The RNIB Counselling and Wellbeing team have produced a series of guides to promote better mental health. From breathing exercises, tips for sleeping well and building your resilience, you can improve you mental wellbeing by following some simple tips.

Breathing

Sight loss can have a significant emotional impact on mental health and wellbeing. Focusing on our breathing can help in all aspects of positive mental health and wellbeing.

Emotional wellbeing for older people

If you're an older person who is experiencing a change in your vision, you may find our guide on emotional wellbeing helpful.

Exercise and mental health

Exercise is important for our mental health and wellbeing. It promotes changes in the brain, such as neural growth, reduces inflammation and stimulates new activity patterns that promote feelings of calm and wellbeing.

Loneliness

Loneliness can affect anyone at any time in their lives, but what we now know is that those dealing with sight loss experience more and more feelings of isolation.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness can help to manage anxiety, depression and stress related to your sight loss.

Resilience

Resilience is the skill and the capacity to be robust when facing enormous stress and change.

Sight loss and the five stages of grief

Individuals who experience sight loss can feel devastated. The adjustment they have to make often means leaving behind a world of independence, to accepting a new reality where asking for help becomes a new norm.

Sleep

Sight loss can affect a person’s physical and emotional health, including sleep.

Please see the full RNIB guides in the drop-down Articles on the right-hand side.