Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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How to deal with the friction of being blind (self.Blind)
submitted 8y ago by modulus
Practically everything is harder when one's blind. Even if one has a normal amount of motivation to get something done, the succession of little obstacles can be very hard to overcome.
Today for example I wanted to do a particular course. I installed the basic software for it, which works fine, but unfortunately the course expects you to use some other software on top, which is not really accessible. So in principle it might be possible to do, but I need to read another previous tutorial on how to manage the software.
Now and then I want to learn some particular maths topic. The vast majority of the information is on inaccessible PDFs, or presented as images on the web. Sometimes one can get latex sources for things, and it becomes possible, though not pleasant, to get the information, but it makes it much harder than it should be.
With music, similar problems: really hard to get a manual on, say, counterpoint, that I can actually read.
So how do you deal with the fact that tasks that are trivial for other people become a constant struggle? Nothing is ever easy, and it gets incredibly tiring. Not because everything should be easy: obviously everyone finds obstacles in life. But the smallest things become difficult.
Any suggestions appreciated. I've lived with blindness for 32 years but I'm running out of the determination necessary to constantly swim against the current.
Sorry for the rant and feel free to remove this post if it's not appropriate.
Today for example I wanted to do a particular course. I installed the basic software for it, which works fine, but unfortunately the course expects you to use some other software on top, which is not really accessible. So in principle it might be possible to do, but I need to read another previous tutorial on how to manage the software.
Now and then I want to learn some particular maths topic. The vast majority of the information is on inaccessible PDFs, or presented as images on the web. Sometimes one can get latex sources for things, and it becomes possible, though not pleasant, to get the information, but it makes it much harder than it should be.
With music, similar problems: really hard to get a manual on, say, counterpoint, that I can actually read.
So how do you deal with the fact that tasks that are trivial for other people become a constant struggle? Nothing is ever easy, and it gets incredibly tiring. Not because everything should be easy: obviously everyone finds obstacles in life. But the smallest things become difficult.
Any suggestions appreciated. I've lived with blindness for 32 years but I'm running out of the determination necessary to constantly swim against the current.
Sorry for the rant and feel free to remove this post if it's not appropriate.
fastfinge 3 points
The post is just fine; discussion and questions are just as welcome as news!
If I may ask, were you born blind? I was, so I've never known a life where a lot of these small tasks were easy. So it just doesn't impact me, because it's how I grew up. I've often thought people who weren't born blind have it a lot harder, because they have a loss to grieve for, and a better understanding of exactly what they're missing.
Maybe try thinking of the things that are easier/better for us without sight? There are a few. Off the top of my head, one big one is that I think I live in a less polluted environment. To explain, every day the fully sighted are bombarded with images they may not want to see, especially advertising. It's everywhere: painted on buses and trucks, on billboards on the side of the road, on gas station pumps, on textbooks, on flashing neon signs in front of stores, on magazine racks at every check-out counter, printed on soda cups, on the t-shirts of people walking buy, on the TV over the bar, on every web page you ever visit an animated ad is flickering and bouncing, sprayed on graffiti on every wall, and so on, and so on, and so on. Without sight, we just don't have to deal with all of that constant, unending visual spam. I've never experienced it myself obviously, but I feel like the peace and freedom from that nonsense is quite a mental advantage for me.
Another one, of course, is that we can do everything in the dark without difficulty. If you live alone, it does ad up to a small savings on the power bill, because you don't have to turn on the lights just for yourself.
I don't know if that helps at all; all I can share are my own experiences, and it's quite possible I don't feel the frustrations as deeply as you do.
If I may ask, were you born blind? I was, so I've never known a life where a lot of these small tasks were easy. So it just doesn't impact me, because it's how I grew up. I've often thought people who weren't born blind have it a lot harder, because they have a loss to grieve for, and a better understanding of exactly what they're missing.
Maybe try thinking of the things that are easier/better for us without sight? There are a few. Off the top of my head, one big one is that I think I live in a less polluted environment. To explain, every day the fully sighted are bombarded with images they may not want to see, especially advertising. It's everywhere: painted on buses and trucks, on billboards on the side of the road, on gas station pumps, on textbooks, on flashing neon signs in front of stores, on magazine racks at every check-out counter, printed on soda cups, on the t-shirts of people walking buy, on the TV over the bar, on every web page you ever visit an animated ad is flickering and bouncing, sprayed on graffiti on every wall, and so on, and so on, and so on. Without sight, we just don't have to deal with all of that constant, unending visual spam. I've never experienced it myself obviously, but I feel like the peace and freedom from that nonsense is quite a mental advantage for me.
Another one, of course, is that we can do everything in the dark without difficulty. If you live alone, it does ad up to a small savings on the power bill, because you don't have to turn on the lights just for yourself.
I don't know if that helps at all; all I can share are my own experiences, and it's quite possible I don't feel the frustrations as deeply as you do.
modulus [OP] 1 points
Thanks.
Yes, I was born blind. It generally doesn't get to me like this, but sometimes it feels like you have to reinvent the universe to do something really tiny and trivial.
I guess we do have some advantages. It's just harder to see some days than others.
I expect lots of sighted people have any number of frustrating experiences too. It's just this weird sense that everything is harder than it should that's hard to deal with. I actually did manage to get some of the things done that I wanted to get done, so that helped a bit.
Yes, I was born blind. It generally doesn't get to me like this, but sometimes it feels like you have to reinvent the universe to do something really tiny and trivial.
I guess we do have some advantages. It's just harder to see some days than others.
I expect lots of sighted people have any number of frustrating experiences too. It's just this weird sense that everything is harder than it should that's hard to deal with. I actually did manage to get some of the things done that I wanted to get done, so that helped a bit.
fastfinge 2 points
For whatever reason, it does seem especially difficult in the education sector. The software seems extra-inaccessible there, and when you're trying to learn something knew, access challenges are that much harder to deal with. So I do get where you're coming from some days.
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