Category: Eye Health Awareness

As we age, our bodies naturally begin to deteriorate, and our eyes are no exception. Age-related eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration are some of the most common conditions that can affect our vision as we get older. While these conditions can be managed with the help of eye care professionals, such as optometrists and ophthalmologists, therapy can also play a crucial role in managing these conditions.

Different Types of Age-Related Eye Conditions

Cataracts

This condition occurs when the lens of the eye becomes cloudy, making it difficult to see clearly. Cataracts can cause a range of symptoms, including blurred vision, glare, and sensitivity to light.

Glaucoma

This condition is caused by an increase in pressure within the eye, which can damage the optic nerve and lead to vision loss. Glaucoma often has no symptoms in the early stages, so regular eye exams are important to detect it.

Macular Degeneration

This condition affects the macula, which is the part of the retina responsible for central vision. Macular degeneration can cause a range of symptoms, including blurred vision, difficulty seeing fine details, and a reduction in the ability to see colors.

Diabetic Retinopathy

This is a diabetes complication that affects the blood vessels in the retina. It can cause vision loss and blindness if left untreated.

Presbyopia

This is a natural part of aging that causes the eye’s lens to stiffen, making it difficult to focus on close objects.

Dry Eye Syndrome

This is a common condition that occurs when the eyes are not producing enough tears as they used to or the tears evaporate too quickly. It can cause discomfort, redness, and blurred vision.

The Importance of Therapy

Therapy can be an essential part of managing age-related eye conditions because it can help individuals to cope with the emotional and psychological impact of these conditions. For example, losing vision can be a traumatic experience that can lead to feelings of depression, anxiety, and loss of self-esteem. Therapy can help individuals to learn how to cope with these feelings and develop new ways of dealing with the challenges of age-related eye conditions.

Therapy can also help individuals to learn how to adapt to their new circumstances. For example, individuals with age-related eye conditions may need to learn how to navigate their environment using different techniques, such as using a cane or learning to read braille. Therapy can help individuals to learn how to adapt to these new challenges, which can make it easier for them to maintain their independence.

Types of Therapy

There are many different types of therapy that can be used to manage age-related eye conditions, including:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

This type of therapy is focused on helping individuals to change the way they think about their condition and to develop new coping mechanisms. This can be particularly useful for individuals who are experiencing anxiety or depression as a result of their eye condition.

Occupational Therapy

This type of therapy is focused on helping individuals to adapt to their new circumstances and to learn new skills. Occupational therapists can work with individuals to help them learn how to use assistive devices, such as magnifiers, or to develop new ways of completing daily tasks, such as cooking or dressing.

Rehabilitation Therapy

This type of therapy is focused on helping individuals to regain their independence and to learn new ways of living with their condition. Rehabilitation therapists can work with individuals to help them learn how to use assistive devices, such as white canes, and to develop new strategies for completing daily tasks.

Support Groups

Support groups can be an important resource for individuals with age-related eye conditions. These groups provide individuals with the opportunity to connect with others who are going through similar experiences, which can be a great source of support and understanding.

Overall Eye Care Tips

1. Get regular eye exams: It’s important to have regular eye exams, especially as you get older, to detect any potential issues early on. This is important for identifying eye conditions such as cataracts, glaucoma, and macular degeneration before they cause permanent vision loss.
2. Wear protective eyewear: If you work in an environment where your eyes may be exposed to hazardous materials or bright light, it’s important to wear protective eyewear to protect your eyes.
3. Eat a healthy diet: Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables, such as leafy greens and berries, can help to keep your eyes healthy. These foods contain essential nutrients such as vitamin C and E, which are important for eye health.
4. Quit smoking: Smoking can increase your risk of developing age-related eye conditions, such as macular degeneration and cataracts. Quitting smoking can help to reduce your risk.
5. Take breaks when working on screens: Prolonged use of computers and other digital devices can cause eye strain. Taking regular breaks and looking away from screens can help to reduce this strain.
6. Get enough sleep: Getting enough sleep is important for overall health, including eye health. Not getting enough sleep can cause eye strain, dry eyes, and dark circles under the eyes.
7. Use lubricating eye drops: If you experience dry eyes, lubricating eye drops can help to keep your eyes moist and reduce discomfort.

Conclusion

Managing age-related eye conditions can be challenging, but therapy can play a crucial role in helping individuals to cope with these conditions. From cognitive behavioral therapy to occupational therapy and rehabilitation therapy, there are many different types of therapy that can be used to manage age-related eye conditions.

Additionally, support groups can be an important resource for individuals with age-related eye conditions. It is important to talk to your eye care professional to understand what therapies may be best for you and how they can help you manage your condition and improve your quality of life.

I had been feeling lost ever since I went on a routine executive checkup, and the doctor told me to have my eyes checked as well since my mother had been diagnosed with glaucoma around 26 years old – the same age I was at the time. Like an obedient patient, I did as the doctor advised, confident that they would not find an issue with my eyes. I had gone to ophthalmology clinics for prescription glasses before, but the eye doctor assured me that I had 20/20 vision, so there would be no need for that. I felt lucky about it, considering I was a graphic artist and needed to use the computer all day long.

After waiting for the test results, the doctor informed me gently that I had glaucoma and that 20% of my left eye was no longer functioning. I sat there motionless for five minutes, wondering if it was a dream. However, the doctor’s voice brought me back to reality. The first thing that came out of my mouth was, “How did that happen? My vision was 20/20.”

The doctor explained that it was possible for the devices in eye prescription clinics not to detect anything wrong with the patients’ eyes, but it did not mean that nothing’s wrong. He proceeded to say that even his own mother only got reading glasses back then, although she also had glaucoma.

“Glaucoma is a slow-progressing condition that many people do not realize they have. They sometimes attribute blurry vision and headache to stress and other factors. Still, they never think that it’s because the optic nerve connecting the brain and eyes has been getting damaged due to fluid buildup inside the eyes,” the doctor added.

“Is there a cure for this?”

The doctor shook his head slowly. “Unfortunately, the optic damage is irreversible at the moment. All you can do is lessen the activities that require you to strain your eyes too much.”

Since then, I had been living in utter denial. I did not tell anyone about the eye diagnosis. I acted as if I was perfectly healthy. However, I always felt frustrated whenever my eyes would turn blurry, to the extent that I threw my laptop against the wall one time. 

What Made Me Change

One time, my boyfriend told me that he had a new favorite show on Netflix called Blown Away. I watched it out of sheer curiosity – and because my boyfriend was hogging the TV. When we began to watch the second season, though, I paid more attention as one of the glassblowers revealed that she had glaucoma. The extreme heat that the woman had to deal with every day was not helping slow down its progression further. In truth, it was making things worse for her. Despite that, she was still bubbly and happy because she loved making art out of glass.

That woman inspired me to undergo counseling to restore my confidence and mental resilience amid my eye condition and mental health struggle.

Is there a difference between therapy and counseling? 

 Yes, therapy and counseling are different from each other. The former typically occurs longer than the latter.

Does Counselling work? 

 Yes, counseling works. It has already helped millions of people deal with their mental health issues across the globe. However, its effectiveness depends on the client’s level of cooperation, considering the counselor can only provide advice and guidance, not resolve their problems for them.

Is crying in therapy a breakthrough? 

 Yes, mental health professionals consider crying as a breakthrough in therapy. Though the therapist may pause the session and let the client cry it all out, it entails making progress.

Can therapy make you worse? 

Yes, therapy can technically make you worse, even though it is supposed to do the opposite. That happens when you go to an unreliable therapist who does not know how to conduct therapy.

Can Counselling do more harm than good? 

 No. In truth, counseling can ideally make your life better. However, it may do you more harm than good if you end up meeting the wrong type of counselor.

When should you stop therapy? 

• You have learned everything you can from the therapist regarding coping and dealing with your issues.
• You no longer feel like the therapist can help you.
• Your life is too chaotic for you to be able to focus on therapy.
• You want to let go of that life chapter and move on.

Is it normal to cry in therapy? 

 Yes, it is normal to cry in therapy. It typically happens when the client talks about their issues or experiences enlightenment or emotional relief.

What should I not tell a marriage counselor? 

 For marriage counseling to work, you should not hide any information concerning your marital issues from the counselor. Some facts may be downright shameful, but you need to let it all out to increase your chances of achieving your goals.

Can therapists hug their clients? 

 No, therapists cannot hug their clients. That is against the ethical code.

Do therapists cry in therapy? 

 Yes, therapists tend to cry in therapy. They need to open their emotional channels to help their clients, so it’s impossible for them not to feel their clients’ pain and empathize with them.

Do therapists get attached to clients? 

 Yes, some therapists get attached to clients, especially when they have had sessions for a long time.

Do therapists miss their patients? 

 Yes, therapists can miss their patients, but it depends on how emotionally connected they are.

Should therapists comfort crying clients? 

 Technically, therapists cannot comfort crying clients by hugging them or promising that everything will be okay. It is against ethical codes, but it may also make the clients depend on the therapists too much.

Final Thoughts

The process of accepting that I had an irreversible eye condition was not as challenging as I thought. Perhaps it was because I had my boyfriend and my family giving me all the love and support I needed when I finally announced the diagnosis to them. Maybe it was also because I found a counselor and a therapist who both wanted nothing more than see me happy and clearheaded after every session. Despite all that, I ended up making peace with myself that glaucoma would always be there – all I had to do was follow the doctor’s suggestions on keeping it from progressing too fast.

 

 

More common for people to experience different types of eye impairment or eye diseases. Of course, no matter how careful we are, we can never know how other people take care of themselves mentally. With the pandemic today, we should understand and educate ourselves more about protecting ourselves from eye conditions and diseases as best as we can. This is not just limited to the usual things like flu, stomach bugs, or headaches. You should also take the time to take care of your eyes and seek a treatment program.

Continue reading “Better Eye Condition And A Sound Mental Wellness”

Our eyes can be considered as the most developed organs in our body. But we often neglect and forget how to take care of our eyes. Usually, we forget that prolonged exposure to computer screens and mobile phones may cause a negative effect on our eyes. But when we notice some vision problems one way or another, we will find any way just to be able to see again.

Continue reading “Eye Conditions And Care During The Pandemic”

My grandmother is 85 years old, and she has a cataract. She had a scheduled operation for her eyes last April 1^st, which was canceled due to the pandemic. Now, she had to live with the blurry left eye, during a mediocrely functioning right eye. I did not have it in my heart to put her in a home. That was what I promised my mother before she passed away three years ago. I told her that I would take care of Grams, and I have been not because of a promise. It was because I loved her dearly.

Continue reading “Eye Surgery Cancelled Due To COVID-19”

“The eyes are the windows to our soul.” This statement is probably a famous saying that we have heard for the past decades. According to psychologists, this is most likely true. As experts in the field, they can tell most of the story of a person just by looking and gazing into them. So, what’s the science behind the eyes’ behavioral movements? Let us find out.

Eye Direction

Psychologists take into consideration the direction of the gaze of someone’s eye whenever they are thinking. Looking at their right means that creative thoughts are dominating their minds. This behavior is a potential sign that someone might be planning something deceitful in several situations (e.g., creating their own stories or version of individual events).

Source: goodfreephotos.com

On the other hand, looking at their left means that they are trying to remember or reminisce about some memories. Gazing at this direction indicates that what they’re about to say next is all based on facts and their realities. Take note, however, that when a person is left-handed, we should reverse the indicators.

Eye Contact

Eye contact is necessary when it comes to the daily interactions we have with people. Those who want to be as effective and intimate with the one they are talking to should establish proper eye contact. “Eye contact can have a memory-boosting, prosocial, and stimulating effect as long as it’s wanted by the person being looked at. If you’re trying to use eye contact to your advantage, pay attention to the cues coming from the person you’re staring at: If they’re returning your gaze, lighting up, becoming more talkative, or straightening their posture or relaxing as you look into their eyes, you’re doing great,” Katherine Schreiber, MFA, LMSW confers.

Evasive Eye Contact

“We spend a lot of time looking at other people, especially at their faces. We’re also told to look other people in the eye when we speak to them, and we may feel awkward when a person we’re talking to keeps looking away,” says David Ludden, Ph.D., professor of psychology at Georgia Gwinnett College. Psychologists say that Individuals often avoid looking and establishing eye contact with another person because they are either being dishonest, trying to deceive their colleague, or feeling ashamed. Hence, when they have sessions with their clients, those patients who are having evasive eye contact are usually the ones they have to focus on. This way, they can open up and be more honest with their psychologists.

Persistent Eye Contact

“When we look at a face or a picture, our eyes pause, or fixate, on one spot at a time, often on the eyes or mouth,” Robert A. Lavine, Ph.D. wrote. “These fixations typically occur at about three per second, and the eyes then jump to another spot, until several important points in the image are registered like a series of snapshots,” he says. The other extreme eye contact on the other end of the spectrum is the persistent eye contact. This body language usually aims to intimidate and scare people. This over-powering body language tends to make the receiver overly studied and uncomfortable.

Source: flickr.com

In a study conducted by Evan Risko, a psychologist at the University of Waterloo, the participants were asked to talk and interact with another individual via a two-way video feed. They found out that the participants make more eye contact with people who they think are socially inferior to them. At the same time, they tend to look away as well when talking to a perceived social superior.

From this, what do we consider the most optimum length of eye contact? Researchers tried to answer this question by using recruited participants from London’s Science Museum. They were instructed to give a score on how comfortable they are per length of eye contact by showing faces in video clips. The time ranged from between a tenth of a second up to 10 seconds. The results show that the participants were most comfortable with just three-second eye contact.

From the experiment, it is safe to deduce that we should have the right balance in terms of persistent and evasive eye contact by maintaining it at regular intervals.

Pupils

Source: commons.wikimedia.org

Compared to the other two above, the pupils are part of our body language that we cannot control. According to a study by Eckhard Hess (1975), the pupils dilate whenever we are interested in the topic we’re discussing or the person we are talking to. Psychologists use this to determine whether their patients are interested in having their therapy sessions or they are only there since they are forced to be.

At the same time, the pupils are also used by others to indicate whether they can trust a person or not. According to studies, patients subconsciously pay attention to the behavior of the pupils of their psychologists. If they dilate, it results in emotional arousal and attraction on the side of the client. They indicate that their psychologists are trustworthy.

On the other hand, if the pupils constrict, the patients feel more threatened, and they consider their psychologists as less trustworthy.

Blinking

Yes, it is an instinct to blink. However, the blinking rate also has a say on what our feelings and emotions are towards the person we are interacting with. The average blinking price of a person ranges from 6 to 10 times per minute. Blinking more than the average rate is a sign that the person is interested with the person on the other end. Blinking is used as an indicator for flirting.

From the points above, we can genuinely say that psychologists do have a basis when they are evaluating patients. They do not merely read minds. Instead, they read thoughts through their eyes.

We’ve been told by our grandmothers to always eat squash and carrots to avoid eye defects at an early age. Mine often scolded me if she saw me out in the scorching sun without a cap or a visor. She said that I’ll thank her later, and now I do. I know now – at 40 years old and with perfect vision – how vital taking care of our vision is.

Continue reading “Natural Methods That Help Protect Your Vision (And Be Mentally and Physically Happy)”

Now that I’m 40 and experiencing some visual problems, I realize how important it is to take care of our eyes. My best friend who is a bit older than me has been doing organic for years, and this she says has tremendously helped her maintain good eye health care, as well as mental and physical health care. She also utilizes the herbs in her garden to add to her food, not only for enhanced flavor but also for the prevention of eye problems. Regarding vision problems, clinical psychologist Dr. Lori Pyter, Ph.D. explains that, “It’s how your eyes work together, not just whether you can see what’s in front of you.”

Continue reading “The Things You Can Do With Fruits And Vegetables To Naturally Maintain Eye Health Care 1”

Facts About Blurred Vision

Blurry vision is not uncommon to anyone. It can be a sequela of many things, including stroke, diabetes, and aging, among others. However, it is vital to determine the real reason why your vision becomes unclear.

“Sight is such a valued sense, but there are still a lot of problems that fall through the cracks,” says Rajiv Shah, MD.

Continue reading “Blurry Vision: Common Causes, Risk Factors, And Conservative Treatments”