This article will talk about the psychosomatic causes of poor vision, and will also give some recommendations for changing the ways of thinking that caused the deterioration of vision.
Our eyes are not just one of the senses, they are completely responsible for our perception and vision of things both around us and in ourselves. Eyes - represent the ability to clearly see the past, present and future. If vision is impaired, the perception of reality and oneself as they are is impaired. Visual impairment is a reluctance to see or notice certain things around you (myopia) or in yourself (farsightedness), as well as in life in general.
Psychosomatic causes of poor vision
Aggressive emotions such as hatred, anger, anger accumulate in the soul, and they create problems with the eyes, because the eyes are the mirror of the soul. Such people are prevented from seeing the good by their pride and stubbornness. They do not understand that they see bad things in their world only because they look at the world through the prism of their aggressive emotions. There is only one way out - to clear your perception of negative thinking, patterns and prejudices, then the world will become a better place. Create a world for yourself that you would enjoy looking at.
The eyes are the place where sadness is released. Vision problems occur when sadness is not fully expressed. Therefore, the eyes get sick both in those who cry constantly and in those who never cry. When people reproach their eyes because they see only one unpleasant thing, the foundation of eye disease is laid.
Poor vision - direct consequence suppressed desire not to see something and (or) someone. Deterioration of vision is a signal (metaphor, message) that the need and need not to see something or someone has become unbearable, and there is no way to satisfy it (i.e., to avoid a harmful stimulus).
By losing his sight, a person receives a “secondary benefit” for this, that is, he gains the opportunity not to see closely what he does not want to see, and over time this develops into the benefit of not doing something (for example, doing small work with farsightedness). He cannot (or rather does not allow himself) to manage his life in such a way that the stimulus disappears from his field of vision, so by weakening his vision he facilitates the psychological experience (compensation occurs).
Forced to see what he does not want to see, a person creates a contradiction between parts of his experience(good vision on the one hand and “poor” psychological vision on the other), – and his good vision is equated with “poor psychological vision”(synchronization).
And finally, it is obvious that a person thereby generates in his mind rigid programs of “bad” visual experience(it manifests itself in the words: “I don’t want to see you”, “get out of my sight”, “my eyes would not see you”, “and don’t show your face to me”, “seeing you is sickening”, “it hurts to look at all this " And so on and so forth).
It is no coincidence that, according to statistics, young people’s vision deteriorates, as a rule, with a minus sign ( myopia or myopia), and for older people - with a plus sign(farsightedness). Older people have a lot of past, and in the past there is a lot of pain, disappointments, mistakes and everything that you really don’t want to see in yourself. And for young people it is fear of “prospects”, fear of the future.
Another reason for visual impairment is related to the establishment of a forced physical boundary at viewing distance. Such boundaries are the walls of houses, fences, books, monitor and TV screens, etc. (there are even studies confirming that the more densely populated a city is and the less space it has (a house literally sits on top of a house), the statistically worse the vision of its residents is).
There is always an obstacle in front of your eyes on which you focus your gaze. The eyes, encountering constant obstacles, are trained to see only up to a certain distance (an ordinary person, waking up, does not see further than the walls, going out into the street immediately directs his eyes to his feet, in public transport he looks at a book, at work at the monitor, and in reverse order).
Many eyes are simply not trained to look further than a few meters(This is why, when working with a vision restoration system, I insist not only on completely abandoning glasses, but also on relieving the eyes as much as possible). This distance is established unconsciously by the person himself in order to isolate himself from something external.(for example, not seeing the real world beyond your book, TV or computer game).
Visual impairment can also be associated with the type and style of thinking. In addition to our eyes, we have another type of “eye” that is capable of seeing at any distance and overcoming any obstacles, which see equally well both at night and during the day. These “eyes” are our mind.
The mind is able to simulate visual sensations without any connection with what is in this moment time is seen by our own eyes. A person who reads a lot, dreams of an unrealistic, fantasy future, or often draws pictures of the past, all the time creates visual pictures in his head that do not exist in reality (not here and now). Over time, his eyes (physical vision), in fact, become sensory vestiges psychological vision. The true visual function is constantly suppressed, roughly speaking, as unnecessary, and vision deterioration occurs.
People who live all the time “here and now” have very little chance of spoiling their eyesight. That is, because most of the time they use only physiological vision, and very little - so to speak, psychological vision.
This was a summary of several of the most adequate theories of visual impairment. And now, for convenience, I will analyze each of the cases of weakened vision separately.
Myopia
With myopia, a person does not see far, but sees well near - this means that the person is focused on himself and on his immediate surroundings. People with myopia, as a rule, find it difficult (or scary) to look into the future, make long-term plans (that is, they do not see a picture of their life in a year, five, ten years), and it is difficult for them to predict the consequences of their actions.
In this case, a person needs to develop the skill of constructing his long-term plans, and in addition, expand the scope of his interests to a larger area (for example, begin to be interested in world events, etc.)
In the case of farsightedness, people experience fear of the future and inability to perceive it objectively b, distrust of what awaits them ahead, a feeling of constant danger, wariness, and hostility of the world towards them. Such people do not see the future.
In addition, myopia develops in people who are prone to generalization and schematization of reality.. Those of its realities that do not fit into their logical structure are ignored.
Myopia often affects people who are too focused on themselves and have difficulty perceiving other people’s ideas (they see and perceive only ideas that are “close” to them in spirit, and those that are “far away” do not see, do not perceive, and do not make room for them in the world). They have a limited outlook.
Myopia can also mean fixation on the external, on form, on the superficial, the presence of rigid perception stereotypes that interfere with the objective perception of reality.
“Nearsighted” people judge other people all the time, but they themselves literally cannot see beyond their own noses. They don’t like what they see around them, they don’t notice this beautiful world or beautiful people, but see only the negative, which is why they unconsciously chose “not to see” (there’s nothing to look at there, there’s nothing good there). In fact, what myopic people don’t like about the world and people around them is simply a reflection of their own behavior.
The psychological causes of visual impairment can also be determined based on the period in which it began to fall:
For example, some people develop myopia in early school or preschool age. The reasons are that in their home, in their family, in their parents’ relationships, there is always a lot of negativity - quarrels, screaming, even beatings. It is painful for a child to see this, because for him parents are the closest people, and he himself cannot influence the situation. And as a psychological defense, his eyes weaken, myopia helps him dull the pain, “not seeing” what is happening. This is one of the reasons.
There is also the opposite option. For example, d oma, before school or kindergarten, a harmonious atmosphere, kind and respectful relationships reign in the child’s family between parents, the child receives love and support. Having become accustomed to such an attitude, he finds himself in a team where the conditions are completely different - no one loves him just like that, he has to fulfill certain conditions in order to achieve good attitude teachers and friendship of classmates.
The model of the world that he learned in his family turns out to be completely different from the “big” world, and he himself turns out to be unprepared for reality. The child does not want to put up with what he now sees, experiences stress, pain. As a result, this leads to the fact that he develops myopia - and he can clearly see only what is next to him, fencing himself off from the injustice and cruelty around him.
For many, vision deterioration occurs during puberty. Teenagers are faced with the topic of self-identification with their gender and, accordingly, many fears arise regarding these issues: what boys look like as men, and girls as women, whether they will succeed as partners and whether they will be chosen as partners, etc., if It is very difficult for a teenager to look into the above areas, as a result, vision decreases.
Such teenagers are afraid to become adults, because they are alarmed and frightened by what they see in the world of adults (example: they do not like the lifestyle of the adults who surround them, they want a different fate and live differently, but in fact they simply avoid growing up , not wanting to see their future).
If your vision began to deteriorate while finishing school ( first year of college) this may mean that you are afraid of joining a new, more adult community.
During the period of graduation, young people have, as before the institute, a fear of adult life, a fear of not succeeding in the professional field - “children’s games are over, here it is.” adulthood“, in this case, fear also blocks vision.
IN general outline the mechanism is clear. And it also works in adults, since we carry most of our conditions out of childhood without much revision.
Sometimes myopia is not associated with fears of the future and prospects. In this case, it is necessary to understand at what age vision began to decline, because Perhaps at this age some event happened that was difficult to look at and the person “chose”, due to his vision, “not to look” at this event.
If vision has not normalized with age, it means that the topic of the event or period is still subconsciously relevant for the person. In this case, it is necessary to deal with the event or period that was difficult for him to watch or difficult to accept or experience.
For example, if your vision decreased during puberty and never recovered, then you still do not accept yourself as an adult man/woman and do not take on the functions associated with these roles. Or if vision has dropped sharply after childbirth - the key to recovery in motherhood(in relation to oneself as a mother, in relation to a child, in accepting the role of a mother, etc.).
Recommendations: In order to correct your vision (myopia), you need to get rid of the fear that caused your vision deterioration. This may not be one fear, but several at once, for example, vision began to decline during puberty, worsened a little more in college, and became completely worse after childbirth. Each of these periods is accompanied by certain fears that could not be accepted..
It is necessary to be open to new ideas coming from outside, to accept other people's points of view(not to be rigidly fixed on your view of the world, but to allow several opinions to exist in parallel). You need to learn to solve problems as they arise and stop expecting the worst from the future.
Such fears are actually caused not by objective reality, but by the excessive activity of your imagination. Learn to look into the future with optimism. Also learn to respectfully listen to other people's opinions, even if they do not coincide with yours.
Farsightedness
With farsightedness, a person sees well in the distance and does not see close up, this means that the person is interested in what is happening in the world, in the distant environment, his distant plans are interesting, and It’s not interesting to look at yourself and your immediate environment(I’m interested in something global, but everyday little things are so annoying that I don’t want to see them). Therefore, farsightedness is considered an age-related ailment, since in old age a person, for one reason or another, does not accept himself or the age-related changes that occur to him or in his immediate environment. It’s as if your life becomes boring, but the world and your surroundings become more interesting.
According to statistics, farsightedness occurs earlier in women than in men.. And this is understandable; women have a harder time accepting their age-related changes.
IN modern medicine It is considered a normal physiological phenomenon for accommodation to deteriorate starting around the age of 45 years. By “normality” we mean only that which, according to statistical research, people over 45 are much more likely to be farsighted than people under 45. Interestingly, the word "accommodation" means "adjustment" or "process of adjustment."
Therefore, we can assume that age-related farsightedness affects those who find it difficult to adapt to what is happening. It’s hard for them to look at themselves in the mirror, to see how their beloved body ages, to feel less and less attractive, they believe that aging is only a deterioration. Perhaps it is even harder for them to see the situation that is developing in their own family or at work.
People with farsightedness worry excessively about everything that happens around them and are too attached to physical dimension. Because of this, their inner vision weakens, and they do not see their significance, acquired along with experience over many years.
Farsighted people go overboard with their good intentions. They want to see far, they want to get a lot at once, but they do not want to see little (everyday little things). If a person demands from others, including the state, to ensure his future, then his vision deteriorates, since he does not see that everyone must first of all arrange their own life.
Recommendations: People with farsightedness need to learn to accept themselves, look at themselves with love and live in the here and now. Don't forget that your future depends on how you feel about your life today. Learn to adapt to the people and situations that appear in your life, and this will significantly improve its quality, and at the same time your vision.
Farsighted people in life need to first learn to enjoy the little things, then life can trust them with more. In order to move forward, they should first look at their feet and only then direct their gaze into the distance (after all, they may not see the obstacle under their nose, they will stumble, and in the end they will not get anywhere).
Astigmatism
With astigmatism, a person has his own stable view of life, and it is correct for him, and all other opinions are incorrect for him (hence the split in the visual picture: one image is an objective reality, the second is subjective, and their overlap friend does not happen). People with astigmatism need to accept that other points of view are valid and begin to accept them. Astigmatism can also be a signal of fear of actually seeing yourself.
Colorblindness
When a person does not see color/colors it means that the person subconsciously excludes this/these colors from his life for some reason. It is necessary to understand what certain colors symbolize for a person that he has excluded from his life (it is not their generally accepted symbolism that is important, but personal meaning for humans).
When a person confuses similar shades, it means that a person sees his life in polar colors, but does not see or does not want to see shades as nuances of life.
When a person confuses contrasting colors, it means that a person’s life does not have rainbow colors and as if everything in life is one for him.
The situation with diseases differs in children under three years of age. A child under three years of age is psychologically in a strong connection with his mother and does not yet identify himself as a separate person, therefore, all diseases in a child under three years of age are maternal diseases.
Those. a child under three years of age expresses through his body(in this case, eye disorders) problems that mom has, and if the mother deals with these symptoms as if she were her own and deals with them, the child will no longer need to show the mother’s symptoms.
Conjunctivitis (styre or inflammation of the eyes)
From a psychosomatic point of view, the symptoms of this disease mean that something is happening in a person’s life that causes him irritation, anger, hatred and resentment, and the person does not agree with what is happening (this could be a situation, a person, etc.) and he doesn’t want to see this annoying factor.
The reasons are not important, the main thing is that the person experiences a feeling of irritation and anger. The stronger negative emotions, - the stronger the inflammation. Your aggression comes back to you and hits you in the eyes. In this case, if a person identifies what factors cause him to feel irritated or angry and deals with these factors (or finally accepts the irritating factors or removes them from his field of vision), the body will not need a symptom of conjunctivitis.
Sometimes the manifestation of schadenfreude and malice can lead to inflammation. After all, what is the evil eye? This is wishing evil on another person. And it will be reflected in your eyes.
Strabismus
When a person sees normally with both eyes, both pictures are synchronously superimposed on one another. With strabismus, a person sees two different pictures, from different viewing angles. And his subconscious is forced to choose one. This is how a one-sided view of things is formed.
Multiple strabismus in a child means that he sees contradictory messages from his parents. For example, when a mother wants one thing from a child, and a father wants another, and when the parents are of equal importance to the child, i.e. he cannot prioritize between mom and dad, a situation occurs when the child does not know who to listen to, and his eyes literally diverge.
Convergent strabismus. Unlike versatile strabismus, the cause of convergent strabismus is is the child receiving contradictory messages from same-sex caregivers(for example, mothers and grandmothers) and the child also cannot set priorities, and therefore, on the physical level, the above-mentioned psychological “distress” can be expressed in the convergence of the eyes to one point.
Strabismus in adults means that a person looks with one eye into real reality, and with the other either into an “illusory reality” or into some “other world”. In this case, I mean the concept of “another world” esoteric meaning. Strabismus in adults means fear of looking into the present right here and now.
Glaucoma
With glaucoma, intraocular pressure increases, and severe pain in the eyeball. IN literally it becomes painful to see. A person is pressured by old grievances against people, against fate, some kind of heartache, he does not forgive the wounds inflicted on him in the past. By stubbornly refusing to forgive, you only hurt yourself.
Glaucoma signals to a person that he is subjecting himself to severe internal pressure. Blocks out his feelings. In this case, it is very important to learn to express your emotions and give vent to your feelings. This disease is always associated with sadness. If glaucoma is accompanied by a headache, this means that the process of increasing this very sadness is underway.
Congenital glaucoma - the mother had to go through a lot of sadness during pregnancy. She was greatly offended, but she gritted her teeth and endured everything, but she cannot forgive. Sadness lived in her even before pregnancy, and during it she attracted injustice, from which she suffered and became vengeful. She attracted to her a child with an identical mindset, whose debt of karma was given the opportunity to be redeemed. Congenital glaucoma means being overwhelmed and overwhelmed by these feelings.
Cataract
Inability to look forward with joy. The future is covered in darkness. Why do cataracts usually occur in older people? Because they do not see anything joyful in their future. It is "foggy". What awaits us there, in our future? Old age, illness and death (so they think). Yes, there seems to be nothing to be happy about. This is how we program ourselves in advance for suffering at this age. But our old age and our departure from this world, like everything else, depend only on ourselves, on the thoughts and moods with which we meet them.
Dry eyes
Refusal to see, to experience the feeling of love. I would rather die than forgive. A malicious, sarcastic, unfriendly person.
Loss of vision
The emergence in memory and replaying of only bad events.
Vision loss caused by aging is a reluctance to see the annoying little things in life. An old person wants to see the great things that have been done or achieved in life. If he does not understand that life begins with little things, which are just as important as the big things, since one cannot exist without the other, and begins to hate these little things, then they will begin to annoy him more and more. Although vision deteriorates so that a person cannot see small things, as he would like, the person does not like it. He doesn’t want to see little things, but for some reason he puts on glasses so that he can see them. Anger contributes to increasingly weakening of vision. Anyone who stops wasting themselves on trifles, appreciating time in old age, can wear glasses of the same optical power for decades. And if an old person stops paying attention to the little things in life, because he feels that they have lost their meaning for him, then his vision begins to improve. What is change? Yes, everything that is of little importance to you has been published.
Ksenia Golitsyna
If you have any questions, please ask
P.S. And remember, just by changing your consumption, we are changing the world together! © econet
People with one eye cannot watch 3D movies because their visual analyzer is unable to perceive colorful effects. They have difficulty playing football, volleyball and other games in which it is necessary to correctly judge the distance to the ball or other objects.
We will tell you what other inconveniences a one-eyed person experiences and whether it is possible to overcome them. We will also find out whether people with one eye can drive a car and obtain a driver's license.
Eye patch, sunglasses or prosthetic?
How to live with one eye? This question is asked by people who have lost an eyeball due to injury or illness. Naturally, they have a strong complex and try in every possible way to hide the defect from others with the help of dark glasses or an eye patch. However, such “disguise” is far from ideal and has many disadvantages.
An eye patch attracts undue attention from others, making a person feel shy. It's fair to say that scary headbands look good on pirates from historical films, but not on people in Everyday life. As for tinted glasses, they are not always appropriate in winter time cause confusion among passers-by. And they look quite strange indoors. Consequently, both of these methods are not suitable for everyone and not always.
Thanks to the development of science and modern technologies exists today great way hide the absence of an eye. This can be done with the help of a prosthesis, which in appearance is practically no different from the eyeball. The implant is placed in a specially formed cavity and remains there for a certain time. Different types of prostheses are subject to scheduled replacement every few years.
Types of eye prostheses:
- Glass. Quite light, have a smooth surface and are well moistened by tear fluid. Require careful attitude and careful use. Such dentures need to be changed once a year.
- Plastic. Much stronger and safer to use than glass. They are resistant to impacts external environment, allowing patients with one eye to wear them much longer. The service life of such prostheses is two years.
- Standard. Produced in mass quantities. Have different shapes, size, color, etc. Note that for the right and left eyes there are different types prostheses. They try to choose the most suitable implant for each person.
- Individual. Made to order, taking into account all the individual characteristics and desires of a person. Implantation of such a prosthesis allows you to achieve the highest quality cosmetic effect.
Men and women who have lost an eyeball should not despair. Many people live without an eye for many years and still lead a full life. The unsightly defect is hidden with the help of a prosthesis, and one can gradually adapt to monocular vision.
Is it possible to drive a car and get a license?
Can people with one eye get a license and drive a car? Yes, but only if certain conditions are met. Let's figure out whether a person with anophthalmia (an underdeveloped or completely absent eyeball) can drive a car and what is needed in this case to obtain a driver's license.
According to the law Russian Federation(Article 23 of Federal Law No. 196 “On Safety traffic"), every driver must undergo mandatory medical examinations. If during the examination he is diagnosed with diseases that prevent him from driving, he will not be able to obtain a license.
A person does not have the right to drive a category B vehicle if visual acuity is below 0.6 in one eye and less than 0.2 in the other eye. Note that vision is checked with correction, that is, with glasses or contact lenses. This means that even a patient with a high degree of myopia can get behind the wheel, having previously selected a means of correction.
By law, people with one eye can drive a car equipped with parking sensors - an acoustic parking system. Since people with anophthalmia have impaired binocular vision, they need APS to avoid accidents.
Adaptation to monocular vision
People who are blind in one eye from birth will never be able to have normal binocular vision. The fact is that their brain is simply not capable of providing depth of perception of the world. Such patients have nothing to compare their vision with, so they consider it quite satisfactory.
But for people with one eye who have lost the other during life, their vision may be partially restored over time. It will never be the same as before, but it can improve. As a rule, this requires 1–2 years. Over time, a person gets used to his condition and learns to perform everyday work. After the adaptation period is over, he can even drive with one eye while driving.
Features of life with one eye
People who have recently lost an eye have to relearn how to move and navigate space. At first, life with one eye may seem too difficult and unusual for them, but over time this will pass. The main thing is not to worry or despair.
Tips to help people with one eye quickly adapt to their new condition:
- Obstacles from the missing eye. People with anophthalmia have a narrowed field of vision, which may prevent them from noticing objects that are located to their side. Therefore, in an unfamiliar place or new room, they need to look around carefully so as not to stumble upon an obstacle.
- Grabbing objects. To take any item from a table, open a door, or shake an outstretched hand without missing a beat, you need to move very slowly. By turning your head, you can better assess the distance to an object and its location in space.
- Walking up the stairs. When going down the steps, a person with one eye needs to carefully monitor the railing - this will help avoid an extra step down and a painful push. On the street, the stairs can be replaced by observing the shadows of objects.
- Estimation of distance to objects. While on the street, distance can be determined using visual nuances. To do this, you need to carefully examine trees, traffic lights, and sidewalks. The size of an object gives an idea of how far it is located.
In medicine, anophthalmia is the absence of an eyeball. This condition occurs after surgical removal of an injured or diseased eye. People with anophthalmia lose binocular vision, making it extremely difficult for them to navigate in space.
Life does not end after losing an eye. The defect can be hidden with the help of a prosthesis, and it is quite possible to adapt to monocular vision. People who have lost an eyeball can lead a normal life, play sports and even drive a car. All you need is desire and perseverance.
Useful video about artificial eye
Often, eye injury leads to partial or complete loss of vision, and sometimes even the eyeball itself.
This puts the victim and the people around him in new conditions. The suddenness of vision loss at working age only increases the difficulties of adaptation.
A person and his loved ones are bombarded with a whole range of experiences:
- fear of the future associated with changes in working ability, family and social status
- resentment towards fate, blaming oneself and others for the current situation
- depression, irritation, despair
- decreased self-esteem
- the need to give up a number of habits and values
Types of defensive reactions
- isolation, withdrawal into the inner world
- waiver of the right to choice, responsibility
- infantilism, adoption of a position of dependence on others
- stubbornness, aggression, denial of any help
- indifference to oneself and/or surrounding people and events
- selfishness, manipulation of others
The victim’s relatives are no less tested, tormented by the same questions, fears and worries. The two most common and fundamentally incorrect types of reaction to the loss of vision of a loved one:
- excessive care, pity
- avoidance, lack of attention, refusal to acknowledge the fact of vision loss
It takes great tact and courage to cope with what happened, to continue to live and develop further. The process largely depends on the attitude towards trauma psychological adaptation and the possibility of rehabilitation in psychological, biological and social terms.
Psychological help
Professional psychological help is necessary equally for both the victim and his relatives.Professional psychological help is necessary equally for both the victim and his loved ones.
Important:
- Accept the fact of partial or complete loss of vision
- Realize the consequences, adequately assess your capabilities
- Actively seek socially significant areas activities that allow the victim’s abilities to be most fully demonstrated (art, teaching, organizational activities, the service sector, etc.)
- Create positive motivation and attitudes among the victim and those around him
- Discuss your fears, experiences, expectations and plans for the future
Only mutual support, timely professional psychological and health care, as well as the desire to move forward while maintaining an increasing quality of life - the main wealth we have - will allow you and your loved ones to overcome the consequences of injury.
Where can I go?
ALL-RUSSIAN SOCIETY OF THE BLIND – protection of the rights and interests of the visually impaired, assistance in employment.OCULAR PROSTHETICS CENTER – the ability to manufacture and individually select prostheses with maximum cosmetic effect.
STRESS MANAGEMENT CENTER “MIRROR SPIRAL” – Change in emotional response, psychological support.
If a person, due to vision problems, stops recognizing his neighbors at the entrance, cannot read a newspaper even with the help of the strongest magnifying glass or follow the movements of football players on a television screen, he resigns himself to this. But then the moment comes: he approaches the mirror and... does not recognize his face. Instead of himself, the person going blind sees only a strangely blurry, indistinctly foggy image, reminiscent of the paintings of some “particularly advanced” contemporary artists. And he becomes truly scared and even creepy.
For a person who has completely lost his sight, the situation is even more difficult. Typhlologists (specialists in the rehabilitation of the blind and visually impaired) speak in this case of the psychological effect of the “disappearance of the mirror.” The inability to look at your own reflection is perhaps the most painful consequence of blindness. This is the hardest thing to come to terms with.
“When a patient loses his vision, for him this situation is not just stressful, but truly shocking. Almost no one manages to avoid depression in the first few months of blindness,” says psychologist of the St. Petersburg Center for Medical and Social Rehabilitation of the Visually Impaired Yulia Lomakina.
“Don’t consider me crazy, but sometimes I catch myself thinking that I seem to be separated from my own body, becoming simply a blind and invisible spirit,” Dmitry Gostishchev, a blind journalist and writer from Stavropol, wrote in one of his essays.
Not only people who have lost their sight, but also, for example, prisoners placed in a light-proof cell, after a few days begin to experience strange sensations - as if they are dissolving into the surrounding darkness. In the first days, weeks and even months, the patient often associates blindness with his own death.
Give the opportunity to rebuild!
“An acute, painful reaction to vision loss is completely natural and normal,” explains Yulia Lomakina. - It is important that both the “victim” himself and his relatives remain calm and have presence of mind. It is necessary to give the body the opportunity to readjust and get used to “life in the dark.”
It often seems to a person that his suffering will continue forever, until the end of his life. In fact, even in the most severe cases The period of adaptation to blindness usually lasts no more than a year. During this time, the patient is able not only to get used to his new position, but also to actually return to his previous life. Within a year, blind people are able to take care of themselves without assistance, keep the house clean, wash and iron their things, sew on buttons, and cook. simple dishes on an electric or gas stove.
When a person has learned to navigate well in his own home, it’s time to “go out into Big world", move around in your own way hometown or village. It is quite possible to learn 10-15 routes in a year.
Homework is the best therapy
Is it wise to show a blind person to a loved one your sympathy? Will this help in the rehabilitation process? Or will it only cause bitterness and despair?
The question is not simple. In the first days, weeks and even months, words of empathy are appropriate. But “mourning” a blind person all his life is wrong. The task of relatives, friends and loved ones is to show the person in trouble that he can lead a harmonious, successful, prosperous and even happy life.
Disability should not be confused with helplessness. Visually impaired people, unless blindness is associated with other serious illnesses or old age, usually do not need care. Moreover, execution homework for them - one of effective ways rehabilitation.
A blind person often cannot continue to work in his specialty. This leads to a feeling of not being needed. The problem can be solved very simply: it is necessary to review and redistribute family responsibilities. At the same time, you should not separate work into men's and women's.
The question often arises: is it necessary to carry out some kind of redevelopment or reconstruction of housing to make a blind family member feel comfortable? It is not necessary. For a blind person there is no need to create any “ special conditions" It is only important not to rearrange the furniture or move things from place to place without informing the blind relative.
My wife is the most beautiful!
A blind person sometimes loses confidence in his own attractiveness, in his attractiveness to the opposite sex. This is especially true for women. In this situation, it is very important that the sighted husband supports his blind wife and tells her more often: “You are the most beautiful! You are my best!
It is quite possible to learn how to use cosmetics without visual control. A blind person, if desired, can look not just neat and tidy, but smart and elegant. This is also an important part of therapy.
In relationships between people, eye contact is very important, the ability to “look into the eyes and see the soul.” In a marriage with a blind person, there is no such opportunity. Sometimes this leads to annoying misunderstandings. For example, during a conversation, a blind person may suddenly begin to shake their head or turn their head in the other direction. To a sighted person, such behavior seems to be a manifestation of inattention. But there is no malicious intent here. Gently ask your interlocutor to always keep his head strictly in the direction of the speaker - and communication will become more pleasant for both parties.
There are other incidents as well. During your visit public places Blind people are sometimes perceived as “dumb creatures.” For example, a sighted wife accompanies her blind husband to the doctor. But the doctor does not even think about contacting the patient directly. He asks the guide: “What happened to your husband?” Waiters often behave the same way. It doesn’t occur to them that a “special” visitor wants and can place an order himself. In this situation, it is better for the accompanying person not to express dissatisfaction, but instead to politely but clearly ask the “officials” to contact the visually impaired person directly.
Magic touches
How does lack of vision affect intimate life? During gatherings at the Society of the Blind, you can hear many remarkable stories. It is often said that women who have experienced pleasure in the arms of a “blind knight” will never be able to date sighted men. Even if they part with their current lover, they will still look for a new gentleman only in the “blind” environment. The point, they say, is in special magical touches that only the blind possess.
Believe it or not - everyone decides for himself. But the fact remains: among the visually impaired there are many successful Don Juans. And blind beauties are not far behind. The secret of this attractiveness is simple. Human body generously compensates for the lack of one of the senses: in the absence of vision, the sense of touch is enhanced. With the help of their fingertips, a blind man or a blind woman gives their partner such pleasure that no “big-eyed” Casanova is capable of. Of course, the “blinding” of one of the spouses is a huge blow for the entire family. But the tragedy that occurred paradoxically helps the couple discover each other in a new way.
Psychologists also talk about the “invisible man effect.” When communicating with a blind person, the “eye” can see his interlocutor, but the opposite side is deprived of this opportunity. Psychologically, this situation is very comfortable for sighted people. It helps them relax, open up, feel more confident, get rid of complexes and internal fears, so communication turns out to be more trusting and sincere.
Representations are the material with which figurative memory operates. This type of memory develops simultaneously with the development of speech. Already by the age of 2-3 years, the child has a certain stock of ideas. Therefore, people who lost their vision during the development of speech, and even more so in subsequent periods of life, retain visual ideas. It is by the presence of visual images that a group of blind people is distinguished from the contingent of totally blind people, which includes persons who have lost their sight after three years, or rather, after they have, in general terms, developed a second signaling system, and who have visual ideas.
The presence of visual representations, their brightness, completeness, and differentiation depend on many reasons. Studies have shown the dependence of the preservation of ideas on the age at which vision was lost, the length of blindness and the skill of using visual images in activities.
In people who have lost their sight in early childhood, visual images of memory are few and reflect only individual objects and phenomena that at one time caused strong emotional experiences (the flames of a fire in which vision was lost, or the red capsule of a shell, the explosion of which made a child disabled, etc.). These ideas can be very vivid, emotionally charged and evoke sensations and emotions associated with the perception of a particular object. For example, the blind man described by Kroeger imagined snow illuminated by the sun so clearly that he felt blinded and had tears in his eyes.
With loss of vision at an older age, the supply of visual ideas turns out to be large; Moreover, a particularly noticeable increase in the number of memory images is observed in persons who have lost their sight after seven years, which is explained by their inclusion in this period in educational activities, significantly expanding the sphere of sensory knowledge. The presence of visual memory images is well confirmed by their involuntary reproduction in dreams. Thus, according to a number of authors, the blind are quite long time they see visual dreams, which then gradually begin to include auditory, tactile, and motor images.