Vision 2020 Australia, in partnership with Keratoconus Australia and other eye sector groups, have launched a new mental health resources guide specifically aimed at assisting people suffering from the impact of vision loss and low vision.
A new website called the Mental Wellbeing and Vision Loss Resource Guide offers a range of options for people seeking help to cope with their vision loss.
Keratoconus can cause fairly rapid and severe vision loss in some people if not treated early. Adolescents and young adults are particularly at risk. Due to their young age, and often their lack of life experience and resilience, these groups in particular can suffer mental health issues arising from the loss of vision and the ability to do their daily activities, such as school or university, work, sports, driving, caring for family and friends and socialising etc.
Studies have previously shown that keratoconus can have a greater impact on quality of life than retinal diseases and macular degeneration.
We urge all people with keratoconus and their families to consult this website for information on how to deal with mental health issues arising from vision loss.
The guide includes information on different types of mental health problems, how to assist someone experiencing mental health issues, peer support groups and organisations working in the vision loss field, counselling and crisis assistance and where to find psychologists specialising in vision loss-related mental health issues.
The Vision 2020 Australia guide is the fruit of 3 years work, which was initiated by Keratoconus Australia back in 2019 due to concerns with how many adolescents were struggling with their vision loss from keratoconus.
The arrival of COVID-19 in 2020 highlighted the need for further resources for people suffering vision loss. Government-imposed lockdowns prevented patients seeing their eye-carers in a timely fashion for diagnosis and treatment. Not surprisingly, the anxiety and stress created by COVID-19 and restricted access to eye care only exacerbated the issue of mental health in the keratoconus community.
Keratoconus Australia vice president Greg Harper, chairs the Vision 2020 Australia mental health working party. He spoke about his own mental health struggles at the recent KeraClub 2023 webinar.