Lucas' story

The first time I realised that I had floaters was in 2020 when I was in an online class during the lockdown. I had to write an assignment on the computer, and when I looked at a page on Microsoft Word, I could see the floaters. At first I was scared, but I had to keep calm because I was in a video call class.

The lockdown was a bad period of time for me. I experienced a lot of anxiety. I had an unhealthy routine, so it created the perfect conditions for me to acquire anxiety and consequently notice my floaters. I had no time to sleep, and together with a bad diet, an unhealthy mental state was created. Other factors like studying hard, working at home, playing video games for hours, and a lack of breaks added to my stress. On the weekends I was a volunteer in my church, and I broadcasted Sunday meetings online. I spent too much time looking at screens, so I developed dry eyes too. The worst thing that I did in this scenario was to search on the internet about eye conditions and floaters. This increased my anxiety. 

I subsequently scheduled an appointment with a psychologist who unfortunately didn't give the necessary importance to my condition. I then developed a scary symptom: flashing lights at the periphery of my vision. These objects in my visual field bothered me greatly, and it was very challenging to ignore them. I scheduled a couple of appointments with an eye doctor who sadly also didn't give importance to floaters. For me it was painful because I was experiencing a frightening time in my life, and no one seemed to understand me. Unfortunately, my condition only got worse when I developed lattice degeneration in the retinas in both eyes, a consequence of posterior vitreous detachments (PVD's). 

At this point, I had to build a structure for healing myself. I had to ask for help, change my routine, and quit all things that were unhealthy for me. I decided to quit my studies and my volunteer work for the church and rest my eyes. My first step after that was to search for lattice degeneration treatment. Fortunately, I found a doctor recommended by a friend who gave me confidence and treated my issue with a laser. 

My next step was to ask for help from my pastor, whom I was able to confide in and share my feelings. He recommended a different psychologist, so I scheduled some sessions to work on my anxiety. I also decided to start an exercise routine to decrease the symptoms of anxiety and improve my blood circulation, and I made an appointment with a nutritionist to give me suggestions for lessening the inflammation resulting from the laser treatment. The support from these professionals helped me greatly in overcoming my fears about floaters. 

My experience gave me some lessons on how to heal. I changed what I could change, and I accepted what I couldn't change. This is the kind of advice that I heard but at first didn't want to accept, and I realised that I should have done all these things earlier. I also decided to change my career for one that doesn't place too much stress on my eyes, and now I’m focusing on my goals to live healthier instead of feeling helpless and afraid of my floaters.  This has helped me to forget them for longer periods of time and live much better.