How Vision Loss Affects Mental Health

Vision loss changes more than how you see the world. It can affect your mental health, too — how you feel about yourself, your future, and your place in your community.

Roughly 50 million American adults live with some degree of vision loss, according to the National Health Interview Survey. For many of them, the hardest part isn’t only the change in eyesight. It’s the stress, grief, and isolation that can follow, and that too often go unnoticed.

Here’s what the connection between vision loss and mental health looks like, why it’s so often missed, and what actually helps.

Adjusting to Vision Loss Takes Time

In their book Self-Esteem and Adjusting with Blindness: The Process of Responding to Life’s Demands, Dean and Naomi Tuttle describe seven stages many people move through as they adjust to vision loss:

1. Trauma
2. Shock and denial
3. Mourning and withdrawal
4. Succumbing and depression
5. Reassessment and reaffirmation
6. Coping and mobilization
7. Self-acceptance and self-esteem

There’s no set timeline for these stages, and not everyone moves through them in a straight line. But knowing them can help you, or someone you love, recognize that what you’re feeling is a normal part of adjusting. Learn more about the stages of adjusting to vision loss.

Studies show that people who are born blind or lose their vision early in life often adjust more easily than adults who lose their sight later from glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, or other causes. For someone who has relied on their eyesight for decades, suddenly struggling with everyday tasks — grocery shopping, doing laundry, getting showered, dressed, and out the door for work — can upend familiar routines, shake their confidence, and chip away at their independence. Left unaddressed, that disruption can lead to a mental health crisis.

Losing Your Sight Affects More Than Vision

Studies show that people who are born blind or lose their vision early in life often adjust more easily than adults who lose their sight later from glaucoma, age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, cataracts, or other causes. For someone who has relied on their eyesight for decades, suddenly struggling with everyday tasks — grocery shopping, doing laundry, getting showered, dressed, and out the door for work — can upend familiar routines, shake their confidence, and chip away at their independence. Left unaddressed, that disruption can lead to a mental health crisis.

A sudden loss of independence often brings heavy emotions: fear of becoming a burden, feelings of worthlessness, and difficulty imagining a hopeful future. Without the right support, including guidance from a Certified Vision Rehabilitation Specialist, those feelings can grow into anxiety, isolation, hopelessness, and depression.

How Common are Depression and Anxiety with Vision Loss?

More common than most people realize.

• One in four. In a recent CDC study, one in four adults with vision loss reported anxiety or depression.
• Higher risk for younger adults. Younger adults living with blindness or low vision had nearly five times the risk of serious anxiety or depression compared to older adults.
• Nearly double the rate. Research including the Big Data Project Reports found that blind and low vision adults of all ages report anxiety and depression at nearly double the rate of their sighted peers.

Vision loss also touches every Social Determinant of Health. Adults who are blind or have low vision face more chronic health conditions, less access to health care, and greater barriers to transportation, education, and employment. Each of those can take its own toll on mental health.

Why the Link Goes Unrecognized

Doctors, family, coworkers, and friends often see blindness and low vision as a purely physical issue. So when someone who has recently lost their vision shows signs of depression — fatigue, irritability, changes in appetite or weight, pulling away from people, losing interest in activities they once loved — those signs are often written off as a normal reaction to a hard adjustment.

At the same time, many mental health professionals, while skilled at recognizing serious depression, haven’t had the specialized training needed to counsel people living with vision loss. And for older adults who also live with hearing loss, the combination can deepen the emotional impact even further.

Coping Strategies that Actually Help

The good news: no one has to navigate vision loss alone. Family, friends, and vision rehabilitation professionals can provide the skills, training, and support people need to thrive.

• Keep a healthy, active routine. Eating well, staying physically active, and spending time with others help fuel a full, productive life.
• Stay connected to what you love. If a friend or family member is struggling, learn the signs of depression and self-isolation. Encourage them to return to favorite hobbies, including accessible versions, and help them discover new ones.
• Connect with services. Help your loved one find and use the support available to them, and stay engaged along the way.

How Vision Rehabilitation Can be a Lifeline

Vision rehabilitation services give people practical ways to rebuild independence, including:

• Independent living skills training
• Orientation and mobility training
• Assistive technology and adaptive devices
• Support groups and counseling

Few things are more empowering than moving through your home and community safely and confidently, and reclaiming a more independent life.

Mindfulness & Routine

Mindfulness practices that draw on the other senses can help people living with vision loss manage anxiety, regulate emotions, and improve their quality of life. These include mindful breathing, tactile engagement, and meditation practices designed specifically for people who are blind or have low vision.

Building new daily routines, and sticking with them, can also go a long way. Routines restore consistency, stability, and a sense of control, all essential to good mental health.

You don’t have to do this alone

At NewView Oklahoma, we help Oklahomans who are blind or have low vision build the skills and confidence to live more independently. Our vision rehabilitation teams in Oklahoma City and Tulsa are here to help you or your loved one take the next step.

If you or someone you love is in crisis or having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available 24/7.