I was thinking about this earlier while talking to someone at work... eye contact. Growing up I was taught to look someone directly in the eye when you are talking to them. It's a good rule to follow and generally I do. But, when my head is hurting I tend to have double vision...and when I am seeing double it is very difficult to look someone in the eye if I have 4 to choose from :) .
Typically people don't even know I have a headache so when I avoid eye contact, I'm always afraid they will think I'm being shady or rude...does that make sense?
It happened today when I was talking to someone (that does not know about my "issues" ...I use that term loosely )....I noticed that they noticed my lack of eye contact... It was awkward...and I hated it. It's incredibly frustrating and even if I do force eye contact is VERY clear to most that I am not actually focusing on them....because there are 2 of them! So either way I go, it sucks.. Normally I keep quiet on these days but it's not as easy now that I work in an office.
This double vision is what actually led to my diagnosis 3 years ago...it has never left but I've learned to live with it. Most days I don't notice it unless I am overly tied or have a headache.
This is caused by Chiari...3 major symptoms are blurred or double vision, jerking eye movements (nystagmus) , and difficulty tracking or following objects...its the tracking of objects (faces) that seems to be the worst.
Outside of headaches, the vision problems caused by CM are probably my biggest complaint and something I deal with on a daily basis....
I was going to post this time about Cranial Instability but didn't finish the research for it yet....such a slacker!! :) I did however read just how unique we are.... people with BI, CM, platybasia, and cranial settling make up a whopping .04% of the United States population....My math really sucks but it appears to be roughly 125k out of 313.9 million....crazy!!
So next time! I will post more info.
I'll end with a quote from English philosopher Allan Watts who said: “The meaning of life is just to be alive. It is so plain and so obvious and so simple. And yet, everybody rushes around in a great panic as if it were necessary to achieve something beyond themselves.”
As always my prayers are with the families going through this and I am always hear to lend an ear or share advice to those looking for answers.
Till next time!
Courtney
