Personally, no. I think that mentality shows up every now and again for blind people. In a psychology course I took during undergrad, we talked about how a lot of theories of development go through three stages. First being dependence, second being independence, and the third being interdependence. I feel like blind people usually follow that pattern upon losing sight. First they’re overly dependent on the people around them. Next, they try to be ultra independent and do literally everything on their own no matter how much harder it makes their lives. Lastly, they settle into a inter-dependent mindset where they do most things independently but rely on others for certain things. I think a similar pattern may emerge for those who were born blind but I’m not sure. I notice that most people who’ve been blind for a long time have the more inter-dependent mindset. When I ask them why they don’t force themselves to be ultra independent, they usually say they have nothing to prove lol.

I think everyone relies on others for something. I do think it’s important for blind people to maintain their independence but I think they should try to do so within reason. Maybe some people love the super independent lifestyle. If so, good for them lol. I consider myself independent but that doesn’t mean I have to do every single thing on my own. That seems silly to me. Most sighted people don’t even do that so I don’t think I should either.

Living in the USA, it is hard because we have a culture of independence. However, I always think about how there are people who struggle a lot with being elderly because they can't let go of their independence, and it is so painful to watch. I think learning this skill of asking for help now is great, taking advantage of that foresight, and then we will probably handle aging better!

Yes. What particularly sucks is when you've gone somewhere and someone has done something asshatty like forgetting you were coming even though you called them ten minutes before arriving, so you end up standing on the street in the rain or whatever desperately calling a number that nobody picks up for half an hour. Then you have to ask them for a guide to the room you're heading to and be nice as pie to them.

But yeah, in general. Every time I have to specifically ask someone for help because I can't see, I feel like I've failed, which is stupid and probably makes me a bad person, but I guess I'd rather that than drift through life in total denial.

I went blind very early in life, and my parents taught me that I could do almost anything if I put my mind to it. I used to hate asking for help, but I have gotten better over time. I realized at one point, that I generally don't need help doing day to day things, but sometimes I need to ask someone for directions or help finding a room in a building. I don't always like it, but I have to be practical. Braille isn't available in every building, and sometimes I need to get in and out of somewhere quickly. I generally think people should try to be as indipendent as they can. Each person has to decide how much help they want for themselves.

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I definitely went through the hyper independent stage as a teenager and honestly I think I’m still wrestling with this now.
Context I was born blind.


Everyone relies on other people at some point, whether they have a diagnosed disability or not.

Sometimes that reliance might not be the most healthy or consensual, so that is something to keep in mind.

However in general terms humans just need humans and the way I look at it is that blind people just might need to ask for help with slightly different things to the sighted counterparts.

Also I do suffer with anxiety and depression, and I know that if I don’t push myself to a certain extent to get out of my comfort zone and do all of the box things then there are certain situations where I don’t ask for help a lot and then the idea of help asking becomes more anxiety inducing and it needs to be.

Sometimes the way sighted people react can be offputting, for example if you ask for directions to the bathrooms and everyone flips about and makes a big deal out of the fact that like everyone else you need to pee.

When stuff like that happens I just keep in mind that it’s them who are struggling with the embarrassment or whatever, and it’s not my fault and it’s nothing I need to be ashamed or uncomfortable about.

no. I know I won't be able to do everything, just like everyone. We all depend on others at some level.

I think that there should be no problem asking for help if you really really need it

I think that there should be no problem asking for help if you really really need it

I used to but now I’m older it doesn’t bother me.