Emotional trauma is a complex experience that can not only affect people. psychologically, but it can also have a lasting impact on their physical health. One of the often unnoticed effects of emotional trauma is its impact on one’s eye health. While emotional trauma may not directly cause eye problems, it can lead to heightened stress levels, which in turn can contribute to various eye issues. Let’s explore the link between emotional trauma and stress in this article.
Understanding Emotional Trauma
Emotional trauma is a natural reaction to a distressing event, that typically makes a person feel unsafe or helpless and overwhelms their ability to cope. This can include a one-time distressing event such as a natural disaster, witnessing a crime or even prolonged experiences of violence. and abuse. Emotional trauma can cause deep physical and psychological impacts, leading to various physical issues such as headaches, and muscle tension and psychological conditions such as depression or anxiety.
Emotional Trauma And Eye Health
Prolonged periods of stress can impact eyes in several ways, such as:
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Dry Eye Disease
Dry eye disease or syndrome is when one’s eyes don’t produce enough tears. Dry eyes can lead to multiple eye problems, such as blurry vision, eye fatigue, redness in the eyes, burning sensations or eye irritation. Research suggests a strong link between stress and dry eye syndrome.
Research from 2022 suggests that people suffering from anxiety or depression are at a high risk of developing dry eye disease. Another study from 2023 suggests that a history of childhood trauma is associated with a heightened risk for dry eye disease. This indicates that emotional trauma may indeed contribute to dry eye disease.
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Blurry Vision
Stress can make it difficult for people to focus on objects, leading to blurry vision, especially if the stress is extreme. This is because extreme stress, such as panic attacks, can cause an imbalance of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body, leading to blurred vision. Additionally, research in 2021 also found a link between stress and glaucoma, an eye disease linked with blurry vision.
Blurry vision is often a symptom of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD, a psychological condition that occurs after witnessing a distressing event. This is because the sensory system in the body is closely connected to the limbic system, leading to blurry vision. PTSD may also contribute to the dry eye disease mentioned earlier.
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Eye Strain
Prolonged stress and anxiety have been linked to increased eye pressure and strain. Although a few changes in eye pressure are quite normal, extended periods of eye pressure can lead to glaucoma, an eye disease that can lead to blindness in people over the age of 60.
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A Vicious Cycle
Research from 2018 indicates that stress can be one of the causal factors behind vision diseases and even the main factor in some of them. Stress and vision loss share a complicated relationship where stress can lead to vision loss, which can cause further stress worsening the vision difficulties, thus creating a vicious cycle.
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Light sensitivity
Heightened stress levels can lead to light sensitivity, also known as photophobia. This condition makes it uncomfortable to be in bright environments, causing squinting, headaches, and eye discomfort. Light sensitivity is quite common but can be an indication of something deeper if it occurs quite regularly.
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Other Issues
Prolonged stress from emotional trauma may also contribute to other eye issues such as wet eyes, tunnel vision and consistent eye twitching.
Conclusion:
Emotional trauma may not directly cause vision problems, but it can certainly lead to prolonged periods of stress, which contribute to eye issues. However, the effects of stress on eye health can be managed with the help of regular eye check-ups and stress management techniques such as regular exercise. deep breathing, mindfulness and meditation.
Having said that, it is important to know that emotional trauma can be complex to process and heal, so don’t hesitate to seek help from a trained therapist whenever you need it
References:
- Morthen, M. K., Magno, M. S., Utheim, T. P., Hammond, C. J., & Vehof, J. (2023). The association between childhood trauma and dry eye in adult life: New insights in the causality between mental health and dry eye. Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science, 64(8), 708.
- Sabel, B. A., Wang, J., Cárdenas-Morales, L., Faiq, M., & Heim, C. (2018). Mental stress as consequence and cause of vision loss: The dawn of psychosomatic ophthalmology for preventive and personalized medicine. The EPMA Journal, 9(2), 133–160. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13167-018-0136-8
- Stress and Blindness or Vision Problems: The Connection. (2024, January 17). Healthline. https://www.healthline.com/health/stress/stress-blindness
- Surprising Links Between Stress and the Eyes. (2023, January 31). American Academy of Ophthalmology. https://www.aao.org/eye-health/tips-prevention/anxiety-stress-dry-eye-glaucoma-iop
