Seeing is not always believing

We normally trust our vision to tell us what exists out there in the world. This usually serves us exceptionally well in safely and effectively negotiating our surroundings:

• "See adorable dog... will lunge forward and pat."
• "Notice fallen branch on the road ahead... swerve to avoid a collision."

It's this wonderful match between what happens within our eyes and brain and the actual world out there. This remarkably faithful mirroring is what sighted people come to rely on. But as vision starts to decline for a person, what is seen is no longer a crisp reproduction of what is out there. Maybe things become cloudy or are drained of their colour. Maybe parts of the visual field are simply lost altogether. This is to be expected when the camera of our mind becomes faulty in some sense. 

Yet what is not expected at all is when this same person begins to see patterns, objects or figures often in incredible clarity and richness. The interior of the home may still continue to be hard to clearly make out but patches may suddenly spring to life with unexpected form, colour and detail. Sometimes even movement.

This is the world of Charles Bonnet syndrome where what we claim to know about vision and reality is turned upside down. This initially poses many questions because seeing is believing, isn't it? That's the natural way sighted people are wired. But what makes this syndrome truly stand out is the person soon comes to understand that what they 'see' doesn't really exist. They are visual phantoms with no substance. And this is why people living with CBS quickly grasp that seeing is not always believing. 

 

If you know someone with sight loss who describes seeing things that are not there, and over a period of time this person continues to claim they are real or to act as if they are, then this could be a red flag. In such a situation, consulting one's doctor for further assessment is advised.