My mom actually does suffer (yes, suffer) from claustrophobia. She always uses a window seat, and I use seatguru to make sure the window lines up with her seat. If she was forced to close the shade for more than a few minutes, her reaction would be a lot more disturbing to those around her than just light coming through the window.

I'm highly annoyed by the "laser beam" of light that comes in when the shade is up only an inch or so. It triggers migraines. My vomiting would also probably annoy my in-flight neighbors.

So, when we fly together, the shade stays up at least half way. I'm generally considerate of those around me, but not to the point of harming myself or my loved ones.