Disability and Mental health awareness.

 

 

“ How does mental illness affect disability?”

Over the last ten years and more, we have seen a huge increase in mental health in disability, when it comes to misunderstanding over benefits, employment, etc.

As a person with disabilities and mental illnesses myself, I understand the Anxiety of being misunderstood by society. Having been on this earth nearly fifty – three years I have seen many changes in how we have been treated as disabled people etc but still not completely understood. Whether there will be a big improvement in my lifetime, I have no idea, which would be surprised to see, if not I would like to think this big change will happen when I have gone.

 Getting to the point, when I was younger at Job center appointments etc,  I was misunderstood for not wanting to work when I did. This was because the types of jobs that were offered to me weren’t within my capabilities.   Like other people disabled people have strengths and weaknesses, we just may take longer to train, learn and even qulifcate in things compared to other people.  Most things we need to train, learn, and qualifiable, we cannot in everything. We cannot always get what we want and like but too much of what we can increase our mental health levels.

We understand the benefits system is there for a good reason but if there’s anything I have learned the most vulnerable people get the stress and misunderstanding for being those who we are not. If anything, we would love a proper career as much as most society but have no choice but to understand that it is not completely possible and even if it is, there is only a limit of hours and money we can do and earn, we understand why even though we don’t like it. However,’ for what and how much and what we can do, we deserve the right support in our career and to be treated as equally as possible the same as other people.

Reasons for writing this report, when David Cameron was in power, I did a few lectures on the PowerPoint on the benefit cuts and how benefits being cut, etc can affect the mental health of people with disabilities, I held these sessions for student learning disability nurses at the time, which was back when I was made Visiting Lecture Learning Disability and Mental health for the University Of Wolverhampton, which I still today, also I am a Befriender for Beacon for the Blind Befriending services, where I stand to try and support some vulnerable clients in similar if not the same situations, which increase their anxiety and depression.

Today is the first time in a while now, that I have seen reports about disabled people losing their benefits and lives, which is completely shocking even though I have read these shocking true stories so many times before, where vulnerable people worry about affording to live, eat, etc, which can be due concerns of people being and or, feeling suicidal but even those who  do get through still struggling. Now we have a cost-of-living crisis, which isn’t only faced by people like us but everyone. However,’ all the same, we are limited to very little or no work, and we have no choice but to depend on benefits.   This makes me want to create a PowerPoint, and lecture on this sort of awareness again. https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/disabled-mans-body-found-six-months-after-dwp-cut-off-his-benefits/?fbclid=IwAR1cys16W8rf2Ji-ozc5cfho4iknSQnT9lUChyR2pLGcmaKz5RmbijEfV_E https://www.disabilitynewsservice.com/dwp-hounded-disabled-woman-for-years-before-her-starvation-death-papers-show/ Although the government has promised us a £150.00 top up on our benefits, campaigners say it is not enough if that is not true how come there are still more cases like what is reported on those two links?