It is such a hard thing to deal with when you are young, feel like you are in your prime and your life is just about to start, and bam, you’ve got an incurable disease that you can’t hide from because it’s in your eyes. I will admit I act quite tough about the situation but I definitely have my low times over the issue and I let myself have a cry over it before I tell myself to harden up and that I have a whole life to live for.
Being told you can’t see well is such a blow, even if you realised it prior, but I started doubting myself in so many ways. It went from not being able to drive, to being scared to be in a car because it is hard to read signs and see what’s ahead of me.
As a person who always has to be in control and needs to know EVERYTHING about what is happening to me and in the world, I found it quite confronting when I was told of my diagnosis. I was scared to go out at night because I felt I couldn’t see and I was in total darkness, whereas I think this is partly psychological as my EPS study showed my night vision isn’t affected.
I think there is not only the issue of dealing with vision impairment but also the other issues that arise with it; it’s not just about finding ways to get around or ways to work, but also how it affects us psychologically, because I am sure I am not alone with this. Not only am I dealing with my vision impairment, I am also dealing with a severe anxiety disorder that is life limiting. Double whammy or what.
So I encourage you all to speak out because we are in this together, and nothing is more helpful than hearing that someone else is experiencing the same thing.