The first year is by far the hardest when it comes to grieving, depression, and anxiety. I am four years into my vision loss and can truly say that I have had quite the roller coaster while getting here. There are going to be so many things that we wish that we could control and do, but it is up to the support that we keep around us to have an understanding that we are going to need to reach out from time to time. losing some simple independence like driving and discovering things on our own is something that I miss every single day, but I’m now in a place where I am doing very well. Ever since losing my vision, I have fallen in love, gone back to school, a career that I would have never thought of pursuing while being fully sighted, started traveling, and so many other things. If you think that other people are judging you or thinking less of you, that is a unhealthy habit to have. Prove everyone wrong and show them how much of a great person you are, and that will always Trump most of the haters. Time is all about growing and learning, and it will all get better! Medication for my depression and anxiety helped me so much, but that is something that you have to make a decision on. Hope that you keep kicking ass and trucking along!

There are two answers to this.

The first answer is that you are absolutely allowed to spend time away from people if you don't want to hang out. It's totally normal to need some decompression time and I think anyone in any situation needs that.

The second answer which may not be so welcome is that yes you do need to get out occasionally and you need to make sure you aren't giving yourself reasons not to. I don't know where you are on O and M but it's totally possible to get a cab somewhere and meet buddies for coffee or something. If that's not something you can do then get some help to figure that out, and then do it. Yes, you have to do that. There are two reasons, first is so you don't get cabin fever and second, the much bigger reason, is that you make it suck less by proving to yourself that you can do stuff.

If you never do stuff you will never realise you can, and you will never get out of the rut. I got this user name because I have a track record of making people do stuff they perhaps didn't feel like doing and unfortunately that is what it takes.

Maybe that only works for me, but I think it's true.

Ignore them and keep living your life take pride in being a blind person.

Hang in there. Worrying about anxiety is a vicious loop. Yeah, people treat you differently because of a disability. You're sad directly because of the disability, and that's perfectly understandable. You need to deal with all this on your schedule, not theirs.

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