+- Eyesight Improvement Forum (https://www.iblindness.org/forum)
+-- Forum: General Discussion (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=4)
+--- Forum: Bates Method (https://www.iblindness.org/forum/forumdisplay.php?fid=5)
+--- Thread: My Vision Journal (/showthread.php?tid=1596)
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-24-2010
Thank you very much for the advice and encouragement!
As for my friends, their current view of the Bates method is, "if you get your vision back, I'll believe that it works", which can be interpreted as pressure or motivation. I'm using it as motivation.
As far as Quakenbush's book is concerned, I found it an interesting read, at least the parts I read. Being a chess player myself, I liked his analogy between central fixation and chess.
I think my vision is at roughly 5/200 as well. For me, it's difficult to set a definite measurement of my eyes with the Snellen chart. I just don't know what to do if a letter is "distinguishable, but not clear" or "barely distinguishable" or "very clear". Do I take a little off or add a little to the 6/200? Regardless, it doesn't mean a whole lot to me, because I can tell when my vision is better, when it is worse, and when it hasn't changed. There's no measurement for that instinct, but as long as I know, it doesn't really matter what my actual visual acuity is.
1. I tried blinking more...correctly today. It wasn't easy. I don't know if it was the fact that I was thinking about it or because I wasn't doing it right, but I was at least somewhat satisfied from having a few blinks out of every hundred or so FEEL right.
2. I read parts of Quakenbush's book in very dim light. It was much more difficult to read and I noticed a bit of stress, but when I got back out in the light, I felt that my vision was slightly better, as if I had palmed or sunned. Interesting.
Re: My Vision Journal - barabaraboom - 11-25-2010
how often do you change the eyechart?. sometimes memory of what youve seen will give you false reads. ull see it in yr minds eye and not your actual eye. its like misreading correctly :
.....how do i explain that....i guess picture when you see something and say "oh, i thought it said "blank". its like that You'll see the word your thinking and not the actual word. in this case its letters plus your thinking of the correct letters.hope that makes sence :-\
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-25-2010
I'd actually never thought of that before. What do you mean by "change the eyechart"? Do you mean that I should get a new one or move the old one around?
I tend to use the Snellen for only a few minutes a day anyway. I like to practice shifting on every-day objects.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-25-2010
Don't have much time, so quick note to myself:
Blinking is the key. I think that I've been much less "tired" lately because of my practice in blinking and shifting. It turns out that I wasn't ever really "tired", since I consistently get 9 hours of sleep a night; I was simply straining my eyes.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-28-2010
Optometrist appointment tomorrow. I'm nervous. :-X
I'm so nervous I forgot what I wanted to post.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-28-2010
1. Central fixation is worse when you're not relaxed. I know Bates wrote that in his book, but I didn't really think about it much until I demonstrated it to myself (by accident) today. So, relaxation precedes vision habits in importance? Interesting thought.
2. I'm still no good at palming. I don't know what it is, but I've tried all sorts of stuff. I'm open to suggestions on creative ways to palm.
3. I'm also not good at imagination, which ties in to #2. Supposedly, you're supposed to see something with your eyes closed as if you were seeing it with your eyes open. Yet, I can hardly see anything remotely close with my eyes closed. Help anyone?
4. Blinking, I found, also only works when one is relaxed. Otherwise, you get "blink-conscious" and you keep blinking and blinking until you start straining to blink and it gets worse and worse...
5. I'm going to try palming tonight for a few of my usual sleep hours. I hope I don't fall asleep before I start palming again like I did yesterday.
Re: My Vision Journal - Nancy - 11-29-2010
1. I think relaxation is primary. The correct habits come from relaxation if your sight is normal, but if it's not they can help get you there if you do them in a relaxed way. I've noticed for a while now that people whose vision is already pretty good seem to have an easier time with Bates, while those of us who have been seriously straining for years find it a bigger leap. It seems to you have to be a little relaxed already to get more relaxed!
2. Just put your palms over your closed eyes and relax. Don't think, instead remember something pleasant.
3. Try remembering -- the shirt you have on, picturing it (your eyes are closed now), the room you're in, your friend's face....
4. Yes.
5. If you fall asleep you probably need the sleep -- many people are walking around sleep-deprived. Don't make palming a chore and strain at it, otherwise it won't do you any good.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-29-2010
@Nancy: I'm not really sleep-deprived, but I often make the mistake of lying down to "relax" and the next thing I know, I'm asleep. I managed to get some palming down last night and it worked quite well: Palm, sleep, wake up, palm, sleep, wake up, palm, sleep, wake up, sleep, wake up - all in nine hours. I don't feel any different than I would be if I had slept nine straight hours, which is a good sign.
I don't see a way to edit my earlier post, so I'll post my progress here:
January 2009: -5.00/-4.25 (not sure exactly)
January 2010: -5.50/-4.00
May 2010: -6.00/-4.50
August 2010: I start the Bates method seriously
November 2010: -6.00/-4.75
So...it got worse, but considering that my vision had been getting worse consistently over the past five years or so, it's definitely an improvement. In fact, in light of the fact that I spent most of the 3 months (and those were only 3 of the 6 months since the last exam) trying to figure out how to do things in the Bates method, it's nice that I made any improvement from before. Now, obviously, I want to eventually improve to 20/20 or better (hopefully better
), but I think that this is a step in the right direction.1. I noticed that in the morning, after my palming during the night and in between palming and sunning during the morning, my right eye started twitching. Interestingly enough, it is usually my left eye that twitches. I believe I read somewhere that it's a sign of strain. It got me thinking: Perhaps I obtained some degree of relaxation from palming and sunning before, so that after I stopped, my eye started to twitch because it wasn't as relaxed as it was before? I don't know the answer to that question, but it wore off at around midday.
2. I'll be focusing on palming this week. I can't simply avoid it because I'm no good at it.
3. Will work on swinging too. I read Oleg K's post the other day about imagining a period, and it got me to thinking about how I practice the swing and whether I'm doing it right or not.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 11-30-2010
1. I'm noticing occasional twitching of the eyes at random times of the day. I wonder why.
2. I felt more relaxed for most of the day (so far). I didn't do any special, so maybe it's just the up and downs of vision.
3. I'm spending nearly all my "NVI time" palming. I think I'm getting better at it (or is it an illusion?).
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 12-01-2010
1. I read a great post by hammer from a few months ago. I plan to expand on it in a thread that I hope to start.
2. I know I said that I would focus mostly on palming, but somehow, long swings got thrown into the mix. I am expecting a 50/50 split between the two.
3. I'm becoming better at decreasing strain in the eyes, mostly thanks to the post mentioned in #1.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 12-03-2010
1. I figured out the swing!! I'm so happy.
It turns out that I was doing it all wrong the whole time. I know that a common error is to swing the eyes and not the head, but I had the opposite problem: swinging the head without swinging the eyes. Now that I do both, I notice a much more natural swing and at times, I can do it almost effortlessly. It's really a nice feeling. I credit Quackenbush's book for helping me out. The elephant analogy was also very helpful.2. The unaskable question still haunts me at random intervals of the day: How long will it take to improve? I guess it's just my mind's natural thirst for knowledge...and for certainties. Every time I read something about a person who improved their vision in X months or Y years it makes me wish that I could do it too. I'd LOVE to improve to 20/300 in under a year like some lady did in Quackenbush's book (from 20/1000 [mine is roughly 20/600ish right now]). Sometimes, I wonder: What did these people do exactly? How much time did they spend? Which exercises did they do most? These success stories are undoubtedly double-edged: they motivate you to extreme degrees, but they also raise your expectations, which in my experience, is not a good thing in the vision improvement realm.
3. My Vision Improvement Milestone Goals (mentioned before, I believe):
a) eliminate stare strain
b) improve vision significantly (~0.5 diopters)
c) improve vision to point where I don't need glasses for reading or computer work
d) improve to 20/100
e) improve to 20/40
f)improve to 20/20
g) improve to 20/10
Re: My Vision Journal - 2xtreme2fit - 12-04-2010
Pikachu,
Good for you. Now you can finally get the look of a lunatic you've always wanted.
Jokes apart, I have stopped reading success stories because they make me strain myself & like you said, they are double-edged. I try to keep me self-motivated & do things at my pace & at my will.
Plus, your goals are well-paced. I'm guessing you will be throwing your glasses away some time soon.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 12-04-2010
2xtreme2fit: Yes, I hope to be improve enough to be able to go without my glasses permanently. I hope it's sooner rather than later.
Re: My Vision Journal - Deliverance - 12-04-2010
Seeing the world clearly again,depth, vibrant. make me feel very happy, I'm in a phase where I feel like a glasses-free. My level of blur is the same as when I got my first glasses two years ago, I'm at like 20/150 and I can see /100 line often ;D . Clear flashes of 20/50 are not so uncommon now.
Do not expect a magic cure, improvement will come naturally when you stop being anxious thinking about that. ;D
I hope this encourage you.
Re: My Vision Journal - Pikachu - 12-04-2010
@lordofthesun: I'm curious; what was your visual acuity when you started? And thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it.