Lylas G. Mogk, MD, a renowned expert on age-related macular degeneration (AMD), Director of the Visual Rehabilitation and Research Centers, Henry Ford Health System, and co-author of Macular Degeneration: The Complete Guide to Saving and Maximizing Your Sight, explains:

"Individuals with new vision loss are at high risk for depression. It is important to recognize, however, that the depression with vision loss does not correlate to how much vision is lost. Instead, it correlates to how many daily activities are affected. This means that as soon as you are having trouble doing any of your daily activities, it's essential not to give them up but rather to find out about the strategies, adaptations, devices and resources of vision rehabilitation that will empower you to doing your activities. Learning what you need to know to stay active is your best defense against depression and depression is the real enemy. You can learn to live fully with vision loss but you cannot live fully with depression.

Staying active with vision loss means learning new skills and it also means taking a few social risks and cultivating your sense of humor. My father, who had advanced wet AMD, occasionally asked a mannequin in the department store for directions, took the wrong bus, walked past a friend without recognizing him, or hugged a stranger, but that didn't cost him his dignity or his friends. A woman in his support group who was a great cook told about serving a cherry pie to dinner guests which turned out to be made out of kidney beans because she had mixed up the cans. 'We all had a good laugh about that,' she said, and her friends didn't love her any less for it. Remember that you are much more than just your eyes. Your family and friends don't love you simply because of your eyesight, and your value to them, to your community, and to yourself does not fade with fading sight. You're worth the effort it takes to learn about the skills and resources of vision rehabilitation that will allow you to continue to live fully in spite of vision loss, and the sponsors of this wonderful web site are here to help you do that."