Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Claudette update (self.Blind)
submitted by claudettemonet
Iceland was awesome. I saw the northern lights... as much as I see night stuff... so.. vaguely? And I lost my phone, cause periphery is less than awesome. It makes me seem like a total clutz.
Hence no blog updates. There is a zombie apocalypse project I am working on... soooo I mainly just don't work on the blog ever.
Also too many people read the blog... (meaning family members and friends and such who know me irl).
The main concern I have is this: blindness and mental health. I already have a history of passive suicide ideation. ( I know! This got randomly dark fast). Anyone have experiential advice on not doing the self murder in the throws of coping with new blindness, or is that just going to be a crazy trial by fire that I make it through, or don't?
Edit for clarity.
Also:
Thanks y'all for joining the conversation. I appreciate you and this space you help create by joining in. It is a space within which we can think about these darker things, and I find it is important to do so from time to time. So again, thank you!
Hence no blog updates. There is a zombie apocalypse project I am working on... soooo I mainly just don't work on the blog ever.
Also too many people read the blog... (meaning family members and friends and such who know me irl).
The main concern I have is this: blindness and mental health. I already have a history of passive suicide ideation. ( I know! This got randomly dark fast). Anyone have experiential advice on not doing the self murder in the throws of coping with new blindness, or is that just going to be a crazy trial by fire that I make it through, or don't?
Edit for clarity.
Also:
Thanks y'all for joining the conversation. I appreciate you and this space you help create by joining in. It is a space within which we can think about these darker things, and I find it is important to do so from time to time. So again, thank you!
aleeque 3 points 6y ago
well I'm not blind, but I do have visual problems and struggled with daily suicidal ideation and still have times where I don't want to live BUT it has gotten much better.
What helped me was running, I do it every day and it has had a 100% success rate for me. I can't recall a single time where a running session hasn't improved my mood significantly. Sure, it doesn't make things perfect but it always makes them *better*.
What helped me was running, I do it every day and it has had a 100% success rate for me. I can't recall a single time where a running session hasn't improved my mood significantly. Sure, it doesn't make things perfect but it always makes them *better*.
claudettemonet [OP] 3 points 6y ago
Yeah. Running is good. I do that too. Thanks for sharing, aleeque. :)
aleeque 3 points 6y ago
if I start getting sad, I just run for longer periods. Increasing the dosage always works. For me at least.
snow671 1 points 6y ago
Exercise has been such a good alternative to antidepressants for me.
aleeque 2 points 6y ago
I know, I simply can't imagine a drug that would have a 100% success rate AND no side effects.
k00l_m00se 3 points 6y ago
The way I got through it was my options were to either adapt, and keep on living my life, or keel over and die. Needless to say, I chose to live. The hardest part about being blind is going blind. After that, everything is much easier
claudettemonet [OP] 3 points 6y ago
Interesting. There is a crazy high correlation between blindness and depression, also with blindness and nightmares. So as someone who is not mental healthy 100% to begin with, how uphill will this battle get?That is the primary reason I ask.
I like that last bit you said the most. Makes it seem like there is a plateau at some point. Thank you for sharing, Kool Moose.
I like that last bit you said the most. Makes it seem like there is a plateau at some point. Thank you for sharing, Kool Moose.
k00l_m00se 2 points 6y ago
It really depends. It was practically a vertical battle for me because we had no clue what was happening to me. We still really don't know what caused my vision loss. Since you know what's happening, you can take some time prepare yourself for everything. It's gonna be hard, but you don't really have any choice but to survive
claudettemonet [OP] 2 points 6y ago
Indeed
blindambition- 2 points 6y ago
Hi there, I just noticed this post (I keep forgetting to check in on my Reddit account) I agree with a lot of what has been said already. I repeatedly come across the quote, "the hardest part about being blind is going blind", so I would like to think there's some truth to that. I definitely think vision loss is something that you need to give yourself opportunities to get upset over (such as when you've tripped over something for the billionth time in a span of 24 hours). But staying busy by setting personal and professional goals and exploring other facets of your identity that don't revolve around vision loss is key- at least it has been for me. I'm here if you want to chat!
awesomesaucesaywhat 2 points 6y ago
This is something I'm struggling with as well. It's hard for me to imagine a future where I'm happy and have a job But I'm still going to therapy and last week it was pointed out that I'm not crying each session anymore, which I guess is an improvement. Suicidal ideation is hard, but maybe find a coping mechanism that makes you happy when the feelings get bad. A cup of tea, painting, a good cuddle, or even just crying it out.
k00l_m00se 3 points 6y ago
I don't remember who said this, but I think it was something along the lines of "It's okay to cry, as long as you remember to keep on breathing after."
Vaelian 2 points 6y ago
I can understand the suicidal ideation because I have it too, and one of the things that I regret the most is not having killed myself while I still had sight because it was much easier back then. I even got hit by a train 3 years ago shortly before going blind because my contrast perception was already so bad that I couldn't even distinguish the edge of the platform and fell to the track, but at the time I wanted to survive so I got up as quickly as possible and tried to dodge it, otherwise I'd have put my neck on the rail.
claudettemonet [OP] 2 points 6y ago
Vaelian!!! Been awhile! Suicide ideation is so annoying. Why is your name Vaelian? What is the meaning of Vaelian?
Vaelian 1 points 6y ago
It has absolutely no meaning, and I only use it here as I deleted my original account in 2012 not knowing that the username would no longer be usable on reddit again. At the time I was starting to lose vision and wanted to start over with a new identity, but later changed my mind and regretted deleting my account.
claudettemonet [OP] 1 points 6y ago
Huh
rkingett 1 points 6y ago
I have a friend who would like to look at your blog. Care to post a link?
claudettemonet [OP] 1 points 6y ago
www.goingblind@wordpress.com.
I know! My creative genius in naming the blog, epic level genius! Lol.
I know! My creative genius in naming the blog, epic level genius! Lol.
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