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+--- Thread: Progress halted by blinking? (/showthread.php?tid=1941)
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Re: Progress halted by blinking? - Michelle - 11-29-2011
I have a similar situation. When I started last summer, I realized that blinking was one of the ways I strain my eyes. If I relaxed my muscles around my eyes as much as possible, my vision would instantly get a little better. But if I blinked too hard, my vision instantly became blurry again. I realized that, for the past 15 or so yeasr, I blinked way too hard with every single blink It took a lot of practice to get used to the "butterfly blinks."
Actually, the dry scratchy feeling you get is mild compared to what I had. I experienced literally intense pain when my vision would get better. If I blinked too hard, the pain instantly stopped, but so did the better vision. Because I was super determined, I endured a lot of pain for weeks with every flash of clearer vision.
Now I've gotten used to blinkling extremely lightly, and my eyes actually feel less dry and much better than they did months ago. My eyes still sting when I get clearer vision though, and I think it might take a LONG time before I can consistently see better. Even though I have mentally figured out how to relax my vision, my eyes will take some time to adjust to it. I figure, once my eyes no longer hurt and sting when they adjust, I can finally train them to see more clearly all the time.
The dry feeling you get may not actually be dryness. My eyes water profusely if I get a lot of clear flashes, to the point that tears are streaming down my face. When I first started the super light blinking, I actually doubted that I was even blinking because I was so used to heavy blinks. So I looked in the mirror and confirmed that I was indeed blinking. But I felt like I had to blink super hard in order for my eyes to feel moist. Rather, the super light blinks brought about a mild clear flash that caused discomfort, and I associated all discomfort with dryness because I used to wear contacts.
I'd say just wait it out and the discomfort will eventually go away. Keep blinking lightly.
Re: Progress halted by blinking? - Ben - 12-12-2011
Michelle, thank you for the information and advice. What you are talking about is very similar to what I am dealing with(to a lesser degree for me). If I continue the light-blinking, I can keep clear(er) vision for longer durations. And I feel that slight stinging/scratchy feeling. And if I ignore that and continue with the exercises(well, methods really, not really exercising), I get a good amount of tear production going on. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing because my eyes are trying to produce a lot of tear film to compensate for the extra dry eyes, or this is a good thing because my eyes know how to produce tears better when I have clearer vision.
Anyways, your story really helped!
Ben
Re: Progress halted by blinking? - minjja - 12-12-2011
I´ve just discovered that i cant blink at all ;D maybe most of the strain comes from this...
All the time I thought my blinking is good until I filmed myself to ensure. When I looked at it I couldnt believe my eyes.
Firstly it was blinking the normal way I do it...hard blinking...My eyelids were moving just slightly, they werent touching each other at all. I thing I was just pressing the muscles around my eyes.
Then I filmed my soft blinking...it looked really really wierd. My eyelids were almost closed but not completely thinking they were.
And I could also see that my eyes turned up while blinking so it was half closed eyelids with white parts of eyes. :
??? I also realised that the same thing happens to me when I am sleeping..with half closed eyes. Palming before sleeping makes it better.
Has somebody the same problem??
Or how to get rid of this habit??
Re: Progress halted by blinking? - arocarty - 12-13-2011
minjja Wrote:And I could also see that my eyes turned up while blinking so it was half closed eyelids with white parts of eyes. :
I also realised that the same thing happens to me when I am sleeping..
There's a natural reflex called "Bell's Phenomenon." Basically the eyes will automatically rotate upward when making a voluntary, or forced blink (and in sleep). It's usually obscured by the eyelid, so we don't see it happening, but might be something you can catch on film. If you are truly concerned, be sure to get a full medical eye exam, to rule out any other medical condition. Have you had a full vision exam recently?
Re: Progress halted by blinking? - Nancy - 12-13-2011
When Robert Lichtman (founder of Effortless Vision) came up to my area to give a group vision lesson, he pointed out that one of my friends was not closing her eyes fully when she blinked. This may be more common than we realize. I wondered at the time if she had Dry Eye, as I would think this partial blink behavior wouldn't moisten the front of the eye completely. I also wondered if it was from her being fearful and watchful, "sleeping with one eye open"(!), and if relaxation practices would help. These are only my hunches, and as arocarty says a full vision exam is probably in order if you're concerned. In any case I'd pay attention to it, what seems to aggravate it and what relaxes it.