When I try to focus in class, my pupil moves to the corner of the eyes involuntarily. Why?

Question

Hi doctor,

My pupil moves involuntarily towards the corner of my eyes when I sit in class and while trying to focus on my class. When I try to focus on the blackboard, I have strain in my brain and I have difficulty in breathing. I am having this issue for a year. This happens even when anyone sits around me. I use to watch my phone for more than nine hours a day. I had some stress last year but I do not have any stress this year. I have checked my eyes and the result came back normal. I checked my thyroid levels and it was normal.

Answer 1

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

This is called stress-induced nystagmus. There is an involuntary movement of eyeballs when you fall conscious of people around you. It happens due to reduced levels of neurotransmitters such as serotonin. It helps in reducing the stress-handling capacity of the brain. You can take medicines for two to three months and they can be tapered off and stopped. You can consult a psychiatrist and you can take tablet Baclofen 20 mg for reducing the movement or an SSRI (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) class of medicine or a TCA (tricyclic antidepressants) class of medicine to restore chemical deficiency. Kindly consult a psychologist and have cognitive-behavioral therapy. It helps to manage this condition better along with medicines.