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Turn of the screen and go outside (The impact of blue light on my physical and mental health)

Discussion in 'Self Improvement' started by DerSchütze, Sep 29, 2019.

  1. DerSchütze

    DerSchütze Fapstronaut

    tl;dr at the bottom.
    To preface this post, I was raised on a computer, playing games, watching videos, porn ect. All my free time was spent in front of a screen, and most of the other time was spent sitting under fluorescent lights(The lights aren't that huge of an issue IMO, more the screen time). These are all sources of blue light of course.

    By the time I was 17 or so, I had developed horrible watery eyes/dry eyes (I had experienced brief bouts earlier, but nothing like this) it was constant, I could barely keep my eyes open, some days it was a bit better but It was always there. A slight gust of cold wind was the worst, it looked like I was crying constantly, and I thought I was. For the longest time I thought it was emotional, and this made me feel even worse about myself, it only compounded my actual emotional issues stemming from PMO. Not that I would have been superman without the watery eyes, I was still a porn addicted loser, but the watery eyes made it so much worse. Unfortunately, my preferred form of escapism only compounded the problem, the screen which I was glued to was making it worse and I didn't even know it.

    After doing some half baked research, I have come to the conclusion that my dry eye affliction was caused by my addiction to the screen, I now see the connection between periods of improvement of my symptoms, and my absence from the screen (and artificial lights). Apparently blue light does more than screw up your sleep cycle, it can damage the retina if the exposure is enough, and for me it was consistent over exposure, 6 hour a day minimum.

    Even now I can feel the tears returning as I look at this screen in front of me, but I know how to fix it now, and this makes me feel much better. Today I went hours without looking at a screen, unlike most days, and I was symptom free, as I was many times in the past, but without making the connection. I have ordered a pair of blue light blocking glasses to see if they will improve the symptoms, I have ramped up the blue light blocking app on my phone, and will be cutting out artificial lights an hour before I must be asleep.
    tl;dr (read this too, more info)
    Looking at screens that emitted blue light for 6 hours a day minimum(many days I would go longer) caused these symptoms
    1. Horrible, constant eye watering/dry eyes, i.e. constant crying, made me very self conscious
    2. Frequent severe eye aches either during screen times or at night
    3. Clearly felt eye strain, constant dull pain, throbbing pressure in eyes
    The solutions I have planned (and that worked in the past)
    • Ordered a pair of blue light blocking glasses
    • Will spend the first part of my days (before and during workouts) with minimal screen exposure and NO computer use
    Solutions that did not work or had minimal effectiveness
    • Hot compress (Hot towel pressed on eyes for a few minutes)
    • Standing under a hot shower, eyes in the stream (closed of course)
    • Eye drops of multiple brands
    Just installed iris (blue light blocker) on my PC, it's working, noticeably less eye strain.
     
    Last edited: Sep 29, 2019
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