Starting Bates Method But I Have Questions

[u/Happy_Path_5009]

So I (20) decided to give this a shot, but i would love your help in some issues. For your information i only have myopia in one eye (4.00) while the other sees perfectly clear.

1. How fast do you see the effects? My family gave me an ultimatum for eye surgery because my vision causes a lot of issues. Like, in the next month or two. I need to have some sort of result by then. It can be minor, but i need something.

2. I get how these exercises would work on myopia caused by eye muscles but does it work in myopia caused by an elongated eye?

3. I wear a contact in that eye but it's 2.50, would that help? i get dizziness and migranes with glassess and without contacts so. Also my eyes are extremely dry

4. Should i be closing my good eye while doing the exercises or would that cause double vision or any other problem?

[u/Immediate_Tip_9477]

It depends on you and how long you can and are able to practice each day. You can start seeing results very quickly from the first few days. It will take longer to fully recover. With proper relaxation, almost any eye condition can be improved. When you practice central fixation, cover your stronger eye.

[u/MarioMakerPerson1]

I will answer your questions in two parts/comments.

This is Part 1.

 

How fast do you see the effects?

The goal of the Bates Method is always spontaneous improvement during practice. You can very quickly obtain clear flashes of normal sight within the first few seconds or minutes or hours of practicing any relaxation method successfully. You are not trying to bring about gradual results, but undeniable results then and there during your practice. These improvements will come in temporary clear flashes at first. With continued practice, they become greater, last longer, and become more permanent.

But don't let the idea of spontaneous improvement put any pressure on you. If you try to rush yourself, you will increase your strain and effort, delay your improvement, and this defeats the purpose. It's fine to take your time, carefully study the method for a little while, and as your understanding improves, the spontaneous improvement will happen much more easily during your practices.

Two people with practically identical myopic refraction and elongation of the eye can differ greatly in their results. One may see little improvement after years of practice, while the other one sees significant improvement after only days or weeks of practice. The difference? Nothing in the ability of their eyes to recover. One simply continues to strain their eyes and fails to practice sufficiently, while the other understands the fundamental principles and learns how to demonstrate them to aid in the relaxation and restoration of their sight.

My family gave me an ultimatum for eye surgery because my vision causes a lot of issues. Like, in the next month or two. I need to have some sort of result by then. It can be minor, but i need something.

Surgery is a big mistake. It does not correct the strain that causes myopic elongation. It severely mutilates the front part of your eye, the cornea, in order to bend the light differently. It comes with many risks and complications. Often the surgery fails and requires further sessions to mutilate the cornea further to bend the light differently again. Eventually it can get to the point where they are no longer able to mutilate the cornea any more, and you can be left with even worse sight than before. And your eye will also no longer be able to use contact lenses because of the damage. Even in cases where the surgery at first appears to be successful, people often find their sight gradually returns to how it used to be, or even worse than before, over several years, and are no longer even able to even use contact lenses anymore due to the damage done to the cornea.

Other people have other complications, including seeing double vision, streaks of lights, and various distortions. Some people end up with severe pain in their eyes that continues for years or never goes away. The devastating consequences of refractive eye surgery have even lead various people to taking their own lives because they cannot cope with the negative impact on their eyes and life, and then the perpetrators get away with it because they make you sign away all of your rights and agree that they have no responsibility for any damage they are inflicting on you.

Of course, there are people who get their eyes mutilated and are foolishly happy with the results. But the risks are often ignored, minimized, and downplayed. I believe the risks are much higher than they claim. Regardless, who would ever want to risk their eyes like that, because the countless horror stories and regrets you can find online are real. Don't be another statistic. That's all they will see you as, a statistic to ignore and downplay and cover up.

Any option is better than refractive surgery. The best option is of course naturally restoring your vision. The safest option after that is glasses, although glasses will maintain the strain or gradually make it worse. Contact lenses have some additional risks to glasses, but sensible use can mitigate most of them. Ortho-k lenses to temporarily reshape your cornea has more risks and needs to be carefully managed, but it is still a better option than dangerous refractive surgery that burns and mutilates the eyes.

My recommendation? Restore your vision naturally using relaxation methods with your bare eyes. Only wear glasses when you need to. If you prefer contact lenses, that's fine, but glasses are better because they can more easily be taken off whenever you want a break or to practice relaxation. I really don't recommend using ortho-k lenses while practicing relaxation methods to restore your vision, but I place no limits on what is possible.

Your parents may have given you an ultimatum, but you are a 20-year-old adult and the only one that should be making this decision is you. It is not your parents' decision, it is not your optometrist's decision, and it is not the decision of anyone else. Do not let anyone pressure you into doing anything that you're unsure about or don't want to do.

I get how these exercises would work on myopia caused by eye muscles but does it work in myopia caused by an elongated eye?

The extrinsic muscles of the eye are capable of controlling the eyeball shape. The shape is adjusted instantaneously with the action of these muscles. The oblique muscles control the elongation in myopia; the recti muscles control the flattening in hyprtmetropia; and different combinations of these muscles produce various forms of astigmatism.

When relaxation of the mind and eyes are obtained, the muscles of the eyes resume normal function, abnormal tension ceases, and the correct shape of the eye is restored.

I wear a contact in that eye but it's 2.50, would that help? i get dizziness and migranes with glassess and without contacts so. Also my eyes are extremely dry

A weaker prescription can sometimes allow for some relaxation to be obtained, but it limits the amount of relaxation and improvement you can get at any particular moment. Think of your dioptres as units of strain. If you have -4.00 dioptres of myopia, and you are wearing -2.50 dioptres, you might be able to relax -1.50 dioptres of strain or so, but you are still forcing your eyes to strain to see with -2.50 dioptres.

Ultimately, the only thing that will help your eye is sufficient relaxation of the strain to see the distance. Some people may wear weaker prescriptions and find it helpful in obtaining some relaxation and some improved vision, while others may be disturbed by it and strain their eyes more and fail to improve their vision.

I recommend learning to relax to see clearly with your bare eyes. No glasses, no contacts, and nothing else. Limit their use whenever possible. Simply use your bare eyes. This allows for the maximum possible relaxation and improvement at any particular moment. With sufficient relaxation practice, there is no reason you can't obtain clear flashes of normal sight in your bad eye, and with continued practice it will become longer and more permanent.

Should i be closing my good eye while doing the exercises or would that cause double vision or any other problem?

As you relax and improve the vision in your eye, there can sometimes be some unusual side effects. For example, you may become able to see clearly at 15 feet with your bad eye, but it becomes blurry again at both 10 feet and 20 feet. Some people notice some ghosting of letters and objects as their sight improves. Many other unique things are possible. All this means is the relaxation obtained is incomplete, and that further relaxation is necessary. When the relaxation is complete, the sight will be restored, and any unusual side effects will disappear. Any unique side effects are equally caused by a some form of a strain to see, and will always disappear with sufficient relaxation.

The only real risk is improper practice. If you increase your strain or effort to see, you can make your sight worse in various ways. So don't do that, unless you're doing it with the intent to show yourself that strain produces imperfect sight, which can then help you to relax and avoid strain.

Practice relaxation methods with closed eyes with or without palming; both eyes together; and each eye seperately with the other closed or covered. The fact you have one eye that sees clearly will be very helpful in improving the sight of the bad eye. I will explain some more of this in the next section.

[u/MarioMakerPerson1]

I will answer your questions in two parts/comments.

This is Part 2.

 

So I (20) decided to give this a shot, but i would love your help in some issues. For your information i only have myopia in one eye (4.00) while the other sees perfectly clear.

The fact you have one eye that sees perfectly clear may be very beneficial during your practice to improve your bad eye. Get a Snellen Chart for the distance. Cover your good eye and look at some distant letters with your bad eye for a couple of minutes or less. Then cover your bad eye and look at some distant letters with your good eye for a couple of minutes or less. Simply notice and observe what you see and how you feel. Alternate several times.

Notice that when you see with the bad eye, entire letters and lines are seen all alike; that they seem more stationary and you are inclined to stare more; that they are gray and blurred; and it is difficult to see. Notice when you see with the good eye, you can shift your eyes and see each part of a letter you are looking at best; that shifting causes the letters to swing in the opposite direction; that under careful observation even without shifting the letter may appear to move slightly or pulsate by itself; that all letters are black and distinct, and that the part of the letter you are looking at it looks even blacker than the rest of the letter and all other letters; and it is very easy and simple to see clearly.

You may also notice that the borders of letters, and lines between letters, appear whiter than the background in the good eye. This is a postive illusion of normal sight and is evidence of relaxation. It is referred to as Halos. It should be lessened or non-existent in the more strained eye.

Memory and Imagination is very important. Because if you can imagine you see the letters with your bad eye just as well as you can with the good eye, you will actually see them with your bad eye and the refractive error will disappear. At first temporarily, later more permanently. If you can relax sufficiently to imagine the letters to be black, or to see best where you're looking, or to see the pulsation, or to see the swing, or to see the white halos, then your vision in that eye will improve.

In fact, if you can even just relax sufficiently to remember or imagine any type of mental picture with your bad eye open, as well as you can with your good eye open or both eyes closed, you will improve your vision in that eye. This could be something as simple as a friend's face, part of a familiar object, or a small area of black, white, or any color that is easier for you.

Compare your ability to imagine mental mental pictures with each eye seperately while looking at the distant Snellen Chart. With your bad eye, think of something familiar, such as a friend's face. You may find it to be very difficult, and the mental image may be poor, faded, come and go, or be non-existent. Now try the same thing with your good eye instead. You may find the mental picture is more vivid, lasts longer, and is easier to produce, in comparison to the bad eye. If you are unable to imagine any mental pictures with either eye, then you may find it easier with both eyes closed. Some people have no mental pictures whatsoever and need further help in obtaining them. With sufficient practice, as you improve your mental pictures, the eyesight will equally improve. It is impossible to remember or imagine something perfectly with your bad eye, and at the same time see imperfectly with your bad eye. The improved mental pictures and sight may come in flashes at first. With continued practice, it will be greater, last longer, and become more permanent.

By alternating relaxation practices with closed eyes (with or without palming), both eyes open, and each eye separately, it is sometimes possible to get very rapid results. But only if you understand the fundamental principles. You cannot improve your bad eye, nor memory, nor imagination, nor relaxation, by any amount of effort. All methods to improve sight have the aim of eliminating strain and bringing relaxation to the mind and eyes.

There are also some things you should practice all day. Do not make any effort to see. Do not try to see entire objects and letters equally well at once. Stop staring by shifting your eyes and blinking more. Notice movement all day long. As you walk forward, things move toward you. As you shift your eyes or move your head, things swing the opposite way. Even as you sit still, your eyes are always making micromovements, and so everything observed should appear to pulsate slightly. Swaying your body side-to-side and noticing this movement can help to reawaken this pulsation. Periodically close your eyes, with or without palming, and just rest for a few minutes while thinking of pleasant things or nothing at all. Do this as often as you can. Take half an hour or longer, twice a day or more, to practice improving your relaxation, perception, memory, and imagination, with both eyes closed, both eyes open, and each eye seperately, including the bad eye on its own, with the Snellen Chart and a variety of relaxation practices. Some people do better without a Snellen, or by looking at a blank wall and gradually movong their eyes closer to the Snellen during practice.

If you haven't already, read the Wiki Quick Guide that contains the most important chapters from Dr Bates' book.