LOW SELF-ESTEEM AND BEING VISUALLY IMPAIRED

There are many more factors that have led to low self-esteem in my life. First, when I was first diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa I was devastated. I knew my life was going to change and I was not sure that I was going to be able to deal with that change. I was twenty six years old when I was diagnosed with RP. I am fifty three now and my whole life has changed. I am not very happy with the way I have adjusted to being visually impaired. Learning how to cope has been very difficult. I miss driving my car and getting to places I need to go. It is not easy asking someone else to help me when I have always been able to do the things I needed to do on my own. Second, I have been diagnosed with PTSD and severe depression. It is hard for me to get out and do the things I need to get done even when someone is with me. It is difficult for me to finish tasks that I start for the lack of motivation. I feel like I am not good enough and that I am just taking up space. My self-esteem is really low at those times when I am feeling that way. Third, was the death of my mother it was devastating. I not only lost my mother but I lost a role model. My mother was very good at helping me learn to deal with my visual impairment. I loved my mother a great deal and I miss her very much. She was a strong woman. I wish I was a lot more like my mother. I know she had her struggles but she some how made it through. I really hope to learn to manage my life like she was able to manage hers. I think one factor that has contributed to high self-esteem and low self-esteem is the way I see my self in any given situation.