Disabled Living

Tag: sight loss

  • Maintaining a Positive Mindset When Living With a Disability

    Maintaining a Positive Mindset When Living With a Disability

    This is a guest blog from Elin Williams at My Blurred World, who talks about the ways you can try to keep a positive perspective when you are living with a disability. You may have noticed Elin’s name, as she has contributed on Disabled Living’s blog before and also in our Kidz to Adultz Magazine, pages 40-41.

    “How are you so positive?”

    “You’re really positive, considering.”

    “I admire your positivity.”

    If there’s one thing that people often observe about me and my personality, it’s my positivity. I’m naturally quite the optimist and I try not to let my disability cloud that trait. But it hasn’t always been an easy journey and it continues to present challenges, those of which can be difficult to overcome at times.

    I found myself suspended in a state of numbness and negativity when I was in my first year of sixth form; My eyesight was deteriorating rapidly due to my eye condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP) and I was trying to find my feet after being diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome/ME. I wasn’t sure how to graduate from the darkness I found myself slipping into further every day and I was finding it difficult to voice my feelings.

    I resolved to taking one day at a time and I eventually discovered that there was light at the end of the tunnel. There are certain things I do now to combat the negatives and keep my spirits up during the difficult times, and I would like to share a few of these with you today…

    Focusing on What I Can Do

    My fluctuating eyesight and physical capabilities have been a source for many conflicting thoughts over the years; it’s so easy to think about all the things that you can’t do because of your disability and to let those factors dictate how you feel, but I’m learning to be more honest with myself, and focusing on what I can do rather than what I can’t. This affords me the opportunity to be grateful for what I am capable of, something which helps me to maintain a positive mindset.

    Connecting With Others in a Similar Situation

    I was very reluctant to talk to any other vision impaired person when I was younger, I deemed the prospect as something that would make sight loss even more real. This was at a time when I was desperate to fit in, so I refused any opportunity to meet anyone else who was in a similar situation. I didn’t realise that I was isolating myself by incessantly refusing and I was oblivious to how much reassurance I needed at the time.

    When I eventually created my blog, My Blurred World, in 2015 I started connecting with other vision impaired people and my eyes were opened to a world that I never knew existed before. I’ve found so much comfort when talking to others who are in a similar situation and there are a whole host of people, on and offline, who I can now turn to if I need to talk. I’ve been able to draw so much positivity from this in the last few years and being a part of the disability community is definitely something that continues to provide me with positivity and reassurance when I need it the most.

    Focusing on the Small Things

    elin smiling

    It is so easy to lose focus on the positives when you feel consumed by the challenges your disability presents in your life. I can’t begin to tell you how many times I’ve felt swamped by the negatives but something I’ve always tried to do is appreciate the small things.

    I have grown to recognise the value in achieving even the smallest of things and I draw comfort from doing the things I love such as reading, writing, or listening to music. I’ve learned to appreciate the contributions all of the above make to my life no matter how significant they are in their existence.

    I’ve discovered that there’s always something to be appreciated, even in the darkest moments and I try to utilise anything that brings me happiness.

    Embracing What My Disability Brings to My Life

    If you had asked my younger self to list positive attributes to my disability, I would have retracted back into my shell or redirect the route of the conversation completely. But now I can proudly sit here and list all the amazing ways my disability has contributed positively to my life. From enabling me to learn unique skills such as reading/writing braille, touch typing and using the long cane to forming friendships and allowing me to work with charities and giving me the opportunity to utilise my passion of helping others by sharing my experiences with others in a similar situation. I could go on.

    There are so many aspects of my disability that I can now claim to be grateful for and that really does bring a strand of positivity into my life, especially since there was a time when I didn’t believe that anything good could stem from it.

    Reaching Out

    Sometimes it’s not as simple as relying on all of the above to maintain this positivity and it’s at that point that I recognise the value in reaching out to others. There’s no weakness in asking for help and I’ve truly valued this realisation over the past couple of years. Very few people are dealing with everything you experience as a disabled person so there’s immense strength to take away from that fact but it’s ok not to be strong 24/7. Whilst I’ve been reluctant to ask for help in the past, I now gain confidence from the fact that I am more open about it all and that I have people in my life who I know will always offer their unwavering support.

    As I graduated into my late teens and now my early twenties, I’ve been able to adopt a lot of perspective which affords me the opportunity to look at my disability in a different way. I can’t claim that it’s always easy, but these are just a few things that help me to renew my spirits and bring me closer to a positive mindset.

    I am now able to substitute many of my negative thoughts with positive ones and I’m reaping the rewards as they come.

    Learn more about Elin on her blog: My Blurred World.

  • Living with Retinitis Pigmentosa – Elin’s Sight Loss Journey

    Living with Retinitis Pigmentosa – Elin’s Sight Loss Journey

    Elin Williams caught our attention on Twitter. She reached the shortlist to attend The National Diversity Awards but that wasn’t only thing that inspired us. Elin has her own disability and lifestyle blog. She shares her journey and motivational messages on social media to empower others who are visually impaired. We spoke to her about her story of life with Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP). 

    When you’re three years old, you’re expected to be full of life, splashing different coloured paints onto a piece of paper in attempt to create your childhood masterpiece. You’re expected to have no care in the world when playing with other children.

    Despite being incredibly shy, I did all of the above but the way I reacted to some activities and situations ignited a previously dormant worry for my parents. Welsh is my first language and health visitors thought that I couldn’t understand English when they tried urging me to read letters and words they showed me. They assumed that I wasn’t the brightest child but that wasn’t the reality. I couldn’t see.

    My parents also noticed that I couldn’t see in the dark. This was the first sign that suggested something was wrong.

    And so my third year of life marked the inception of my sight loss journey

    The years that followed were laden with hospital appointments with ophthalmologists trying to find the root of my deteriorating eyesight. It was three years later, when I was finally diagnosed with the degenerative condition, Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP).

    blind woman using a white cane

    I don’t remember much, if any, of this time but the challenges that followed are still clear in my mind. As a young child, it’s safe to say that I was confused by the entire concept. A qualified teacher of vision impairment (QTVI) came to help me at school, work was adapted into large print, I learned to touch type and started learning braille a couple of years later, just before I left primary school. I was also introduced to the white cane when I was about eight years old but everything was quite raw at the time and I was still adjusting to my diagnosis, trying to comprehend the realities of sight loss.

    And so, after one or two trips around my local village with my cane in hand, I decided I wasn’t ready at that time and pushed the thought of using it away. I saw it as a symbol of my disability, something that would encourage more misconceptions, stereotypes and sniggering laughter. So, it was stored away in a box in the corner of my room for eight years after that.

    But despite the relief in not having to use my cane, the realities of sight loss still loomed over me like a dark cloud. However, I tried to hold on to the shining rays of the sun which peeked out from behind and that’s what I’ve always tried to do. I’m a positive person and I like to focus on the light at the end of the tunnel, even if that glimmer blurs and fades a little more everyday.

    I spent many of my initial teenage years going out with my friends

    We’d ride our bikes around our local area and did all sorts of tricks on the trampoline. I also gained an interest in beauty and fashion and continued playing the piano and harp. In those moments, I felt just like everyone else (let’s not mention the cars and people I nearly crashed into with my bike)!

    young girls riding bikes

    But there have been moments of uncertainty, grief and upset. I didn’t have the confidence to talk openly about my disability with others my age and so many didn’t understand. This resulted in some taking the opportunity to bully me for it. I had an awful feeling of loneliness and my sixth form years were peppered with anxieties and panic attacks.

    But a positive was formed from these feelings and judgements since I took the opportunity to relieve my feelings through writing and I eventually turned to publishing my thoughts on my blog – My Blurred World – which changed my life in a way I never imagined it could. It opened my eyes to a world I never knew existed before, introducing me to a whole community of fellow vision impaired people who assured me that I wasn’t alone, knowledge that I never indulged in much before this. But it’s now clearer than ever.

    I try not to let sight loss dictate my life and I always strive to pursue the things I want to achieve

    As well as writing my blog, I’m studying a degree in Arts & Humanities (specialising in English Language and Creative writing) with The Open University. I’m striving for a career as a writer. I’ve also worked/do work and volunteer in the charity sector which is incredibly rewarding. My point is, living with sight loss doesn’t have to prevent you from achieving what you want in life. It does present challenges, of course it does, I know that all too well, but it can lead you to some invaluable opportunities and experiences, offering a wealth of knowledge you wouldn’t have otherwise.

    I’ve been registered blind/severely sight impaired since I was twelve years old and I like to describe my eyesight as being an old camera which is constantly out of focus, with the shutters slowly closing in. But my focus on life is clearer than ever and although there are many hurdles and challenges, I aim to live my life in the most positive way I can.

    Sight loss isn’t the end, it’s just the beginning of a new way of life.

    This post was written by Elin Williams, creator and writer of the award-winning blog, My Blurred World.

    If you would like to feature on Disabled Living’s blog please email: info@disabledliving.co.uk

Disabled Living