Emotional Health & Progression

For anyone who has gone through an illness or is living with a condition such as low vision or stargardt's, emotional and psychological health is probably one of the most hidden yet impactful part of our lives.  Living with stargardts is just finding a way around inconveniences, learning to cope with all the emotions as a result of society, frustrations, and self worth is a whole other can of worms.

What kind of emotions?
How about anger, frustration, self pity, hopelessness, fear, resentment, and the list goes on. Questions like "why me",  "why can't I do this or be like everyone else?", "I'm never going tobe able to....",  "Idon't know if i can" are all things we say to ourselves constantly.    We talk ourselves out of things we like because we think we cannot do them, or will look stupid when trying,  Eventually you start seeing the world as dangers rather than opportunities.  You begin to hold back and not try to avoid making mistakes.  But the reality is, you are living less and less because you are consumed and controlled by these emotions until you boxed yourself in.

When I was young, I remembered a blind person coming in saying he's come to a point of being happy about his condition and blindness.  Til this day I still question the validity of that statement, many peoplesay they are because they want to create the image of being positive and happy.  But what I can say, in my own experience, I'm learned to be much appreciate about the things I do have.

What can I do to help my child who has stargardts?
Encourage sports activity as long as they're safe physically for the child.  Likely individualized sports such as swimming, running, even gynastics are all good choices.  Alternatively, martial arts and even qigong/ taichi are excellent ways to help anyone balance emotions and stay grounded even when dealing with grief or loss of vision or any other kind of illments.  I personally started qigong about 3 years ago and realized if I had done it earlier, I might have had an easier time working through my emotions and possibly even slowing down the vision loss. (This is abig MAYBE) But what I do knowas a fact is qigon has helped me significantly in blanacing out emotional traumas and helping me reset certain patterns whether it is confidence, anger, or grief.

Another criticalfactor that most parentsdon't realize isthe best way to helpyour child is to work on yourself andyourown emotional issues.  What does it have to do with your child?  Simple, the better example you can set for your kid, the more equiped theywill be themselves when dealing with emotional issues.  Don'tbe the model that they should avoid, be the model that they should look up to. This is true regardless of whether your child has stargardt's or not.  As a strong, emotionally balanced parent, you are much more able to help your child instead of adding more of your own worries and insecurities onto your kid.

Many people will say,  "I'm good and very balance, no need  to doanything"  Here I'll beblunt  and call you out on BS right now.  We as human beings are flawed, if for any reaon you think you're good as is, thatmeans you're lying to yourself and not really willing to face your own demons  If you're not willing to do that yourself,  how can you set an example foryou own child?

Working on emotional issues  is nevereasy.  But its something worthwhile investing beause it will allow you to build up the confidence and find your self worth which will lead to success in all areas of your life from career to relationships and love.

One Last TIP - THINK  POSItIVE THOUGHTS
Remember to train yourself to think about positive things.  Don't let reality fool you to being a pesimist because reality is simply something based on perception.  Your perception will determine waht you're able to accomplish or not, if you're able to think positively, your chances of reaching your goals are going to be much higher.    So success must come from a mindset first.  It's like the atheletes visualizing a win before they play a big game.