Wednesday, 23 November 2022

Disability and Mental health awareness.

 


Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have fair access within a given society, such as money, household tasks, socializing, learning new skills, etc. It can affect people in different ways depending on the person and the problems they face. A learning disability can happen before, during, or at any time age, etc after birth caused by an accident that happened to the Mother, child, or both if before and or during birth, which could be damage injury, illness, etc, just to the person after birth. Different Types of Disabilities: List of 21 Disabilities (wecapable.com)  

Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, sensory, or a combination of multiple factors. Disabilities can be present from birth or can be acquired during a person's lifetime. Historically, disabilities have only been recognized based on a narrow set of criteria—however, disabilities are not binary and can be present unique characteristics depending on the individual. A disability may be readily visible, or invisible in nature. 

Here on the Mencap website, learn about disabilities, learning difficulties, conditions linked to learning disabilities, the difference between disability and mental illness, more Learning Disability - Down's Syndrome - Williams syndrome | Mencap Different types of disabilities | behavioral, emotional and sensory (cpdonline.co.uk)  Types of disability support | Ministry of Health NZ

 

What is mental health?

An introduction to mental health 3 What is mental health? In many ways, mental health is just like physical health: everybody has it and we need to take care of it. Mental health is a continuum, ranging from good to poor. Good mental health means being generally able to think, feel and react in the ways that you need and want to live your life.

 

 

 “ How do disability and mental health affect people?”

From my experience, Mental illness can affect a lot of people in different negative ways. Everyone needs help and support one way or another but when having a disability, mental health, and other problems you have no choice to but depend on that help and support one way or another. ‘ However, there are some things in everyone in different ways that we are all independent. We don’t expect to be good in everything because no one is, but we don’t enjoy asking others for help a lot but then a lot of that support is really needed, it cannot always be possible but mostly not there, which is something that can make someone feel useless, hopeless, guilty, shameful, etc because they don’t want to put on others.  We very often feel as if we are a burden to others, as if society blames us, we need care, cost too much, etc, to the point most of us may feel as if life is not worth living. Even areas where we are skilled that isn’t always recognized for whatever reason.

The difference between learning disability and learning difficulty, dis is the difficulty, and ability is the strength. Meaning difficulty to learn and ability to learn.  

This can add to the normal negative situation such as money problems, housing, deaths, relationship, family, friendships, full outs, break ups, job, business loss, etc. Depending on the person, their disabilities, mental illness, their life, etc, the extreme how things affect them.

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 that Anxiety can be misunderstood by society. Having been on this earth for 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. I guess some things have got better and others have not.

For example, One thing that is not good for one’s health, physical health as well as mental health is stress, and yet is something we can’t get away from it is the worse killer of all. Why is this? This is really when we have too much to think and even nothing to think about, where the mind never stops when the mind goes blank. Why and how is it bad for our physical health, where the brain drives us to think about doing things for example and our bodies react to it if we let it. For eg, cooking, cleaning, money, housing, work and so for.

We can all worry about, get nervous, etc, such as taking an exam, driving lesson, test, etc, which is positive when we pass but the build-up of achieving, we have to work on but for eg, worrying about if you can afford to live, someone dying, and more is completely different. Some problems only last for a certain length of time and get sorted but others can last a long before getting sorted and others don’t as they are going to get sorted at all. The longer whatever it is goings on more effect it has on a person’s mental health.

There are concerns as to how much a person can take depending on the person and situation but sometimes, there is no reason for a situation, only that someone is feeling negative one way or another, for eg, sad,  mad, angry, etc. These examples I have given about different things that may worry a person may seem rather brief but really our thoughts and emotions can vary. What seems brief to one person may seem major to another. One shouldn’t judge to the extreme a situation can affect someone.

This is despite mental health awareness. Not everyone is not open, so much is known than used to be, but we still have a long to go to fully understand the human mind to what it is or might be, although Mental health awareness has increased to what it used to be.  Mental illness is a feeling and or thought of negativity, sad, anger, mad, etc, which can be with or without a reason, the concerning thing is that so many suffer in scient, which could be for all sorts of reasons, being afraid of the reaction of others, fear of talking to strangers, not wanting to worry, and upset others, being misunderstood,  fear of being judged, etc.

These feelings or thoughts like most things can mild, minor, or major, etc, but most situations in mental illness can be very serious if not supported, sadly not everyone knows someone is struggling and that person may not open up for many reasons of their own. 

 Not saying in everyone but in most people, there are concerns that if there is no help or help is left long enough, the person may struggle to open up, etc for whatever reason, there may be only so much that person can take, which could build up to sundial feelings, thoughts, etc, which is the most concern. Most people can be afraid to open up because being afraid of people’s reactions, thinking they are selfish, etc. Of course, true that it has a huge effect on family, friends, etc but we need to try to find how someone is thinking and or feeling as they do. Suicide (supportline.org.uk) 

 What is concerning is that not everyone tells anybody one is feeling at a turning point because they may be afraid of the reaction of others. No one is a mind reader, but we can’t always know whether someone feels at a turning point or not, only may be that the way they behave may have changed, they may not be seeming, being, and or feeling themselves but that is neither we are right nor wrong unless they say. We cannot force them to tell us things, but we can let them know we are here for them to talk if they wish to. What is concerning is not knowing whether they are telling anyone else or not, but it is not our business, but our concern is important.

What to look for. Eg, trying to avoid people and spending a lot of time, not seeming happy as they were, wanting to die, feeling guilt and shame,  when / if out leave without saying goodbye, sadness, feeling as if they are a burden to others, empty, hopeless, helpless, trapped, sad, anxious, emotional. Not all are necessarily shown but it may be possible for the ones they do show. They may make plans, research, etc about suicide, give away important items, make a will, etc, try to take dangerous risks, have a lot of mood swings, eat, sleep more or less, using a lot of drugs or alcohol.

1.             If someone does open up to you about suicide, take them very seriously, having suicidal feelings or and thoughts are just as serious as if someone has taken their own life.

2.           Never say if you were going to do it, you would have done it by now.

3.           Do try to ask them why they feel or and think as they do but don’t force them to.

4.           Even ask if they want anyone else involved in their support, never involve anyone without their permission.

5.           Listen to what they have to say if they tell you, never talk over them, if you need to raise something important, ask if you can speak, etc.

6.           Never tell them what to do, but you can suggest things, it is up to them whether whatever happens or not.

7.           Remember really it is not their life they want to end, it is their pain, it seems to them there is no other way out.

·    If you are still concerned about the person encourage them to talk about their feelings

·    encourage them to seek treatment and support

·    offer emotional support

·    offer practical support

·    help them think of ideas for self-help

·    help them to make a support plan    

 

 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 type of jobs that were offered to me weren’t in my capabilities.   Like other people disabled people have strengths and weaknesses, we just may take longer to train, learn and even duplicate 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. Everyone needs help at times, but even more so when facing disabilities, mental health, etc.

We understand benefit system is there for a good reason but if there’s anything I have learned the most vulnerable people get stressed, and misunderstood for being those who we are not. If anything, we would love a proper career as much as the 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 PowerPoint on the benefit cuts and how benefits for Student learning disability nurses a few years before Covid.   Mental health to people with disabilities as much as other people if not more, I held these sessions roughly when I was made Visiting Lecture Learning Disability and Mental health for the University Of Wolverhampton, which I still do today. During Lockdown, I became a trainee Counselor voluptuary from home for Beacon Centre For The Blind Befriending service, phoning up valuable clients wanting a social chat, support with emotional situations etc.

Although this link says cancer, which is part of the list, there are list of problems people face that you may or not need to deal with in your career. Cancer (supportline.org.uk) https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/a-z-mental-health/


 

 

What is concerning is that not everyone tells anybody one is feeling at a turning point because they may be afraid of the reaction of others. No one is a mind reader, but we can’t always know whether someone feels at a turning point or not, only may be that the way they behave may have changed, they may not be seeming, being, and or feeling themselves but that is neither we are right nor wrong unless they say. We cannot force them to tell us things, but we can let them know we are here for them to talk if they wish to. What is concerning is not knowing whether they are telling anyone else or not, but it is not our business, but our concern is important.

What to look for. Eg, trying to avoid people and spending a lot of time, not seeming happy as they were, wanting to die, feeling guilt and shame,  when / if leave without saying goodbye, sadness, feeling as if they are a burden to others, empty, hopeless, helpless, trapped, sad, anxious, emotional. Not all are necessarily shown but it may be possible for the ones they do show. They may make plans, research, etc about suicide, give away important items, make a will, etc, try to take dangerous risks, have a lot of mood swings, eat, sleep more or less, using a lot of drugs or and alcohol.

1.             If someone does open up to you about suicide, take them very seriously, having suicidal feelings or and thoughts are just as serious as if someone has taken their own life.

2.           Never say if you were going to do it, you would have done it by now.

Do try to ask them why they feel or and think as they do but don’t force them to

No comments: