How much of this is psychological?

[rubyslippers]

I have been noticing that if I am really busy doing something very enjoyable, I am completely unaware of any dry eye symptoms at all. The second I slow down and realize my eyes are feeling just fine, the symptoms begin and build as long as I am thinking about it. If something interrupts my being able to think about it and distracts me, I am again symptom-free. I have been watching this for weeks now and know that if I can immediately get myself distracted, I am just fine and conversely if I let myself be aware of it, it will build until I can literally make myself miserable and totally focused on it. This worries me because it makes me feel like this is mainly psychological and that feels very uncomfortable to me. Anyone else?

Because I am a very intense person who loves having so many irons in the fire, I do very well. I was really bad earlier this spring because I had 2 weeks of downtime from work and not that busy. Those 2 weeks were more difficult.

[blackberry]

Focus

Hey Ruby Slippers -- It is an interesting phenomenon, being able to forget your eyes for a while. When I'm watching a good movie, reading a good book, working hard, I forget pain. I think this is an outcome of the fact that we humans can only concentrate on one thing at a time. I don't think this means that our condition is psychological. It just means that we can get districted.
I've studied Buddhist philosophy, and Buddhists believe that there is a difference between pain and suffering. Pain is unavoidable and a reality of the human condition. Suffering is all the other stuff that comes with our pain -- the anxiety, fear, and worry that intensify the experience. Meditation, antidepressants and other techniques such as self-hypnosis can help us train and control our minds so that we become able to separate the two a little bit better.
I have found the meditation helps me enormously. But that doesn't mean I don't have ocular rosacea and bad eyes from LASIK. Hope this in some way helps and isn't too philosophical. Happy Labor Day. Have a great week!

[calli66]

I've noticed that while my eyes are relatively stable these days, they usually start acting up right before I have an appointment with the ophthalmologist or the optometrist. This is psychological for me, I guess. I want to go to my appointment with my eyes in good shape and that's the jinx that sets them off. I'm trying too hard. I notice a little goop in there or a bent eyelash or something, and in an effort to get rid of it "in time," I'll do something stupid, like digging for it, putting in too many drops, etc.

And the stress of a refraction appointment always dries my eyes up instantly. I trying, I'm staring, best this way, best that way, frustrated 'cause I can't communicate with the doc, straining some more.

If my eyes get truly in bad shape, there's nothing psychological about it, though; I notice them every moment, and can barely concentrate enough to do anything productive.

C

[Lucy]

I don't think it's psychological--but can only speak for what I think about myself. I'd bet there is some truth in this for most others, too. I have one eye that hurts most of the time. Sometimes it hurts so bad that I have to lie down, take pain med and go with an icebag. I had a bad run of several days of this within the past couple of weeks.

I know and have known since the beginning of my dry eyes that getting your mind off your eyes is a good thing. Doesn't mean they don't hurt, but sometimes something that is fun, or engrossing can over-ride the eye pain. It could be the length of a movie, or all day if things are going well.

When someone first "gets" dry eye (use lasik for example) it's such a relatively quick thing that it is really overpowering as to how much it hurts. When you're in that first period of time (weeks, months) it's almost impossible to forget about them for a brief period of time. This is when we need to do exactly that, or try very hard. I feel it's during these brief "periods of relief" that we began to gather hope, realize that our eyes are better at times. I find that when I go on a trip (don't drive on trips over 2 hrs) that if I can get my eyes in a calm position, I'm usually able to enjoy myself enough to have respit from the eye pain. Lucy

[bernmee]

When someone first "gets" dry eye (use lasik for example) it's such a relatively quick thing that it is really overpowering as to how much it hurts. When you're in that first period of time (weeks, months) it's almost impossible to forget about them for a brief period of time. This is when we need to do exactly that, or try very hard. I feel it's during these brief "periods of relief" that we began to gather hope, realize that our eyes are better at times. Lucy[/QUOTE]

I really agree with this Lucy. Sometimes I wonder if my eye is getting better or if I am getting better at managing the eye, however, I believe that because I am even asking myself this question is a sign that I am getting better. When the pain is at a low level, irriation rather then pain, I find I go out and do things that I would not have done before. I get back to the life I had before surgery.

However when I have a bad day, or a bad couple of days, I feel really down, and can't stop thinking about how "not normal" my situation is, and I get doubly down because I was so good the days before, and things just don't go well regarding pain or emotional feelings until I start having good days. It seems to be a cycle, but it is going in the right direction.

I can say so much of my progress has been due to the help and support that I found from those on this site, by implementing the tips and ideas from this site I am at a much much position then I could ever have been.

[eva b]

I think this is a very interesting topic. I've often made the psychological connection with myself, and then started beating up on myself ...hard not to, when your specialist says "there's nothing much wrong with you", yet you feel constant either pain or irritation !!!

Like many of you, I find if I can get myself distracted then I can almost ignore the eyes. But the distraction has to come from outside - amost by surprise. It's very hard for me to do it intentionally...like if I start watching a movie I think will be good, I can't get my thoughts away from whether or not my eyes feel comfortable, and will they feel worse as we go along...I'm sure you all know the pattern all too well

And as for going out/away - even out for an afternoon with a friend, it's always a very stressful situation, deciding on whether the eyes will make it, do I want to take the chance, how will I feel etc etc.

And yes, these docs (and friends) who say "oh it's only a bit of dry eye".....well, words fail me.

End of rant

Can't tell you all how much it helps to belong to this community and be able to talk to other people who know what you're going on about!

Thank you to one and all, and especially to Rebecca for starting it all.

[Hangus]

This definitely strikes a chord with me. Its certainly not only psychological but i do have times when I am engaged on a task when I totally forget the symptoms. This is particularly so when I am taking part in sports, gardening or out socialising.
I also find lately that the symptoms intensify as the day goes on with the peak reaching just before bedtime i.e when I am usually doing my couch potato impression and watching TV

Barry

[brd888]

I agree that there is a lot of psychology at work with us dry eye patients.
It obviously isn't all in the mind although I think once you have had dry eye any sort of irritation which before you would have discounted as dust can be a lot more distressing.
I sometimes seem to have worse days when the symptoms are not so bad and better days despite eyes being poor.
Also being at work seems to be irritating - I think trying to do a job when you are suffering with dry eye makes the thing a whole lot harder. My eyes always seem worst at the end of the working day.

Regards.

[calli66]

I can really relate to what eva-b said------about having dry eye irritation figure into decisions to do stuff. It's less psychological than just being PSYCHED OUT. Knowing from past experience that I'll get a half hour into a movie, or that a day out shopping can lead to an evening of misery, and do I really want to take a chance.

When I used to wear contact lenses all the time, I could make it through a day of activities (the lenses protecting my eyes). Like, I used to work all day in the hot sun at my old job---then the suffering was confined to that excruciating time after I took my lenses out at night.

Now, I have to baby my eyes constantly to keep them stable---that constant dread of a flare-up. Yuk. So it has become a "syndrome."

I'm in a complaining mode today (sorry). Having a flare-up and moaning over my loss of "freedom," for when I didn't know what dry eye was. I would just wear my contacts, and then be in misery all evening after I took them out, but I wasn't THINKING about my eyes constantly and "managing" them all the time.

Calli

[Hangus]

Just an aside from what Bruce was saying regarding getting something in your eye. I actually now enjoy getting dust or grit in my eye because I know there is an external cause which I can remove and that it is'nt one of the myriad symptoms of dry eye. How weird am I eh?

[brd888]

I can really relate to what eva-b said------about having dry eye irritation figure into decisions to do stuff. It's less psychological than just being PSYCHED OUT.

I kinda have an hourglass theory of dry eye. Normally you start the day with a full glass and the sand slowly filters down as you tire throught the day.
When your dry eye symptoms get worse - often about 3pm when I am at work - its like the gap opens wide and all the sand (your energy) floods out soon leaving you tired physically and emotionally.

[eva b]

Hangus, you are not peculiar
I, too, am thrilled to bits when I realise that what's scratching my eye is a stray lash that's come loose because, as you say, I know I can remove it.
Whereas you can't remove the permanent feeling of fine sandpaper fused to the inner eyelid.......

[rubyslippers]

Calli, interesting that you are more uncomfortable with your contacts out than in? Am I correct there? If so, why do you take them out before bed. The only time my eyes are bad now are when I have my contacts out (Synergeyes, not regular contacts which made it worse). If I put on glasses in the AM, within an hour or two I am dying to get the contacts in again. If I take my contacts out early evening, I will be miserable within an hour or so. I just keep them in until right before bed.

[Stanza]

I, too, am thrilled to bits when I realise that what's scratching my eye is a stray lash that's come loose because, as you say, I know I can remove it.
Whereas you can't remove the permanent feeling of fine sandpaper fused to the inner eyelid.......

I do that too!!!!! It's like - phew, it's an eyelash, maybe today might be 'ok'.

I find I notice my symptoms more when I'm on a concentrated task though, - I forget them more when I'm switching and moving around, doing different things...Actually also noticed this recently as well.

[calli66]

Calli, interesting that you are more uncomfortable with your contacts out than in? Am I correct there? If so, why do you take them out before bed.

Yes, you're right. But I simply couldn't stand wearing contacts all my waking hours. I would get to the point of "diminishing returns" after about 9-10 hours, especially during the last year or so before I gave up on them. My eyes would start to feel raw, and since I have Sjogren's, my eyes seem to make extra amounts of inflammatory debris (mucous, etc.) and this crud would collect on the inside of the lenses, obscuring my vision. I could clean it out, but it would come back.

When I'd go to the eye doctor, my eyes would show staining (dry spots). If I don't wear contacts, the overall health of my eyes is much better, so I figure I'm doing the right thing for my eyes by not wearing contacts, even though I was "happier" wearing them.

That's why I've been following your reports with Synergeyes---I think I could probably wear them, since the hard lens part isn't absorbent like a regular soft lens. Right now I have 2 pairs of Panoptx that I can't wear because I need vision correction and my prescription is too high to Rx them.

I'm also doubly frustrated today, because I've had 2 eye exams in the past week from 2 different doctors, neither of which could find the Rx that would give me 20/20 vision. I don't believe the problem is with my eyes---my retina's OK, no cataracts, etc. Grrrrrrr......! I just HAVE to get it right, since I have to pay so Freaking much for glasses----it's not a casual decision.

Calli