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Psychological Impact of Vision Loss

By Carmen Willings
May 19, 2019
​When a person who has previously had normal vision loses their vision, it is a major life event. The individual may go through stages of grief and acceptance. In Foundations of Rehabilitation Teaching with Persons who are Blind or Visually Impaired, Ponchillia summarizes Dr Tuttle's phases of adjusting to vision loss. 
  • trauma (The actual loss for someone just losing their vision OR when someone who has been blind from birth becomes aware that they are different from family and peers.)
  • shock and denial (During shock the individual is immobilized. Denial may be denial that it is happening or that it is permanent.)
  • mourning and withdrawal
  • succumbing and depression
  • reassessment and reaffirmation
  • coping and mobilization
  • self-acceptance/self-esteem
​If the individual loses their vision over a long period of time, they may experience the stages of grief and acceptance with each change in their vision or with each realization that they can't do things the same as peers. The process of adjustment will be different for each individual and one person may stay longer in each phase than another person. 

Factors that impact how an individual responds to loss of vision include the type of visual impairment the person has, the degree of residual (remaining) vision, the stability of the eye condition along with additional impairments the individual may have. It is important to remember that each person is unique and just as a visual impairment impacts each person differently, each person is unique and different. An individual's personality, ability to cope with crisis, attitude toward individuals who are blind and the individual's age all factor into the individual's response to vision loss. In addition to the above factors, the person's environment and supports can impact how a person adjusts to vision loss. Environmental factors include family and friend support system, income and available community resources. 
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