There may be an audiobook for Feeling Good by David Burns. It's amazing for depression, chronic pain, anxiety and all sorts of stuff. I read it to people when they can't, so that may be something you or someone you know might be able to do.

There is also a Feeling Good podcast which is my favorite podcast, but I'm very interested in psychology.

I agree with pretty much everything Amonwilde says.

As far as ways your dad can keep busy, it’s hard to give great recommendations without knowing his interests and background. First of all, is there any reason that work can’t be on the table? I assume, from your description, that your dad is not working right now. Did he work in the past, if so what did he do? He might be surprised about how many jobs you can do without sight. If he was a racecar driver, or did something else that requires eyeballs, and then has, he thought about looking into a new line of work. Of course, your dad would probably have a lot of things to learn if he is going to work as a blind person, and he might have trouble getting hired, but my point is without knowing more about his situation I can’t rule out work. Having a job is a great way to stay busy and have a purpose in life.

If your dad is interested in going back to work, or if he is simply interested in having the best options for filling his time, he needs to learn how to use a screen reader. As Amonwilde mentioned, many new blind people find ios to be easy to learn; your dad could buy an iPod touch or ipad. If there is a windows computer in his house, you can download the free NVDA screen reader and your dad will have all the tools he needs to independently use a computer. Learning a program such as NVDA will also be very useful if your dad was to look for work.

A screen reader, such as NVDA, is very powerful, but also pretty complex and there can be a learning curve for new users. Unless your dad is proactive and good with computers he will probably need some help learning a desktop screen reader. He should look into what state services he qualifies for. A vocational rehabilitation counselor will sometimes pay for technology and training. When I lost my sight at 18, also due to glaucoma, the state paid for me to attend two different training centers and this training changed my life. I will say though, that I was more fortunate than many to receive so much training. I believe your dad might greatly benefit from spending time at a training center where he can meet other blind people, but he might also be able to receive training from home.

This is a random aside, but I would be interested in teaching your dad how to use a screen reader remotely, over Skype etc. I work in accessibility focused, technical support for a university, and I believe I would be more then capable of helping your dad learn how to use a computer, or ios device, as long as he is a willing student. Of course, I have a day job and a pretty busy schedule, so we would need to talk about compensation, but I would offer an affordable rate. You can PM me if you’re interested.

I’m sorry if my offer seems random or shady, I think you should definitely first look into what services the state would offer your dad for free. Now, to your actual question.

There are many hobbies your dad could get into as a blind person, and, once again, it’s hard to give great suggestions without knowing his interests. There are several online multi player game sites that are designed for blind people; he could look into these, although knowing how to use a computer would greatly help. Two free options are http://www.qcsalon.net/en/ and http://rsgames.org/. My favorite online gaming community is Blind Adrenaline, http://blindadrenaline.com/. This site has a great community with tournaments on every single day of the week. I play Texas Holdem Poker on the site and a lot of us take the game very seriously. Also, the apps for the service are very good and easy to use. There is a small cost you have to pay every six months to play on Blind Adrenaline, but I think its well worth it, especially if your dad is interested in any of their games.

Does your dad have any pets? I think a pet is a great way to keep from feeling lonely throughout the day; I work from home and my cat makes all of the difference.

Perhaps your dad could take up gardening. That would take some physical effort, but that might be good for him. He might also look into getting an exercise bike if that is not too bad for his back.

Does your dad have any musical interests; perhaps he could learn an instrument. Youtube is a great source for free lessons for everything, even if you can’t see the screen, and he might be able to find a local teacher too.

You can buy accessible board and card games for the family to play together. This won’t help when your dad’s all alone, but it is a fun thing to do; to play most card games your dad would need to learn a little braille.

You can check meetup.com for all kinds of gatherings in your father’s area; for example, my wife and I went to our monthly book club last night, and I have been looking into a local meditation center.

If your dad likes movies, but he can’t see the screen, you can download thousands of audio described movies for free at this site, https://www.blindmicemegamall.com/bmm/shop/Directory_Departments?storeid=82333; you have a create a free account, but then you can download as many movies as you want for free. One note about this site, the movies you are downloading have no video, your just getting the audio of the movie and the audio description, so this is not a great source for movies the whole family can watch together. Netflix is getting more and more described movies, and all of their original products have audio description, all you have to do is turn it on in the audio and language options, after you start a movie. Also you can use the Disney On the Go app to get audio description with any of their new movies, even in the theater.

Does your dad cook? I love cooking and that could be a very rewarding hobby that would help the whole family; also does your dad help do the cleaning etc. around the house. I know it can be hard to be motivated to do such things if he is experiencing depression, but it’s going to be hard for him to not feel depressed if he doesn’t find worthwhile ways to spend his day.

There are countless more hobbies of course, probably more than your dad would imagine. At one of the training centers I attended, we personally designed and crafted furniture and other projects in a wood shop. As totally blind people, we independently operated table saws, band saws, radial arm saws, drills, sanders, and many other power tools. The training center didn’t have us do this because it was important for us to gain wood shop skills, the idea was to show blind people that we can do things that sighted people would never think we are capable of doing. I’m not suggesting that your dad should go work in a wood shop, especially, without proper training; my point is that there really are an amazing amount of possibilities out there for blind people.

Feel free to ask me any more questions about anything at all. It’s understandable for your dad to feel depressed about such a major adjustment in his life. However, there is no reason that he can’t get over his sadness and live to his full potential.

Good luck,

You can't force motivations onto someone, and motivation is what your father needs to pull out of what sounds like a slump. With 15% vision in one eye your father could be mobile even without (much) additional training, and he should be learning to use a screen reader so that he can use his computer. (Voiceover on iOS is the easiest to learn, in my experience, but he should also learn JAWS or NVDA).

It sounds to me like your father's issues have less to do with vision loss and more to do with motivation. He's relatively young, and if he took charge of his health and stayed involved in the world, could live a very long and productive life. From your position, however, you may only have limited influence.

When you visit your father, introduce him to Voiceover. Buy him an iPad if he doesn't have an iPhone. Have an app lined up that will pique and old or a current interest (Spotify for music, etc.) if you can think of one. Chances are, encouraging him to do exercise or physical therapy won't be productive, but you can try that if you think there's hope for change as long as you don't damage your relationship.

For the glaucoma, it's critical that your father take any prescribed medication to prevent further loss. This can best be done by making sure it's maximally easy for him to keep pills organized, etc., so perhaps you can work on that workflow or set up phone reminders. There also is some evidence that marijuana can alleviate glaucoma symptoms for short periods of time, which can improve quality of life but isn't really a long-term solution.

Good luck helping and motivating your father! Try to keep things practical and don't blame yourself if you can't effect change from your position as long as you do what you can.

As a twenty five year old who has lost their vision gradually since being twenty one, I can relate completely how your father feels. Since losing one entire right eye and only being able to see color and light in the other. I have found that listening to music does help. Recently I've gotten into audiobooks. They help a lot more than I throughly they would.

My father is definitely lacking motivation but certainly has the ability to be motivated when he wants but he doesn't feel he has a purpose. My father is also disabled and is unable to stand for long periods of time which add to his weight and over all mentality. My hope is to find something that he can experience and hope that it triggers a new desire or want to engage. Thank you very much for your response and suggestions; I will definitely set my dad up with an ios device w/ some screen reading apps. Thanks again for your response! I really appreciate it!