August 2026 Yon Hardisty

Issue #26: What We Can't See May See Us Harm

View on the web →

A friend of mine found out she had glaucoma at a routine eye exam she almost skipped. No pain, no warning, nothing that told her something was wrong. That's the strange thing about a lot of our health, physical and otherwise. The parts that matter most are often the quietest right up until they aren't.

I've been thinking about that a lot this month. Your eyes rarely show a problem before it may be too late. Neither, most of the time, does a person who's struggling. The signs are small and easy to explain away: a little more tired than usual, a little more distant, a nagging habit that's grown just slightly bigger than it used to be. It's rarely one dramatic moment. It's a hundred quiet ones that add up before anyone, including the person going through it, really comes to grips with the fact that it's happening.

Both of this month's articles come from that same idea. One is about your vision, and how much of it depends on things that have nothing to do with your eyes: stress, sleep, screen time, the habits that either protect you or slowly wear you down. The other is about August 31st, International Overdose Awareness Day, and the quieter kind of noticing that day is really asking of us.

Neither piece is trying to alarm you. They're both just asking the same small thing. That you pay a little closer attention to yourself and to the people around you, before the quiet thing becomes a loud one.

Let's jump into this.

To your health,
Yon Hardisty

In this issue:

Your Eyes Are Often The First To Tell On You Recognizing International Overdose Day Supporting Healthy Vision Throughout Life Cataracts And Protecting Your Vision

Coming in September at HealthtekCreative.com Healthtek TakeFive Building the +Health community.

Most mornings don't ask if you're ready. The alarm goes off and the day just starts, phone in hand, to-do list already running before your feet hit the floor.

TakeFive is built around a simple idea: you don't need an hour to reset; you need five honest minutes. A short, guided pause you can return to every morning, until it stops feeling like a task and starts feeling like yours.

Releasing in early September, visit https://www.healthtekcreative.com/takefive/ ​

Your Eyes Are Often the First To Tell On You

Eye health rarely gets filed under mental health, but the two are more connected than most people realize. Stress puts your body into fight-or-flight, and your eyes feel it too: blurred vision, light sensitivity, a twitching eyelid, that gritty feeling by the end of a hard week. Usually it passes once the stress does. But it's a real reminder that what's going on in your head shows up in your eyes before you'd expect.

Screens make their own version of this. Long stretches of focused work mean fewer blinks, which means drier eyes, which by afternoon can feel like tired eyes, a dull headache, or trouble focusing on anything at all. The fix isn't complicated: step away every so often, look at something far off for twenty seconds, blink on purpose, and protect your sleep, since tired eyes and a tired mind tend to travel together.

None of this replaces an actual eye exam, and that's really the point. Plenty of serious eye conditions, glaucoma especially, cause no symptoms at all until real damage is done. August is National Eye Exam Month, which makes it a fitting time to book one even if nothing feels wrong. Especially if nothing feels wrong.

Sources: Current Glaucoma Programs | Vision and Eye Health | CDC and The Importance Of Regular Eye Exams To Detect Glaucoma - Glaucoma Research Foundation

Recognizing

International Overdose Day

August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day. It's easy to hear that and picture something distant, a headline, a statistic, a topic that belongs to someone else's life. For a lot of families, it isn't distant at all. It's a day set aside to remember someone, and to say plainly that grief like this deserves to be spoken about rather than kept quiet.

What makes this hard is how slowly it usually builds. It's rarely one dramatic turn. It's someone pulling back a little at a time, a few more excuses, a little more distance, small changes easy to explain away right up until they aren't. The people closest to someone struggling are often the last to see it clearly, not because they weren't paying attention, but because it was never loud enough to notice.

You don't need the right words to help. You mostly need to ask, plainly and without judgment, and actually mean it when you say you're willing to listen. If you're the one struggling, or supporting someone who is, you don't have to carry it alone.

If drinking is part of what you're quietly trying to keep in check, that's exactly what we built Swayless, a low-pressure way to notice your own patterns before they become something bigger.

​Healthtek has several additional solutions that can help you, your coworkers, or your populations, such as peer support and +Health Challenges that improve both physical and mental health.

And of course, if you know anyone who is struggling with suicide, mental health issues, or suicidal tendencies, please contact our partner at LivWell Partners for support or visit the International Overdose Day help website.

Be Mindfully Aware of Your Alcohol Consumption

Introducing Swayless

Where HealthtekCreative.com Search Swayless Download Press Icon Create A Username and Password

+Health Community introduces Swayless. A simple but effective method of tracking your alcohol intake. Be more aware using Swayless. Download in early September 2026.

Learn More →

Supporting Healthy Vision Throughout Life

Our eyes help us experience the world around us, allowing us to work, learn, connect with others, and enjoy the activities we love. While many people think of eye health only in terms of vision or eye diseases, our physical and mental health also influence how our eyes feel and function. Periods of stress, poor sleep, long hours on digital devices, and certain medical conditions can all contribute to eye discomfort or temporary changes in vision. At the same time, many serious eye diseases develop gradually without noticeable symptoms. Understanding how your lifestyle, mental health, and eye health work together can help you improve eye comfort, recognize potential problems, and know when to seek professional care.

Read More →

Cataracts

And Protecting Your Vision

Many people notice small changes in their vision as they get older. Reading may become more difficult, headlights from oncoming traffic might seem brighter than they used to, or colors may not appear as vivid. While these changes are often considered a normal part of aging, they can also be signs of cataracts.

Cataracts are extremely common, particularly among older adults. They develop slowly over time and may not cause noticeable symptoms at first. As they progress, however, they can interfere with everyday activities like driving, reading, working, and recognizing faces. Fortunately, cataracts are highly treatable, and modern procedures have helped millions of people regain clearer vision.

Understanding what cataracts are, recognizing the early signs, and taking steps to care for your eye health can help you preserve your vision and continue enjoying the activities that matter most.

What are cataracts?

A cataract occurs when the normally clear lens inside the eye becomes cloudy. The lens works much like the lens of a camera, focusing light onto the retina at the back of the eye so you can see clearly. When the lens becomes cloudy, light cannot pass through as easily, causing vision to become blurred or hazy.

Cataracts usually develop slowly over several years. In the early stages, you may not notice much difference in your vision. As the clouding increases, however, everyday tasks can become more difficult. Reading fine print, driving at night, or distinguishing similar colors may require more effort than before.

Although cataracts are most often associated with aging, they are not an inevitable part of growing older. Some people develop cataracts earlier because of medical conditions, eye injuries, long-term medication use, or prolonged exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. In rare cases, babies can even be born with cataracts.

A Final Word

Our partner, Kaitlin Daeges, recently hosted an event worthy of posting about the Power of Moms, and I had to share.

I hope you can find time to give your mom a hug for all that she has done in your life. If your mom is no longer in your life, keep warm thoughts about her for an hour, a day, or even a week.

With warm gratitude,

Yon Hardisty