Most physical problems don’t happen “out of the blue”. Something in the person’s habits precedes them, whether it be a poor diet or lack of exercise or a negative angry attitude. The same is true of vision problems — the visual system is reacting to something in the person’s environment it doesn’t want to see.
In my own case, as an anxious introverted over-achieving child, going to kindergarten and being overwhelmed with all those new people, with no idea of what I was supposed to do, pushed me over the edge into a myopic pattern. I was put into eyeglasses shortly afterwards, and my downhill slide into progressive myopia began. To this day it is difficult for me to interact with people I don’t know, especially a group of them, but now I know a solution to this is not to blur my vision so I can’t see them!
Many people have told me there was a traumatic incident in their childhood shortly before they got glasses. Perhaps it was the death of an older sibling, or a parental divorce, or moving away from the only home they’d ever known and leaving all their friends behind. Children have limited resources, and if they strongly feel “I don’t want to look at this situation!” their visual system may obey, trying to help them feel safer.
So if you revisit your own history, and the light bulb of awareness comes on for you about why you started shutting down your vision so long ago, what do you do now? First, do not criticize yourself, thank yourself! You have good self-preservation habits, and were taking care of yourself the best way you knew how. And now, you know more than you did back then.
If you uncovered a traumatic incident which still troubles you deeply today, perhaps some releasing or forgiveness work is in order, to help you come to peace with your past. I’ve gotten as much visual improvement mileage from journalling and meditation and EFT or “tapping” as I have from targeted vision exercises. Seek the help you think you need. You’re worth it!
And no matter how troubled your past, you’re in the present now. See today as a a new day, with limitless possibilities. People have overcome all sorts of serious vision problems by learning to relax their eyes and mind, and to see in an easier healthier manner. You can too. Envision the panorama of your future opening up before you, where you can see everything you want to. That’s the mental picture I hold for myself, every day.
|
FREE EYE CHARTS DOWNLOAD
|
I wore strong glasses, then contact lenses, from age 5 into my 40s. While making many mistakes, eventually l learned how to improve the way I use my eyes and to see in a more relaxed, healthy manner. It is my pleasure to coach others to do the same. Visit me at https://NancyLNeff.com.
What a lovely, compassionate, helpful article Nancy! Thank you for sharing your expertise, thoughtful incites and support! You are truly an inspiration. ❣️
Hi Audrey, and thanks! Hope you’re well, and it’s good to hear from you. Sending a hug.
When I was about fourteen years old I began having blurred vision at all distances during the time of doing my homework. I do not recall any traumatic events, but
a lot of kids were getting glasses, and I was terrified at the thought of needing them.
I never old my parents, and did a good job of hiding my problem. My eyes would burn, and I frequently got styes. Sometimes my vision was so blurred that I could not recognize faces across the street. Some how I managed to pass the yearly vision screenings.
Although my father wore a moderate nearsighted correction, and my mother wore reading glasses with some astigmatism correction, my sister, and I never had an eye exam.
During summer break, my vision problems seemed to go away, but returned when school stated.
After high school graduation the problems again subsided. In my twenties I went back to school, and the blur came back. I found a pair of my fathers old glasses from when he was in his twenties. They were weak minus lenses, with some astigmatism correction. And when no one was home I would wear them for reading, and watching TV. I was amazed at how I could see the house numbers across the street, and how good my eyes felt with them on.
Finally in my thirties I went to an optometrist, and was prescribed reading glasses, which made things worse. After several different optometrists prescribed plus glasses ,some with astigmatism correction, the same blur problem existed. Finally at age thirty six, an optometrist gave me glasses for low myopia, and astigmatism, which finally gave me relief..
Dale, I’m guessing you and your sister staying out of glasses as children kept you from needing stronger and stronger ones. Even though you were apparently seeing with strain back then (and I so wish you’d known about palming and other Bates practices!), you could have ended up with very strong glasses. I’d encourage you to do without glasses now as much as you can comfortably, using them only when necessary, and continue to learn to relax your hardworking visual system. Thanks for writing. 🙂