If your vision has been looking blurry, watery, or dry later, it could be because of stress. Changes in the vision system can be because of repressed emotions which will make you focus more on your eyesight than on what is bothering you. It is important to make an appointment with your therapist and eye doctor about what has been stressing you out to improve your vision and your mental health.
How Does Stress Affect Your Vision?
When you are stressed, your pupils dilate to let more light enter so that you can clearly see any potential threats. But, high levels of adrenaline can put pressure on your eyes which leads to blurred vision. The impact of stress can lead to discomfort in your eyes or even vision loss. It could be why you experience eye twitching because of the continuous contraction of the orbicularis oculi muscle. Cortisol can also be one of the major causes of serious eye diseases like glaucoma, diabetic retinopathy, optic neuropathy, and macular degeneration.
How are Emotions and Vision Issues Connected?
Functional or hysterical vision loss is when your loss of vision cannot be explained. This occurs outside of the patient’s awareness. These patients complain of this significant blur they are experiencing while they have no disease or need for glasses. There are no issues with the movement and alignment of the eyes but have a big reduction in visual acuity. professor of NYU School of Medicine John Sarno, M.D. believes the mind wants us to focus on the physical symptoms we are experiencing instead of our difficult emotions. Digital eye strain can cause our eye muscles to strain and trigger headaches. Fortunately, these stress-related eye problems are normally temporary when the stressor is addressed.
What are the Best Ways to Ease Your Stress?
Learning how to reduce your stress can make a difference in your eyesight. Try to exercise for half an hour to an hour every day. Sleep for seven to eight hours. Eat three meals a week with healthy snacks in between. There is also talk therapy and meditation to slow down the progression of vision loss. If these approaches are not working and your vision problems are still the same, make sure to see your eye doctor. It is important to detect the stress that is causing your vision loss early to enjoy great vision for the rest of your life.
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