Charles Bonnet Syndrome Poem: An Optical Illusion - Mike

Now then, an optical illusion
Is when your eyes don’t reason
They tend to play tricks on you.
Show you things others don’t view
Some see something that isn’t there
Others trying to see it, stare and stare
Now take an abstract painting,
Then take a closer look, it will bring
All different kinds of objects there
Your mind can make them all appear
Try watching as the clouds roll overhead
Then look at the different shapes uncoloured
Take note, observe what is created there
Next time you look at an object, just be aware
It could be you’re seeing an optical illusion there

About Charles Bonnet Syndrome

A note from SRSB

Charles Bonnet Syndrome (CBS) or ‘Phantom Visions’ as the syndrome is often called, can be a very worrying side effect of sight loss, where the brain tries to compensate for not seeing by creating visual hallucinations or sees things which are not really there.

They may be simple images such as grids and patterns, or elaborate, complex images of objects including animals, people or landscapes.

Charles Bonnet hallucinations are not a sign of dementia or any other sort of mental illness. They are a normal response of the brain to the loss of vision.

The Wheelie Bin - a poem by Carol

It isn’t just one, they all get in the way
It was always on a college day
When Anna and I walked there and back
Anna thought she might get the sack
Some were easy to get around
And Anna had the gaps to find
Sometimes we ended up a bit on the road
Mum would often give us a ride
She knew how difficult it could get for us
When we got around the bins
Anna and I would sigh
They were moved all over by the time we returned
Mine would have disappeared
It would be in the neighbours' garden
And with their own
Probably thought as I couldn't see
So I wouldn’t moan
So Fridays weren't great
Thanks to those wheeley bins
They may get rid of the rubbish
But on Fridays they made me want to sin

Adventures of a blind person - June

I of course don’t know what it’s like to be blind as I am only partially sighted. But even then you have to learn to adjust. It can still be frustrating.

Since I was 14 I had to wear glasses for being short-sighted. I had to wear them all the time. I loved to read, and I needed them for that. I struggled a bit when I went swimming and of course for my music and words at my choir.

This lasted until the day before I was 59 when I went to have my eyes tested for some new glasses. They found something not right which led to months of tests at the hospital until I was finally diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.

I’ve had laser treatment and injections and am on a load of tablets every day. I also have to put eye drops in at night. Unless I have any problems I only have to go for a check-up every six months. I just have glasses and a magnifying glass now for reading with. I struggle with bright sunlight and the dark and don’t go out much on my own, never at night.

Life After Sight Loss - a poem by Carol

I've never had any sight
So I can’t say what's wrong or right
When I was little I pretended a lot
I wanted to be just like the other lot
I tried not to show my pain
It was hard then to accept my fate
Sometimes alone I would cry
In their own way my family would try
Eventually I coped pretty well
Being total wasn't the same
A little sight made such a difference
Even if it was a pittance
Magnifiers and strange looking things
For us totals anything that talks or sings
To be like the others I craved so much
Anything around me I loved to touch
Now I am used to being like this
For me with no sight
There's nothing to miss