Can anxiety cause vision problems? Nowadays, people encounter various triggers of stress and anxiety. In this case, are vision problems one of their health effects? We will find that out later on. If being anxious does cause vision problems, an ophthalmologist can help work out these problems. However, it would be best to address the source of anxiety as well. Fortunately, this article will also help us determine ways on how to manage stress and anxiety. So, let’s keep moving forward and fill in our cups of knowledge.
Stress and Anxiety
Generally speaking, it is pretty typical that several people experience stress and anxiety at some point in their lives. On the negative side, a severe condition can significantly affect someone’s quality of life.
We often think that stress and anxiety are the same. These terms may share similar emotional and physical symptoms. However, they have different origins accordingly. It would be best to correctly identify which one a person experiences to receive the appropriate treatment.
Let’s briefly differentiate the two for a better understanding. Stress is our natural response to an external cause. For example, we have deadlines to meet at work or school. Once we resolve this external cause, stress will subside afterward.
Meanwhile, being anxious is a person’s response to stress, and the source is within the person. Its negative effect is that it can persist even if you already resolved the cause. Additionally, it can turn into a disorder.
Anxiety Disorder
On the positive side, anxiousness can help us become more alert, making it beneficial at some point. However, it could turn into excessive fear or anxiety. It will now become a mental disorder, and it is the most common of it.
Several types of anxiety disorders do exist. All of them differ according to the source of anxiousness. Here are the types of anxiety disorders, and one of them may be your condition.
- General Anxiety Disorders
- Panic Disorder
- Phobias
- Agoraphobia
- Social Anxiety Disorders
- Separation Anxiety Disorders
Fortunately, these disorders are still treatable. There are many available effective treatment options a patient may consider. Their causes are not definite, but doctors believe in the combination of the following factors.
- genetic
- environmental
- psychological
- developmental
Anxiety and Vision Problems
As mentioned earlier, anxiousness is the stress response. In other words, stress causes anxiety. It can even cause vision changes. Given this point, it could start from a blurry vision, eye twitching, headaches, and watery or dry eyes.
Additionally, a stressed individual may also experience dizziness, eye strain, light sensitivity, eye floaters, and eye spasms. Each individual can encounter these vision issues at different levels. But, it can happen indeed after daily life activities in general.
When an individual is stressed out, various parts of the body react to it. That doesn’t exempt the eyes from experiencing the side effects of stress. One of the effects is making the pupil more dilated. As a result, it allows more light to enter the eyes, allowing you to see potential threats.
However, the high levels of adrenaline cause pressure on the eyes, which will result in blurred vision. In worst cases, stress can lead to vision loss. It will also keep worsening the existing conditions of the eyes.
Vision Problems Related to Stress and Anxiety
We have been mentioning that being stressed out can lead to various vision problems. Let us briefly discuss a few of these issues individually.
1 Blurred Vision
A blurred vision can result in severe stress. The pressure on the eyes due to high adrenaline levels can lead to blurry vision. Moreover, other medical conditions may also result in blurred vision. An eye doctor can tell whether the cause of this condition is worse, and self-diagnosing will not be helpful. The body’s heightened cortisol levels can also result in glaucoma and optic neuropathy in the long term. In worst-case scenarios, an individual can experience blindness.
2 Tunnel Vision
It is a condition of the eyes involving the loss of visual acuity within the peripheral visual fields. On the other hand, the central visual acuity remains. What you can see here is only the things straight ahead of you. With tunnel vision, the patient may experience symptoms like double vision, vision loss, and headache.
3 Eye Twitching (Lid Myokymia)
Eye twitching is another way that the body expresses how stress is affecting it. In this condition, the muscles and nerves experience stimulation. Additionally, this eye condition could be annoying and embarrassing. It can attract other people’s attention due to involuntary occurrences. It can either affect one eye or both of them.
Realization
If you already noticed these symptoms, it would be best to make an appointment with an eye doctor. Additionally, the symptoms may not result from stress only. Other health issues might be causing them. For this reason, an eye checkup is the best solution to work out these symptoms. Furthermore, it is significant to choose an eye professional who has enough experience. Nowadays, booking an appointment takes place through a phone call or online. It is easier to search for providers as well. Despite the busy schedules, regular health checkups are necessary.
No one should take any symptom lightly. A long-term sign can progress into something severe. As a result, other eye-related medical problems can arise. Moreover, it also affects the overall health of an individual. Stress can even worsen a person’s existing medical condition. That only means it is essential to maintain a stress-free environment. In this case, we can work with a health care provider (click on this link) to maintain health excellently. Furthermore, we also need to keep in mind that the eyes need to rest too.
