Glaucoma is a condition in which the inner eye pressure typically becomes elevated. Over time the increasing pressure causes a physical pressure damage to the nerve fibers that course their way through the optic nerve at the back of the eye. Eventually, if left untreated or if medical treatments prove inadequate, glaucoma results in severe visual loss and even blindness. Glaucoma is also a condition in which the blood vessel's circulation inside the optic nerve becomes deficient causing damage to the individual nerve fibers. Also the immune system malfunctions causing degenerative damage to the nerve fiber layers in the back of the eye.

It is well documented in the ocular literature that mental and psychological stress causes an elevation in eye pressure. In those who already have glaucoma, stress raises eye pressure even when the stress is of short duration. Stress of longer duration raises the eye pressure of those who have not developed glaucoma. So raising the ocular pressure will aggravate an already existing glaucoma, or it may contribute to the development of glaucoma in previously normal eyes. Prolonged periods of stress, or continued stress, causes a hormone called cortisol to be released in the blood stream. Increased cortisol, over time, produces harmful effects in many areas of the body. Cortisol is also associated with an increased ocular pressure. So stress & cortisol may be one of the mechanisms responsible for the onset of glaucoma. One study has even found that glaucoma patients tend to have more emotionally erratic personality traits, making them more prone to stress disorders.

A great deal of attention is being given to the health of the optic nerve in glaucoma. The optic nerve requires a great deal of oxygen & nutrients from the blood stream. Scientists believe that narrowing of the small blood vessels in the optic nerve actually damages the optic nerve & the delicate nerve fibers responsible for our vision. Stress causes the narrowing of blood vessels in many parts of the body including the eye. Therefore, blood vessel spasms in the eye caused by stress may be contributing indirectly to optic nerve damage & loss of vision. Glaucoma often worsens over time, and one factor in that glaucoma progression is sleep disorders. Irregular & improper breathing occurs in sleep disorders causing a reduction of oxygen in the blood stream. The reduction of oxygen will ultimately damage the optic nerves causing glaucoma to worsen. About 70% of people with normal pressure glaucoma have some type of sleep disorder.

There is also some concern that the optic nerve fibers may be damaged by the individual's own immune system which may be attacking the fibers & causing their destruction. This process also occurs in multiple sclerosis & other autoimmune disorders. It is well known that stress effects the normal functioning of the immune system and that the removal of stress helps control or improve autoimmune diseases. Increased daily stress or long standing repressed stress may be damaging the immune system of glaucoma patients increasing the damage to their optic nerves.

Clearly all of this data seems to suggest that stress may play a significant role in the development of glaucoma & the deterioration of optic nerve integrity over time. Stress is also a factor in sleep disorders and the reduction of tension may improve sleep disorders & improve oxygen intake during the night. One journal paper, "The Psychology of the Glaucoma Patient", has stated, "It seems meaningful, in addition to standard glaucoma therapy, to try to improve the patient's emotional condition, both for the treatment of glaucoma, and for the patient's general quality of life." One of the most effective means of eliminating unhealthy stress is self-healing in inner awareness. It is certainly worthwhile for anyone with glaucoma to use self-healing to eliminate or lessen stress, to deal with the emotions that accompany a disease that can lead to blindness, to calm their lives, improve their sleep, & help aid in the correction of their eye disorder.