Energy and SightLoss

I had been blind for about a year when I had the opportunity to talk with an adjustment to sight loss counselor, who is blind herself. I will never forget how impactful one of the first things she told me was; 

“it takes a lot more energy to do everything when you’re blind. You will tire more quickly than you did before.”

For over a year I had thought it was just me! Unfortunately, those around us who are sighted often notice and may make comments (usually unintentionally hurtful); “You sure get tired fast! You used to stay out a lot later! Why don’t you join in like you used to?”

 Let’s break this down to understand why. Humans understand the world visually, dogs, for example, understand the world by smell. A sighted person can walk into a coffee shop and, with a quick glance, understand where the counter is, do you order at the counter or is it table service, where is the seating, where are the restrooms, is there a menu board? Someone with little or no sight has many steps to go through to gain this understanding. Navigating unfamiliar places takes an incredible amount of energy, even with sighted help.

 Give yourself permission to be tired, be okay with turning down a chance to go shopping or just “go hang,” don’t take other’s comments as judgment, they have not walked your path and may never understand. Be okay with deciding you can only go one or two places a day and set limits. Also celebrate going someplace new and gaining knowledge and understanding of how to navigate it. In the best scenario, you have also helped educate sighted people about how capable we are with some simple supports, what those supports may be, and hopefully you’ve also been able to share your sense of humor!