Perseverance Through Disabilities
By: Maddy Chow
Common questions about disabilities, Answered!
Clang! Boom! "Oops." Having a disability may make you confused. How am I supposed to move around the house without bumping into something and breaking something? How am I supposed to pick up things without dropping and spilling it? How am I supposed to go back to the way i was living before? Many people have questions and now you can find the answers!
How do people get disabilities?
People can be born with a disability or they get them as a result of an illness or injury. An example of this is polio, which is a disease that makes the muscle weak or be gone. Making it almost impossible to move a certain part of the body. Otherwise, people will develop disabilities like amnesia or a physical disability like deafness can occur while aging.
How many people in the world have a disability?
According to the World Health Organization,"Over a billion people, about 15% of the world's population, have some form of disability." These disabilities can be physical, mental or emotional disability.
How do I come to peace with my disability?
This is can be a problem for many people if they don't accept the fact that they have a disability. When you accept the fact that you have a disability and accept that things will be different from your past life, it will be easier to move forward. Finding ways to adapt to your new life is another way to make peace with your disability. For example if you loved a certain sport or hobby, try to get back into that hobby. This will not only make you feel better about yourself, but give you hope for the future.
How to accept your Disability
Mourning is a very important part of the road towards having part of the road towards having peace with your disability. Mourning allows you to get your feelings out and it helps you think more clearly. Mourning can also give you motivation to find the proper tools to adjust to your new life.
When doing the things you love and adjusting to your new life, you will find peace with your disability. Acceptance is living with your disability happily. For some, acceptance can make people have a different take on life.
Mental and physical disabilities, Whats the difference?
Imagine having to check things over and over again even though you know everything is alright. Imagine not being able to see or hear anymore. These are both examples of mental and physical disabilities. Mental disabilities affect the way people think, feel (emotion) and behave. Physical disabilities pertains to total or partial loss of a person's bodily function and total or partial loss of a part of the body.
People with mental disabilities are usually treated with therapy and medicine and by time, most mental disorders can be controlled. People with physical disabilities are also treated with similar techniques as people with mental disorders. But what differs is that new technology can now help a lot with people with physical disabilities.
Just because you have a mental or physical disability doesn't mean you can still do the things that you like. For example, Natalie du Toit had her left leg amputated below the knee and still won 2 gold medals in swimming at the Paralympics. Another example is Trischa Zorn who was Born blind, yet swam and won 55 medals in the Paralympics games. Many people have a disability, but still strived for greatness.
http://www.olympic.org/content/olympic-games/paralympic-games/
Getting back into the game called life
Sports are one of the most popular hobbies in the world. When people have a disability, they think that playing sports is not an option anymore. This is not true! Many programs are made to help people wit disabilities like Disabled Sports USA and the Paralympics games, which is much like the Olympics but for people with disabilities. There are lots of modern technology that is made to help disabled people perform in sports.
Another popular catagory of hobbies is the fine arts. Fine arts include painting, coloring, drawing, dance, literature (poetry, novels), designing, architecture etc. Many artists rely on their hands and brain to make art and are traumatized when they first get a disability. They think that they might never be able to produce art again.
http://www.olympic.org/content/olympic-games/paralympic-games/
How disabilities can lead to depression
When people have disabilities they think that they can't live their life the way they used to. This can easily lead to depression because of the thought that you can't do anything you used to. If you believe you can't do anything anymore because of your disability, then this can lead to no motivation, which also can lead to depression.
In the U.S, depression is on one of most popular causes of a disability. People who have suffered from other medical conditions such as Alzheimer's disease, heart condition or anxiety disorders also can suffer from depression.
Depression is a mental disorder that can be helped. With enough time and love, you can easily get over depression. If you focus on the things that make you happy or the people that make you happy, rather than focusing on bad things you could be feeling better by the minute! Therapy is also another option to consider when dealing with depression. Sometimes letting your feelings out to a therapist can make you feel much better.