Does anyone else find it especially difficult to practice good vision habits when they are ill? I have been sick these last few days and whenever I have looked at the Snellen I have had a major mental-block that I just can't get beyond. I also realized that I stare much more (almost never shifting), my mental attitude is terrible and negative, palming produces no result, all of my old habits come back into place and I say things to myself like: "this will never work. I'll never see 20/20" - even though I have had plenty of proof to the contrary!!
Why?! It's so frustrating. Am I alone in this? Does anyone have suggestions for getting beyond that negative, unfocused state that happens when you are sick?
You are not alone! When I have been sick, I can not practice N.V.I becouse everything feels wrong, the best thing to do in that cases is to just rest and go to bed, sofa... Also along this way, I've learned so far, that this journey is a up and down of motivation and hopes, so the best is to keep going becouse the more you practice, the easy this whole thing become and the more you feel motivated. Come on... normal vision is just there, in your mind!
seetheleaves, hi -- here is what it is like for me, so if it applies to you, too, great. Otherwise ignore it. When I'm feeling cranky and tired and don't want to be bothered with anything, the chart can seem like too much work. I remind myself that I don't need to work harder to see the chart clearly! I then use this as a small challenge: can I allow myself to relax enough to let some letters on the chart be clearer, even when I feel crummy? I realize I want to learn to relax at any time, and when I'm fighting myself, it's even more necessary.
I'm trying to change my attitude about the chart (and good vision practices) being a chore and struggle, to something that's good for me, like a walk outside or a drink of water. Feel better!
Just don't do chart when you are sick. Stop testing your eyesight, which lowers your sight. Practice dodging your vision. Just notice that things move and are small/contained/brighter/more contrasty in the periphery without looking at them. And before retiring, always swing your body. Never lie down without easing up on the eyestrain at least slightly by practicing the long-swing or a shorter one if can be done successfully, that way even during sickness, the vision will continue to improve and it will also ease up your cold symptoms... (And remind yourself how well you have been doing and that you will not remain sick forever)
A few weeks ago, i catch a cold. After a few days, i have to rest fully and just sleep on my bed. By that time my vision become worse. I know this will happen because i always have bad vision when i am sick so i dont practice bates method when i am sick.
Thank you all very very much for the wonderful advice. All of you are absolutely correct that what I needed was to not stress myself out over my vision but just to rest, to heal and to feel better first. Thank you! I am feeling so much better now and my vision practice is getting back on track.
I definitely see the correlation between being sick and having bad vision and it's sort of comforting to know that I'm not the only one who has this happen to them (I say 'sort of' because of course I'd rather everyone see well all of the time!). Now I'm wondering what comes first: feeling sick or having decreased visual acuity? Chicken or the egg?
Thanks for your well wishes and encouragement! I wish you all the same!
seetheleaves Wrote:Now I'm wondering what comes first: feeling sick or having decreased visual acuity? Chicken or the egg?
For discussion's sake, let me try to answer it:
I would say that it depends on the case we're talking about, you could start feeling sick because you've been trying to improve eyesight but have not seen enough improvement.
It could be because someone told you to follow a certain diet routine that made you sick from the stomach.
The other way around is also possible, when you've caught an infection - maybe your head was paining & due to it, you lost mental control over the eyes & felt a declination in the eyesight.
Vision and stomach seems to be very connected. If you suffer from a bad stomach you get eyestrain for sure. If you cure the stomach problems the eyestrain disappears. ??? The difficulty is to know what causes the stomach problems. One way is to take some medecin temporarily and you will notice the connection, if you haven't noticed it already.
For instance when I was a child I felt anxiety in the stomach,
it was really intense feeling, do you also see this connection now ?
