STAYING HEALTHY (Physical & Spiritual)

Strength and Self-Esteem

One of the things that having glaucoma with sight loss has given me is strength. To have been able to get through what I have, I have discovered a strength and faith I never knew I had. There are many questions I ask only myself in my brain; indeed, some negative, but I don’t beat myself up over them! For what will be will be and we cannot go back in time. It’s only natural to suddenly question everything. I’m not ashamed to say that when I was told I would need an operation on my right eye one of my first thoughts and questions was “Will I look different?” 👾

This is because I’ve always taken care of my appearance. I’ve always enjoyed the vast beauty products we have such a great choice of. I’ve been fortunate enough to have done some modelling with great photographers with a lot of photos with healthy made up eyes. 👀

So I’ve done the best I possibly can to maintain self-esteem, a beauty regime and taking supplements to keep healthy and feeling good. ☺

I’ve listed a few things here which I hope will help any of you with taking care of yourself and your personal self-esteem, which is essential for good health. I just wish to share a few things that have helped me.

The one way to make having this disease positive is to help others. 💗

1) Keep your eyes as healthy as you possibly can with the help of: -

• Fresh air.
• Adequate rest and sleep.
• Limiting time on computers and watching TV (this can be frustrating!) 😡
• Close your eyes and listen to music that you love. 🎶 Proper eye rest! 😏
•  A good healthy diet with lots of fresh food and vitamin supplements,(wherever possible).
• Moderate exercise regularly.
• Meditation and relaxation to alleviate worry, anxiety and stress.

Stress is actually one of the common causes of eye pressure rise, if the eyes are already weak. 😠 It’s very easy in this busy world to never stop or rest, but the immune system can be easily weakened, so it’s important to keep as healthy as your time and budget allow and to try to keep nasty viruses away: for example bad colds & flu, shingles and conjunctivitis. 😢

2) Keep out of very bright sunlight and always wear dark glasses. 😎 Avoid very bright glare and strange lighting.

3) Try not to deliberately challenge yourself, or let anyone else challenge you! 😓. Keep things simple and easy. We all know our limits inside but tend to ignore them, but avoid pushing yourself too hard which can lead to exhaustion, headaches, depression. So try to not push yourself too hard. Don’t be scared to let others know this too. Be true to yourself. 😉

4) De-clutter!!! ☺😲 With limited vision and a medicine regime with tiredness, sometimes looking for something at home can turn into a negative drama! 😒 Allow extra time when getting ready to go out, so that you can be relaxed. ☺ I’ve found that rushing now sends me into a panic and, focus quickly goes wrong. 😨 It’s simpler to just allow more time. Try to have homes for everything, (especially ladies in your handbag! 👜 😉) Always make sure important things are easy to find, for example eye drops, house keys. Just these little adjustments can make a day brighter and happier with less frustration. It will soon become a way of life.

5) One of the most difficult issues: dealing with eye pain, migraines and headaches.  Even with a nice healthy lifestyle we all know that migraines and headaches go hand in hand with glaucoma. 😡 As well as prescribed pain relief I’ve had great positive results with the help of:-

• "Kool ‘n Soothe” forehead masks. They are bliss! They last up to 6 hours and it’s a great feeling when one is placed on the forehead! ☺
•  Lavender oil is a wonderful soother for painful heads and also helps with sleep.
• Increase of magnesium is the diet (best example is 4 Brazil nuts daily).
• Drink lots and lots of water, especially at the onset of a migraine.
• Peppermint or ginger tea helps to soothe the digestive system, which does somersaults during migraines!
• Super foods for glaucoma sufferers include sweet potatoes, blueberries, carrots, eggs, nuts and yellow peppers.
• Take time out! 😥

6) When you look in the mirror, however you may feel and even on a ‘bad’ day; a few kind words to yourself can change your day. Positive affirmations really do work! 😄 Try to talk to yourself positively, “my eyes are beautiful”, “my eyes work hard!” 😎 “I am strong!” 🗽 Even if you don’t feel it, the good vibrations of those words will spread.

The strength involved in dealing with glaucoma makes us all very strong individuals!! Please remember this! ☺ Be kind to yourself. Stay calm. 😔 Operations, medicines and vision loss does not lessen the power and beauty of our eyes. Our eyes are all individual and beautiful. The calmer the mind, the more positive effects on the body. ☺ The optic nerve is part of our nervous system and brain, so try your best at all times to stay free from stressful situations and people. Smiles ☺ and a cheerful disposition work wonders! ☺ They have an uncanny way of reacting positively upon us. ☺ 

Niki De Lara – July 2017 💗