Wednesday 10th October 2018 was World Mental Health Day. Currently, 450 million people worldwide suffer from mental health problems and it has been known to affect famous people too including Gary Lightbody, Ant McPartlin, Robin Williams and Chester Bennington.
To mark the occasion and raise awareness, I want to share factors that cause mental health in people with physical disabilities. In the UK, 30% of people with a physical disability also have a mental health problem. I became depressed in 2016 and sourced CBT therapy through my doctor. Living with my physical disabilities will continue to be challenging, but I have learnt skills to deal with them.
Below are the 5 most common factors that cause mental health problems for people with physical disabilities:
1. Social Isolation
Many people with a physical disability feel socially isolated because they cannot leave their homes or access sociable opportunities. For instance, as a child, I couldn’t access activities such as sports clubs or scout groups like most children did. I also couldn’t visit friends because I couldn’t access their homes. At university, there were no suitable societies for me to join and I was unable to attend student nights out, which contributed to me having no friendships.
However, on one occasion, I began talking to a girl on my course and asked if she was going to a comedy night that was happening and whether she would like to go with me. She agreed and I turned up at the student union and waited for her.
Thirty minutes or so later, I got a text from her saying she was standing by the stage, already drunk, and couldn’t meet me. I specifically told her I couldn’t get to the front and could she meet me at a table but she had no intention of meeting me and never spoke to me again.
A couple of years later, I was sitting in the classroom and overheard other students discussing a get-together with the whole class one night. Nobody bothered to consider inviting me and I was basically invisible to them all.
Even if I was unable to attend, it would have been nice for them to think of me at the time. Because of this, my mood was extremely low throughout university and wasn’t the experience I hoped it would have been. The only exception was I did get to attend a theatre company for two years where I got to socialise and interact with other members and I am now a member of a new theatre group for adults.
2. Care Support
The greatest challenge for people with physical disabilities is relying on care support. It can be frustrating having to constantly ask for help, becomes stressful when carers do not understand or make mistakes and even feel like a burden on friends and family. Personally, I require 24-hour care. I need support in all aspects of my life.
I have experienced very poor care in my time and this has had a large impact on my mental health, to the point I was having suicidal thoughts last year. Without good quality support, I have no life. Many people who become carers do not understand the severity of my condition and the amount of support I need. Many of them are unsafe to do my personal care and others not committed to supporting me with social activities; which is a result of social isolation.
3. Employment
Securing a job is another difficult task people with physical disabilities have to face. For many of us, we have the skills, knowledge and experience to work but there are still many barriers facing us when trying to get employed.
In some cases, employers are still not aware that there is support to help people with disabilities access the workplace. In my experience, employers are willing to take on disabled people but because I’m a graduate, I’m still trying to secure my first paid position. I’ve taken on plenty of voluntary and freelance roles, but unlike most teenagers, I never have been able to get a simple job in a shop or restaurant.
I feel like because I’ve never had paid employment, I still don’t have enough experience to secure employment. In addition, due to personal commitments, I cannot move locations, meaning I am limited to where in the country I can work. I do say to recruiters and employers I’m happy to be flexible and commute but unfortunately, the job hunt continues.
I’m determined not to give in, but each time I’m rejected, I feel less confident in myself and have negative thoughts that I’m not good enough for employment and that I may end up living on benefits for the rest of my life.
4. Housing
Finding accessible accommodation is a stressful time for any disabled person. The fact is, there are not enough accessible homes in the country. It took me a year to find my current house and another six months to get the adaptations completed. It shouldn’t be like this. I believe there should be a requirement that every home has the minimal amount of accessible features required in every household. Plus the way the council housing system works, I had a very limited choice on where I could live because you need a local connection to a particular area, meaning I’ve ended up living in a small town with not much to do other than go to the supermarket, poor public transport connections and away from my friends.
5. Discrimination
Disability discrimination falls in the above factors and much more. The way society treats people with physical disabilities and the barriers they have to overcome on a daily basis can have a devastating effect on their mental health. Whether it’s being bullied at school, unable to access public places or transport, being patronised, not being provided with the right support or equipment and being discluded from events, can lead to people with physical disabilities having stress, anxiety and depression.
Inclusion, empathy and understanding are vital for physically disabled people with mental health problems. Society needs to acknowledge that people who use wheelchairs have mobility aids, chronic illnesses and sensory impairments all have feelings too and their mental health is just as important, if not more, than their physical health.
Do you, or someone you know, have a physical disability and suffer from mental health problems? Please share your stories in the comments box or on social media. Let’s fight this together!
I completely get this! I don’t want to say I completely understand as I don’t think I ever will in the terms of the physical disability and I do not want to be one of those people who think they know everything and come off as condescending.
The care aspect I can 100% understand though. A lot of people who get into care jobs do not understand exactly what good let alone acceptable care is. There are some amazing carers out there that go above and beyond the call of their roles but the few that don’t actually care and just see it as a paycheck leave a heck of a bad mark on the good ones out there and that’s disappointing. Hopefully you’ll find some carers that get you, get your needs and are competent at their jobs. I’m so sorry you’ve had some terrible levels of care that brought you down to feel like that was the only way out but do remember that they are a minority and there are some amazing people out there!
Social isolation sucks. People do suck in general… especially when they don’t understand or can’t be bothered to help. That’s the worst. Discrimination kind of plays a part in this I’d say and in every point that you’ve made. There’s so much stigma out there for people with disabilities and that’s beyond a joke. We’re in 2018 where it’s not foreign and you don’t banish someone to some asylum because they’re different. Yet, there’s that same stigma still there, still ripe and that needs to change. Fast.
Housing and employment do need to make some major changes and they are making some steps into being more accepting and helpful. Yep, maybe toddler sized steps but still… steps and hopefully soon there’ll be enough progress to everything being a bit more open access. In an ideal world.. they would have been further along the line by now but again, there’s some progress and there are some amazing employers out there and some wonderful councils/people in power fighting for these rights for the people who need it most. Equality/Equal rights is a thing and they need to get moving on that.
Sorry this is so long winded, your post did completely touch me. I hope that things do change for the better and things start to improve for you. Please do remember that there are people that do care.
Sending love and happy thoughts!
– Gem
Thank you so much for your indepth comment and lovely words! I agree I have met some amazing carers over the years but due to personal commitments and career plans, they haven’t been able to continue working with me. However, I have continued being in contact with them, one of whom I’m really close friends with now! Unfortunately since I moved into my first house last year, I’ve had a bad spell of carers. I do have a new carer starting tomorrow who looks good and confident driving and attending music events so fingers crossed she works out well! 🙂 <3