World Sight Day, held on the second Thursday of October every year, aims to focus global attention on vision impairment and blindness.
In the UK, there are almost 2 million people living with sight loss. Of these, around 360,000 are registered as blind or partially sighted.
Being told you have a visual impairment that can’t be treated can be difficult to come to terms with.
Some people go through a process similar to bereavement, where they experience a range of emotions including shock, anger, and denial, before eventually coming to accept their condition.
If you’re blind or partially sighted, you may find it helpful to contact a support group for people with vision loss.
Find more support services at nhs.uk/conditions/vision-loss