Making Peace with What You Can't Control
After years of living with vision loss, Bill talks about the anger and frustration he felt, how it affected his family, and what's helped him become more patient and accepting of the things he can't change.
Hadley
Making Peace with what You Can’t Control
Bill: I never knew that I had any predilection for eye disease. I guess I was scared and I was disgusted, angry. It was hard. It impacted my family's life.
Marc: This is Hadley’s Insights and Sound Bites, where people facing vision loss share what has helped them cope and adjust.
Bill: My name is Bill Larson. I live in Nevada City, California.
I've been dealing with retinopathy for about thirty-three years. My first diagnosis was central serous retinopathy. One summer in June, my family and I were in Italy visiting my wife's cousins, and I was reading in the afternoon, and all of a sudden I noticed the lines were blurry. And so when I got home, I went to the ophthalmologist and found out that I had this diagnosis.
And I lost quite a bit of vision with that. But then after 10 years, the diagnosis got changed to macular degeneration. And my vision has gotten a little worse.
I'm a disabled vet and I'm a licensed psychotherapist in California. I was just working all the time. So, I'd say at first it was just a shock because I had never heard of this disease at all. I never knew that I had any predilection for eye disease.
And as the time went on and I realized that it wasn't going away, I was, I guess I was scared and I was disgusted, angry. I got back in therapy and did a lot of work with it and tried to adjust. It was hard. It impacted my family's life. The stress impacted my relationship with my daughter.
I had a lot of anger, and I just was tied up in knots. So, there was a lot more anger in my family. But that had to be worked with. And my wife and I had to have some serious talks and do some therapy.
I'll say the thing that really helps me the most, is meditation. I'm a Buddhist practitioner, and I've been meditating for, I don't know what, 30 years or so, every day, often twice a day. And that has given me wisdom and perspective, effective in regard to my life as a whole, and it's also really calmed down my nervous system. So that's been really one of the greatest helps that I have had along the way.
And I've learned to really make a difference between feeling humiliated and feeling humbled. Humiliated has a real judgment to it. And humbled is just a fact of life of having to accept limitation. And that's been really one of the biggest things for me with this whole process is accepting limitations of life.
And I've had to surrender an awful lot of stuff in the last 15 years, particularly. And what I noticed is that I have a lot more patience. Now I have a very laid-back life, much more suitable to my physical and mental condition. Doing pretty well with it. My daughter and I are in a really good place.
I just have a lot more acceptance and patience of letting things go and realizing that I'm not in control and there's nothing I can do about certain things. And that's been extremely helpful, both in my PTSD and in the vision loss.
Marc: You never know who might need to hear your story. If you’d like to share with us, just leave us a message on our Insights & Sound Bites voicemail. By calling, 847-512-4867. Or, you can use your smartphone or computer and email us a recording to [email protected].
All Episodes
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Episode 101
When Terry lost more of her vision, it took time to come to terms with what was happening. Talking with others who understand what she's going through has made it easier to open up and find her way forward.
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Episode 100
As Patricia's vision changed, doing things on her own became harder, and at times she felt like no one really understood. Connecting with others going through many of the same things helped her feel less alone and more like herself again.
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Episode 99
Rebecca was used to handling things on her own, but vision loss brought anger, frustration, and challenges she hadn't expected. Over time, she found a different way forward, making room for the hard days, accepting help, and finding people who understood.
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Episode 98
As her vision changed, Martha worried her world might start getting smaller. But a trip reminded her that she didn't have to give up the things she loved. Turns out, asking for a little help can take you a long way.
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Episode 97
Vision loss doesn't always happen all at once. For Kara, it keeps changing, which means she's constantly figuring out what she can and can't do. Hear how she's learning to adjust, deal with the frustrations, and take each day as it comes.
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Episode 96
For Carolyn, connecting with people has always come naturally. When vision loss made it harder to recognize faces, she worried about missing those everyday connections. Hear how speaking up about her vision helped others understand what she needed.
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Episode 95
A close call on a walk changed the way Lance thinks about living with vision loss. It reminded him to stay open, keep learning, and keep moving forward.
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Episode 94
For Dottie, losing her vision meant giving up many things, and there was one farewell that hit especially hard. But after making a difficult choice to let go of something she loved, Dottie found a new perspective on what she had lost—and gained.
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Episode 93
Linda always imagined retirement would mean doing the volunteer work she loved, but after losing her eyesight, she thought that chapter of her life was over. Then one memorable hospital visit reminded her she still had exactly what people needed.
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Episode 92
As Mary's vision worsened, the life she'd always known began slipping out of reach. She wasn't sure where to turn or what might help. But a chance meeting changed things for her in ways she now hopes to pass on.
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Episode 91
When Susan began losing vision, she grew fearful about the future. But she found a source of hope and courage.
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Episode 90
Early in her journey with vision loss, Char was bitter and angry at the world. But one day, a heartfelt conversation helped her turn a corner and, as she put it, "look at vision loss through different eyes."
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