An A-Z list of reminders that help me through living with sight loss

When I was younger, I routinely jotted down little thoughts and reminders that I could return to whenever I found myself faltering, and since I share so much of my disability-related experiences online these days, I thought I’d give some of those reminders a platform on here, because, who knows, it might help some of you lovely lot out too. 

I don’t think anything I’m about to list is particularly ground-breaking, they’re simply just the smaller, quieter, reminders that I assign to my thoughts whenever I feel a tad hopeless. 

But really, if something helps us to navigate an experience or a moment in our lives in a healthier way, it’s definitely worth indulging in that, wouldn’t you agree? 

These are the kind of reassurances I need to remind myself of whenever I’m faced with a challenge or when I’ve hit a rough patch. 

I’ve quite honestly brushed the idea for this post under the carpet for quite some time now, always believing that I needed to make space for bigger topics of conversation. But I’m squashing that thought today and bringing you a slightly more nuanced take on the things that guide me through each passing day. 

And, of course, I’m adding a little twist by setting them out in an A-Z format because I fancied indulging in something a tad more unique. Let’s see how this works out, shall we? 

AN A-Z LIST OF REMINDERS THAT HELP ME THROUGH LIVING WITH SIGHT LOSS

A – Asking for help is NOT a sign of weakness

B – Being open and honest about this experience is one of the only ways to navigate through it in a healthy way. (Although, opening up is still a work in progress for me). 

C – Celebrating small victories is just as important, if not more, than the big ones. Any degree of progress counts.

D – Disabled is not a bad word.

M – Misconceptions aren’t a tagline for your life and who you are. You don’t have to justify other people’s preconceived ideas.

N – Never underestimate how well you can deal with this.

O – Overcoming my disability is something I don’t have to do to be positive and happy. 

P – Positivity will guide you through but don’t pressurise yourself to feel it, pledging to recognise other feelings and emotions is just as important.

Q – Questioning everything is normal, 

R – Remember that feeling sad, or broken, or angry, does not erase the happiness or positivity you’ve felt before. The clouds of anguish will dissipate and rays of sunshine will start to peek through again, give it time. 

S – Simply just surviving is ok. 

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T – There is always an alternative so if something hasn’t worked out today, try again, tomorrow is a new day.

U – Using the cane gives me so much more than it takes away from me. It will always be more empowering than it is demeaning, despite those pesky first instincts.

V – Venturing outside and patrolling the streets of the big wide world independently can send the rabble of butterflies in your stomach into overdrive but you can do it, you’ve done it before, you can do it again

W – Weird and wonderful things happen when you’re vision impaired, embrace it all 

X – What begins with X? I guess this is a reminder that sometimes things don’t work out, sometimes you feel defeated and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Take a step back, you deserve it. 

Y – You are never, ever, alone.

Z – It’s hard to begin a sentence with a Z so I’ll slot it in to the middle of one instead: Being vision impaired has ignited my zeal to share my story in the hope of raising awareness and helping others in a similar situation. It’s a reminder that positive things can be derived from an experience that is so often labelled as being negative. But I’m learning that, even as my world becomes darker, light can be found in other forms. You don’t need to see the good, just knowing that it’s there to be discovered is enough. 

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Life as a disabled person isn’t linear. For me, there will always be an undertone of ache, complexity, grief and sadness. My vision impairment creates a narrative that’s rich with challenges and hurdles but, do you know what? There are so many positives and little victories to take away from it too, and this list of reminders pushes me to continue recognising that. 

I am a naturally positive person but we all face challenges, some of which are harder to overcome than others. But despite coming face-to-face with difficult moments, I know that the positive ones won’t be lost forever. 

It’s reminders like the above, coupled with the unwavering support of my family and friends, that guide me back towards the light whenever I’ve slipped into the shadows. 

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 I know that acceptance can seem like a long way off for many of us disabled people, and I’ll be completely honest in saying that I don’t think I’ll be able to fully accept some aspects of my own impairments, but that’s ok. 

I’ve personally resisted a lot of the changes and worries that can come hand-in-hand with losing my eyesight since adjusting to a constantly deteriorating view of the world can be quite the challenge. But I do believe that I have become better at handling the unpredictable nature of my eye condition as I’ve become older, I just need a little nudge sometimes, in the form of these reminders for example, to usher me along to the next step. 

Discovering or rediscovering a positive mindset doesn’t happen overnight and everyone will have their own way of getting to where they want to be in their journey. These are just a few things that help me personally, but if you can relate in any way then please do join me and share some of the reminders that help you as you navigate life as a vision impaired or disabled person. 

I’ll end with a quote, just to add a little extra motivation or a reassuring edge to this piece. 

“You haven’t come this far to only come this far.”

This is a quote I’ve always loved and I think it encapsulates the perfect reminder that whatever has helped you up to this point can be applied to the next steps you take too, it reminds me to never give up no matter the weight of the challenge.

The reminders in this list have helped me up to this point so there’s nothing to say that they can’t guide me through again. There’s a lot more of this journey to explore and I know that there will be some bumps in the road but they’re there to be overcome. 

I definitely need to tap into this list more often and learn to take my own advice on the regular, so hopefully having this sitting here publicly will be just the push I need.

Elin x