Am I going blind or hallucinating?

[plushiesaremyjam]

I have really bad vision and I have to get my glasses updated every year. But I now see weird black stuff every once and a while, not Normal floaters actual black fuzzy shapes for a split second. Or I’ll see random movement out of the corner of my eye that isn’t there. I fear that it’s hallucinations cause I once read an article about a guy who before he went into psychosis he thought he saw stuff fall out of the corner of his eye at his job but nothing had actually fallen. My therapist tells me that it’s most likely my anxiety and floaters. But I’m still terrified that it’s hallucinations. No I don’t see people who aren’t there or see bugs crawling on the wall. But I’m also terrified that I’m going blind. What do you guys think?

[Rkb12]

Hi plushie,

When my anxiety was at its worst a few years ago this exact thing used to happen to me. Any time I was startled (which unfortunately was quite often when you’re constantly on edge) a big black fuzzy dot and flashing lights would appear for a split second. I was terrified there was something wrong with my eyes/brain. I went to a consultant ophthalmologist and they found nothing wrong thank god and as my anxiety eased so did these symptoms.

I would strongly recommend seeing an eye specialist to rule everything else out because unfortunately these symptoms can be a sign of something more serious. Your eyes are too important and anything else needs to be ruled out before you can be sure it’s anxiety. But once it is, know that it is just another symptom of anxiety and it does get easier.