If you’re African-American, over age 60, or have a family history of glaucoma, you have an even greater chance of getting it. But you can take control of some of the conditions that put you at risk.įor example, glaucoma can strike anyone. People who have a higher risk for glaucoma should also be tested regularly. If you have an eye disease, your doctor might repeat this test every 6 to 12 months to measure changes in your vision. You'll press a button when you see lights, without turning your head from side to side. While you look straight ahead, lights flash at different points around the bowl. You’ll wear a patch over one eye so each can be tested separately. Your doctor will place a bowl-shaped device in front of your face. Your eye doctor will give you a visual field test to check for blank spots in your vision - spots you might not even notice yet. Most people who have it are legally blind by age 40. ![]() You can get this condition at any age, but it usually strikes teens and young adults. Over time, you’ll notice changes in your peripheral vision. You might also have a hard time telling different colors apart. Night blindness is one of the first symptoms. Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP): This genetic disorder damages the retina, the part of the eye that senses light. Luckily, doctors can prevent vision loss if they find your glaucoma early and start treatment. Over time, you could lose all of your eyesight. When this happens, you may lose your peripheral vision. It can damage the nerve that carries information from the eye to the brain. Glaucoma: This disease is caused by the buildup of fluid and pressure in the eye. Two of these, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa, are among the most common. Most often, it’s a side effect of other medical conditions. It’s what you use to see something "out of the corner of your eye." Why Do You Lose It? It helps you to sense motion and walk without crashing into things. It’s what allows you to see objects all around you without turning your head or moving your eyes. This is how it feels to have “tunnel vision” - a loss of your peripheral vision. It’s like you’re looking through a narrow tube or a tunnel. You see everything in front of you, but everything above, below, and around you goes black. Suddenly, the peephole gets smaller and smaller. You see everything above, below, and to your sides. ![]() Depression’s grip on you is so strong that it causes you to forget who you are and what you live for.Picture this: You look through a peephole and stare straight ahead. You feel powerless to change the way you think and feel. You don’t see anything in life beyond its many tragedies, beyond the cruelties inflicted onto people who most certainly do not deserve to be abused in such a way. And you become familiar with your darkness.ĭepression makes it so that you have tunnel vision: somehow, you aren’t able to see yourself past your failings. With self-knowledge, you come to see the very brightest aspects of your personality. It’s the sense that you are alone in your suffering, and your ceaseless self-torment can make even the simplest functions of life unbearable. It is the aloneness within us made manifest, and it destroys not only connection to others but also the ability to be peacefully alone with oneself. In his book, Noonday Demon, he describes depression like so: The opposite of depression is not happiness, but vitality. You’re not able to see the joy of living anymore. You internalize thoughts of “never enough” and unworthiness. Your vision is narrowed to focus intensely on yourself. Depression can make colors seem less vivid, food seem less flavorful, and days seem less meaningful.
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