Seeing the Unseen

In honor of World Mental Health Day earlier this week, we’d like to highlight the intersection of mental health and vision loss, we are sharing parts of our recent presentation at the 2023 Olympia Vision Fair. We titled it “Seeing the Unseen: A Discussion on Mental Health & Vision Loss”. The goal of the presentation is to address the psychological impact of losing sight in an ableist society.

We’re inviting the Doublevisionblog community to participate in similar ways as our Olympia audience. We’ve listed 10 limiting beliefs below. As you read the below statements, tally how many of these hidden limiting beliefs you’ve thought or expressed about yourself or someone else with a disability.

1. I’m a burden.
2. I don’t have value.
3. I’m not enough.
4. I don’t belong.
5. I’m less than.
6. I’m stupid / not smart.
7. I need to blend in.
8. I’m powerless.
9. I’m not capable.
10. I’m helpless.

It’s important to recognize that having these thoughts about self or others does not make them true. Identifying and naming limiting beliefs is a primary step towards unpacking them in a meaningful way. While these limiting beliefs may be painful to explore, having these thoughts doesn’t make you or anyone else a bad person.

Recognizing where these beliefs stem from is an essential part of understanding how these beliefs crept into our internal experience. Learning the history of disability sheds light on how these limiting beliefs formed. For example, did you know that from 1867 to 1974, it was illegal to be disabled in public in various cities across the U.S? Google “the ugly laws” to learn the ugly history of how disabled people have been treated. We know that the changing of laws does not erase the stigmatization. The ugliness lives on in the limiting ways we perceive and treat people who don’t fit the standards of “normal”.

Offering ourselves and others compassion in the midst of these harmful beliefs can be empowering. The research that supports this claim is strong and we have experienced the power of self-compassion practices in our own lives. Here’s a link to some of our favorite guided self-compassion exercises.

Finally, seeking connection with others who share lived experiences often leads to a stronger support system resulting in better mental health outcomes. None of this is new to our Doublevisionblog readers – we have highlighted the benefits of communities such as Daring Sisters retreats for blind women (and now men, too!) for many years.

Our intention in sharing our own lived experiences including struggles with limiting beliefs, is to normalize and validate the lived experiences of our readers. In doing this, it is our hope that you will feel empowered to continue moving through your own personal journey with curiosity and compassion.