Mental Health of Disabled Individuals
Some disabled individuals have poor mental health, possibly due to the ongoing discrimination and judgement being placed on them. Depression and Disability states, “Depression is an illness that effects more than 17 million Americans each year. Many of those people are individuals with disabilities. ...people with disabilities face unique challenges and stresses which place them at increased risk for depression” (Thompson, 2002, p. 3). Disabled individuals have to endure much more stress. They have to face more discrimination and judgement than non-disabled individuals do. This can cause added stress. Therefore, increasing their risk for depression.
A decline in social health may have an impact on the person's mental health. A study states, “A physical disability may also lead to social isolation as it can prevent some people from leaving the house, or experiencing things they were previously able to do. It may also cause a loss of independence, especially if the disability requires the care of family members or professionals” (The Shaw Mind Foundation, n.d., p.5). This also confirms that disabled individuals can become depressed. Social Health and Mental Health go hand in hand. They are very interconnected and a change in one can result in a large change in the other. If a person, disabled or not, cannot interact with others, they begin to feel
alone, and feeling alone can lead to depression. Also, if a person's sense of
independence is gone, they will begin to feel helpless which also may lead to depression. An article states, “Depression and disability may have a bidirectional relationship; thus, depression may lead to disability while disability may cause depression” (Nakade, Rohatgi, Bhatia, Dhaliwal, 2017, p. 4). Again, this just restates the fact that some aspects and things that come along with disability can cause depression.
to feel depressed. The book, Contemporary Cognitive Therapy: Theory, Research, and Practice, states, “...a “negative cognitive triad” (the negative beliefs depressed people hold about themselves, the world, and the future) could lead to the emotional and motivational symptoms in depression” (Padesky, 2006, p. 6). People also can become depressed from beliefs they have. And what shapes beliefs? Society. Society constantly tells disabled individuals that they are not able. That they are less than. Soon, disabled individuals start to believe that themselves. Therefore, a cause for the mental health decline of disabled individuals is at part caused by negative messages being sent to them by the world.
My grandfather is blind and I have seen firsthand that disability can cause sadness. At family gatherings, sometimes he is sad because he can’t see us grow up. He’s also irritated at times because he feels helpless and that he’s a burden. But my grandpa is an extremely optimistic person and so he doesn’t fall into depression. Some people might not be so lucky. But if we as a community can treat disabled individuals as equals, as they are, they won’t feel so helpless anymore and will decrease the risk of depression among them.