actor and Tyrannosaur director was told he had Asperger's syndrome in 2010.
But he sought further help last year over his symptoms, which included thinking he had to stare intently at someone to make eye contact and being obsessed with stripes.
He told the magazine that he felt like he was "closing down...for years...and I just couldn't live my life.
"People would knock on the front door and I would literally hide under the table. I thought: this is not the way I need to live my life."
The specialist said that Considine, 39, may show traces of Asperger's, but he also has Irlen syndrome, a condition in which the brain cannot properly process light and "visual information".
The actor told the magazine: "It was causing all this anger and aggravation of my brain. It was a nightmare. My brain was telling me to shut down as a result of it. From the minute I opened my eyes, light would hit my eyes and I'd already want to go back to sleep again."
The Hot Fuzz star sought help in California from the psychologist and therapist who had "discovered" the syndrome in 1980.
He said: "She dims the lights and I look at a black blanket and little by little she holds these circular, framed, coloured filtrations up to me. And as we're doing it, we're finding the right combination. And we get to a certain point and all of a sudden this knot I've had in the back of my head for years, just goes. Gone.
"It was quite overwhelming, because I say to her, 'Is this how people see the world?' And she says, 'Yes'. And that, was it."
Considine, who stars in ITV drama The Suspicions of Mr Whicher, now wears special, tinted contact lenses which arrived while shooting the end of the movie The World's End.
"By the end of The World's End, I felt like I'd come alive. I felt like, 'I'm back'," he said.
"The only negative thing I've had was a couple of people have gone, 'What if you lose it now? It's like, dude, what am I gonna lose? Wanting to kill myself every other day of the week? Ha ha. If they'd have said to me, 'The only way you're gonna feel well is if you chop both your legs off,' I'd have done it."
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments