When You Stress... You See Less

You know those times where it feels like the universe is against you? I picture the morning rush, where you are so frazzled trying to just get out the door, when you realize that you misplaced something essential for daily survival like your keys or wallet. This has happened to me more often then not when I am doing my mommy shuffle in the morning. Trying to get myself and a 4-year-old out of the house is truly nothing short of a marathon. On a good day we both have matching socks on and I remember to pack his spoon for his apple sauce. But on those not so good days... well let’s just say things look a little blurry and I literally am searching for my keys and/or wallet for ten minutes.

Extreme stress

Three years ago, I was under extreme amounts of stress when my son’s father and I broke up; I thought my vision was getting worse. I was misplacing items at least once a week and what was once easy to see became a very difficult task. I scheduled an appointment with the retina specialist and spent eight hours receiving every test you can think of. To my surprise, my retina was stable and in the same condition it has been in for years. Despite my relief, I said to my doctor: “I know I am not crazy; I really feel like my vision is getting worse.”

Stress's impact on the eyes

I shared the life changes that were happening at the time. The doctor explained that the stress from all of those changes was most likely the cause of my blurred vision. He elaborated on the science of how stress impacts your eyes; it was literally an “eye-opening” experience, no pun intended. All I needed to do was chill out, get my mental health balanced, and that would more than likely stabilize my vision. 

Becoming more intentional with self-care

After learning that knowledge, I started to become more aware of how stress impacts me and as a result, I started to be more intentional with self-care.

My favorite ways to relax

I have found several ways to relax myself when I am overwhelmed. Some of my favorites are:

• light a candle
• listen to a sermon or podcast
• take a walk outside and look at beautiful scenery

Literally seeing the difference

The body is so amazing, I can literally feel and see the difference between when I am overwhelmed and when I am balanced. My vision is back to normal now... well my version of “normal”. I take extra steps to be preventative and protect my body and eyes because I know that when I stress I see less... at least that’s the way eye see it.