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Eye complications are not only a physical challenge but can have a major emotional impact. When I had my eye hemorrhage and diagnosed with diabetic retinopathy, I was an emotional mess. After a few days working through my stages of grief I knew I needed a plan to shift my mindset otherwise I could get stuck. Below are the three tools that helped me reset my mind which absolutely improved my physical outcome.
Get Out of Your Head
Do you get trapped in the stories that you create in your head? I always have a story running in my mind especially about the diabetic retinopathy treatment and it was not good! My eye treatments (injections, laser, and a vitrectomy) felt overwhelming. I was petrified over-thinking the potential pain and could not imagine a scenario that it wasn’t dreadful. The image and story I painted in my head of this process was so much more difficult than reality. These procedures were not fun (nor were they pain free) but adjusting my mindset to thinking about the end result made a huge difference. Numbing drops (and gels) were incredible and I took measured breaths throughout the procedures.
Of course, with any medical procedure the instinct is often to worry but as much as you can visualize the outcome and recognize that it is only a moment in time the easier it will be. As many people have said before, “worrying is going thru the pain twice!”
Give Yourself Grace in Your Retinopathy Diagnosis
Having great glucose control can lower the probability of extensive diabetic eye complications. However, almost all people with type one diabetes eventually have a form of retinopathy. You have done the best you can. No one has ‘perfect control’ at every moment- all you can do is move forward. Life is made up of individual moments but the biggest impact on your health is the broad, overall trends and not the time you were not in an ideal range. Remember, not only it is always available to you to start again but accepting help just makes it easier. There is nothing you can do about the before but your future is all in your hands.
Trust Your Instincts with Your Eyes
The start of eye complications may not be noticeable- which is why it is so important to get those eyes checked at least yearly! Diabetic retinopathy can be in the earliest stages and if caught before visual changes. However, you are the expert of your own body. You KNOW when you need to call your doctor or put your health as a priority. Make sure you are listening to that voice! Even when my vision was feeling off I definitely had to still talk myself into making that call. I thought about what future me would want and the answer is do what you can to save your vision. I made that decision and most likely saved my eyesight.
Mental health is such an important aspect of recovery and it is exciting that it is no longer taboo to discuss. There are so many available treatments for diabetic retinopathy so please do not fear your eye appointments. You deserve the best care and this community will support you along the way!