There is clear evidence of a psychosomatic component to vision loss as stress is an important cause ? not just a consequence ? of progressive vision loss resulting from diseases such as glaucoma optic neuropathy diabetic retinopathy and age-related macular degeneration said Bernhard Sabel lead investigator of the study. Continuous stress and elevated cortisol levels negatively impact the eye and brain due to autonomic nervous system (sympathetic) imbalance and vascular deregulation Sabel explained emphasising that both the eye and the brain are involved in vision loss a fact that is often overlooked by treating physicians and is not systematically documented
