"Be compassionate towards yourself"
Hannah shares with us how she had to give herself permission to grieve her vision loss in order to reach acceptance.
Insights and Sound Bites
Be Compassionate Towards Yourself
Presented by Douglas Walker
Douglas: Hello, and welcome to the Insights and Sound Bites podcast, where people facing vision loss share insights about what has helped them cope and adjust.
Voice 1: You cannot do this alone. You need people who are experiencing the same thing.
Voice 2: Probably the hardest part was just navigating through the emotions of it.
Douglas Walker: My name is Douglas Walker. Sometimes it’s easier to hide what you’re feeling, even from yourself. Today we’ll hear from Hannah. Hannah will share with us how she had to give herself permission to grieve in order to reach acceptance.
Hannah: When I was really very new to vision loss, very new to being legally blind, and still pretty stunned by it all, I was invited to contribute to the BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation. They have a weekly radio program called In Touch, which is for blind and visually impaired people. I was invited to contribute about, of course, cooking, since I was a chef, and cooking and household equipment that worked well if you couldn't see properly.
I was so impressed by the presenters who were all either had low vision or were blind. I was so impressed by their easy, cheerful, friendly manner, but also very determined and firm to get the results that they needed. So that was my first wake-up call.
And of course, it's very hard when you're new to sight loss, you don't feel like easy company at all. You feel like it's such a grieving thing. So really, the first thing you have to do is allow yourself to recognize what a serious thing has happened to you, that this is very difficult to handle, and to be compassionate towards yourself. We tend to be self-critical as humans, and you have to be really…think if this had happened to a dear friend of yours, how much you would feel for him or her, and have that attitude towards yourself and give yourself time to feel all the grief about the loss of really good sight.
Douglas Walker: Was there something someone said to you, or something someone did for you early on that made all the difference in the world in helping you adjust to living with vision loss?
We’d love to hear from you. If you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights and Soundbites podcast voicemail by calling 847-512-4867. Or you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected]. Again, my name is Douglas Walker, take care and I’ll see you next time.
All Episodes
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Episode 56
When Emma lost her sight in just a few months, she struggled to cope. She felt alone, her insecurities grew, and self-esteem plummeted. With time, she came to a new understanding and that helped her tremendously.
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Episode 55
Dave calls his experience with vision loss a slow torture. In the face of this, however, he has found a sense of inspiration in explorers, history, and an activity you wouldn't typically connect with vision loss, sightseeing.
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Episode 54
When Albert's vision decreased to the point that he could no longer read print anymore, he found it stressful. But he's found a new source of comfort that helps him quite a bit.
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Episode 53
Jayne can feel isolated living with her eye disease, spending much of her days forcing herself to focus on things that have become blurry. The stress can be overwhelming, causing her to shut down. But there's one area of life that now brings her more joy than ever before.
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Episode 52
When Jeffry lost his sight, he felt a loss of control, a loss of dignity. Then, he began his long road to empowerment, one small goal at a time.
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Episode 51
Marilyn went through bouts of anxiety and depression with her vision loss and still grieves the loss several years into her journey. She also decided to do something for herself which has helped tremendously.
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Episode 50
Learning to live with vision loss wasn't always easy for Pam. But with time, her bad days are fewer.
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Episode 49
Jennifer didn't know what to do or who to go to for help as her vision was fading. Then, by chance, she found some help. She found some direction.
The book referenced in this episode is "Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight"
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Episode 48
When Carmel heard a Hadley podcast, it helped her understand what had been happening to her along with her vision loss—something she had nicknamed her "phantom vision."
Carmel mentions an episode of our sister podcast, Hadley Presents. Here's a link to that episode on Vision Loss and Charles Bonnet Syndrome.
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Episode 47
It was tough for Linda to give up driving and she was heartbroken when reading became difficult. She felt her world was shrinking. But then she asked for help.
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Episode 46
Ashia felt all alone in her vision loss. No one around her knew what she was going through. Then she found something that gave her hope.
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Episode 45
Dennis found that many aspects of life with vision loss can be a struggle. Then he found something that turned that around.