Good Morning! Here is the Monday Morning blog?
Hello, it is Sharon from Mentoring a Dream again. Bringing this week’s Teen Resource to you.
How is back to school going for you and your teens or young adults? My young adults are not currently enrolled in school at this point, but I have many friends and family that are working through the struggles of getting back into the school groove.
Importance of eye exams as a part of back to school prep
Part of the back to school routine is getting those routine eye exams. It is always a good thing to do and keep up on. Even if the test says you have 20/20 vision, none of us seems to have perfect vision. I wear readers for certain fonts when I read books and I wear glasses for distance vision correction, especially when I am driving at night for extra clarity.
It is easy to underestimate the importance of vision care for your student. If a student cannot see a teacher’s whiteboard easily, or they are unable to see the words on the page in front of them, they may be more likely to shut down and struggle in school or with their peers. They may feel “dumb” or act out in negative ways.
Vision issues could also lead to issues with mental health like anxiety and depression. Our teen resource this week talks about that very thing.
What is Myvision.org?
According to their website, Myvision.org is an effort by a group of expert ophthalmologists and optometrists to provide trusted information on eye health and vision. This also includes medically reviewed articles about all things related to your vision and eye health.
The website provides a lot of information about vision health and what we should be doing to keep our eyesight and that of our teens healthy. In the guides section, Myvision.org has a great article about the link between mental health and your vision. And this is the article that I would like to feature in this week’s post.
Your vision and your mental health
In an article called, The Link Between Mental Health and Your Vision, it talks about the close links that medical researchers have found between your vision issues and mental health. What they found is people with vision issues can develop mental health issues such as anxiety and depression from having to deal with those vision issues. There is also a correlation between those with mental health issues developing vision issues,
Like I mentioned above, if your teen is unable to clearly read the white board due to a vision issue, it may make them feel dumb or hold them back from learning. This may cause anxiety and possibly lead to your teen suffering depression because of an eye condition that could be corrected.
Sometimes an undiagnosed vision issue can lead to a misdiagnosed attention in class issue. I have heard of teens being called out for not paying attention or misbehaving in class. Sometimes teachers have had their parents test them for attention deficit disorders when really they were just bored because they couldn’t read the board.
Research is also showing that mental health issues may lead to vision issues for example, stress leads to many eye conditions. When I think about it, we are spending a lot of time in front of screens either for work or for play. With more and more time being spent making deadlines and long hours in front of a screen, additional stress on your eyes would be a natural consequence. And researchers are finding that some mental health issues come from the same neurological roots as vision issues do.
Suggestions from myvision.org on keeping your eyes and mind healthy
Here are some suggestions on things you can do to keep your and your teen’s eyes and mind healthy.
Eat Well – balanced diet will help to keep your eyes, body and mind healthy
Stay Active – physical activity produces mood boosting brain chemicals which help with our eye and mind health
Do not smoke – smoking can damage the optic nerves and increase the chance of developing eye problems
Visit your eye doctor regularly – through your back to school annual checkups, you can stay ahead of any eye issues that may come up for you or your teen
Taking care of your eyes is important
Hopefully you and your teen are taking the time to keep up on your eye health. Not only is it important for reading and learning, but with the connections between eye health and mental health showing up, it may be a way for you to prevent a potential issue for you or your teen.
Special thank you to Aidrick Ortega for bringing this article to our attention. If you have any questions, be sure to check out the myvision.org website. A link to the article this post was based on will be listed on the Teen Resources links on this website next month.
It’s almost time for the Deep Valley Book Festival!
It’s that time again… the Deep Valley Book Festival this Saturday!
This FREE family event brings people together to celebrate our vibrant literary culture. There are hundreds of books genres, face painting for the kids, book bingo and SO MUCH MORE!!
Mark your calendars for Saturday, October 1st. It is an in person event, but if you are unable to be there, head over to deepvalleybookfestival.com to check out Selma’s author page and the pages of many other Minnesota authors who are also participating.
If you are able to attend, come and visit me at Selma’s booth. Both The Hard Way and Shawn’s Way, will be available for purchase. I will be available to sign purchased copies and provide some new information about Mentoring a Dream. Hope to see you there!
