Vision Reflections #2: When you can't see what's ahead

I almost didn't post this, but it's a real, in-the-moment reflection on where I am right now. If you've ever felt discouraged because your vision isn't improving as quickly as you hoped—or because life isn't going the way you expected—I hope this episode encourages you. I share some of my own recent struggles, why a message from a listener changed my perspective, and a few of the practices that help me stay hopeful and keep moving forward.

Where are you in your journey, and what would you like to hear more of?

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Transcript

Denise:  Welcome to the Healing Our Sight podcast where we discuss vision issues and healing strategies from the patient perspective. Denise Allen I'm your host, Denise Allen. The goal of this podcast is to create an awareness of the diverse types of vision issues people experience, to highlight the types of help available, and to open a dialogue between patients as well as vision professionals to show we are not alone in our vision struggles. This is episode number two of my Vision Reflections series. 

I have put off doing it for a while and so I apologize. It's always difficult for me to do a solo episode because I don't like talking to myself, as I've said. However, I wanted to acknowledge the feelings I've been having over the last couple of months of discouragement. And I know that those of you who are dealing with vision issues or have been working through different therapies or surgery know what I'm talking about. Regardless of where you are in your journey, it's impossible to see what is ahead. 

And today I received an email from a lady who apologized for reaching out to me, thinking that maybe I was too busy, which is definitely not the case. And she described her struggles. Right now, she's basically where I was when I started vision therapy, not knowing where to turn for help. And I hope that some, some of what I said to her in the in my return email will be helpful to her. Discouragement is real. And when you go and talk to doctors and they tell you that there's nothing they can do, that there's nothing wrong, which I also heard. Or of course you hear from surgeons that either surgery is or is not advised or that vision therapy is not an option. And from vision therapists, sometimes you hear that you're not a candidate, depending on the vision therapy doctor's perspective. 

Or you try it and it didn't, hasn't worked yet, which I also experienced. And I think it's important to just realize that we can't see the future. And just because it hasn't worked, that doesn't mean that it won't. And that was the thing that I had to focus on in the middle of my journey when I had done so much vision therapy and finally had to succumb to the notion that surgery would be necessary. In my case, that doesn't mean that that's everyone's journey necessarily. But for me, having my eyes aligned was the key factor.

 It's important to take the perspective of growth in whatever we're deciding to do, whether that is, for me as a host, reaching out to more people so that I have a result that I want in booking enough guests to keep podcast episodes coming out, or whether it is taking a different approach to the solutions that we're looking at. Maybe a relaxation technique or practice. Maybe it's red-light therapy or some of the other therapies that have been talked about on the podcast. Maybe it's selecting a different doctor for vision therapy or looking at whether surgery in combination with therapy could be helpful. 

Regardless, I think it's important to trust our inner knowing and to look outside of the box to heal on an emotional level so that we're prepared to see differently and to keep that hope alive that change is possible. And as we change our perspectives, our emotions, our thoughts, our vision can improve. Today, I just want to express gratitude to that woman who reached out to me and gave me encouragement that perhaps what I'm doing is making a difference. And I encourage all of you to continue working towards better vision. 

Some of the things that I'm doing include somatic yoga, palming breath work, spending a lot of time outdoors and my gardening is like my therapy too, and spending more time with my music, playing the piano more. Those are some of the things that help me feel less discouraged or help me feel like my vision can continue to improve. And I hope that some of those practices will be helpful for you as well. Let me know what you think and what you're working on, what you'd like to hear more of, and just keep believing that your vision can improve. 

 Thanks for listening today. Thanks for listening to the Healing Our Sight podcast today. I'd love to connect with you. You can leave a comment by clicking the link in the show notes. I love receiving your messages. You're also invited to join the Healing Our Sight Facebook group. Let me know what resonated with you and how I can better serve you.