Can Stress Affect Sight?

Stress can affect eyesight, although the effects are usually not severe. However, states of chronic stress can lead to temporal loss of sight and trigger other pathologies.

Stress can affect sight, even to the point of causing temporary loss of sight. This phenomenon is unusual. On the other hand,  it is relatively common for stress to produce minor visual alterations which,  in all cases, reduce the quality of life.

Unfortunately, we have become accustomed to the presence of stress in our daily life. We know it’s the root cause of various health problems, but we don’t give it enough importance. This is a serious mistake since it can affect eyesight, but also cause or increase the risk of suffering from serious pathologies.

Indeed, chronic stress generates changes in the autonomic nervous system,  leading to hormonal and chemical alterations within the body. The effects are innumerable, going so far as to cause mutations in genes. Therefore, any manifestation of stress should never be underestimated.

Can stress affect sight?

The answer is yes, of course. However, stress is not always the direct cause of visual disturbances, but it sometimes acts as an adjuvant factor in various pathologies.

Emotional stress has direct effects on the eyes, which are not, in principle, serious. This is the case, for example, with eyelid tremors or tearing. It can also affect the vascular region, resulting in blurry, weak vision, or even transient loss of sight.

The stress hormone is cortisol and therefore a state of stress involves high levels of this substance. The latter causes imbalances in the autonomic or sympathetic nervous system , as well as vascular alterations. These are factors that have a direct influence on diseases such as glaucoma or optic neuropathy.

Symptoms

Of course, stress can affect sight, but  in most cases it only causes temporary effects  that usually resolve spontaneously. Symptoms indicating that emotional stress affects sight are as follows:

• Blurred vision: This is one of the most common symptoms that stand out from other eye disorders because it is an intermittent condition. In other words, it shows up at times and then fades.
• Photosensitivity: Anxiety causes pupils to dilate , causing light to bother us.
• Tearing: it is generally associated with photosensitivity.
• Tunnel vision: decreased side vision, mainly when we are nervous.
• Flashes of light: intermittent brilliant brightness.
• Tics in the eye.

Ophthalmologists recommend paying attention to all of these symptoms, especially if they are common. Whether due to stress or other pathologies, they should be evaluated to prevent other major complications.

Effects of stress on eyesight

There are several visual pathologies associated with stress. The most frequent and important are the following:

• Myokymia or tics: these are small tremors or spasms that occur in the eyelids due to involuntary movement of the muscles. They may last for several days or weeks and may or may not be accompanied by other symptoms.
• Blepharitis or inflammation of the eyelids: this is one of the most common problems caused by stress in particular. Often times it is confused with dry eye syndrome and therefore is underdiagnosed. It causes redness, itching or even a decrease in visual acuity.
• Visual fatigue:  also called visual stress or asthenopia. It causes blurred or double vision, difficulty concentrating on a specific point, reading, and headaches. It mainly affects people who spend a lot of time in front of a screen.
• Central serous chorioretinopathy or affectation of the macula: This condition is characterized by blurred vision, micropsy, or the perception of objects smaller than they are. As well as metamorphopsies or a distorted perception of objects. As well as a darkening of the central area of ​​vision and a general reduction in vision.
• Loss of sight: Some people lose their sight completely because of stress. However, on examination, there is no eye damage. This absence of lesions or pathologies reveals that it is blindness of emotional origin.