JOURNEYING INTO THE PSYCHE OF THE PHYSICALLY CHALLENGED.

 It is not uncommon to hear people say things like "oh!, he wouldn't be able to do things as he used to,"  "how is she going to be able to still be an athlete?," "life as they know it is over." 

We often forget that there are physically disabled athletes, amputees breaking barriers and physically disabled artists making beautiful success stories everyday. We often forget to see past the physical, we rather see them for nothing else other than what we think is missing.

 It is with this mindset that the society treats differently abled people, it is this mindset they have to live in the midst of, everyday. 

It is challenging enough to wake up each day to the everyone telling you that you're different from the people around you, to try to fit in regardless of your different abilities but do you know what is even more challenging?

 The society's constant narrative that you don't fit in  and their belief that you can't fit in. Your involvement in social, economic and even political activities are greatly restricted. 

Being physically disabled doesn’t end at the physical challenge, the stigma and discrimination associated can introduce the individuals to emotional challenges like developing a low sense of self which in turn can cause psychological challenges, what are some of these psychological challenges?  

• Anxiety: This is a mental health condition characterized by stress, fear, excessive worry, hyper vigilance, irritability, fast heart beat, restlessness, racing thoughts, etc. 

• Depression: Is a mood challenge that involves a prolonged feeling of sadness and loss of interest. A depressed person is prone to symptoms such as changes in appetite, decrease or increase in sleep, unintentional weight loss or weight gain, persistent low mood, decreased interest in activities once enjoyed, fatigue, feeling of guilt, low self confidence, reoccurring suicidal thoughts, etc. This challenge can also be comorbid, usually coexisting with others like anxiety and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).

• Bipolar Disorder: Also known as Manic Depression, is a mental health condition linked with symptoms on a spectrum ranging from manic high symptoms such as hyperactivity, loss of touch with reality, etc to depressive low symptoms like loss of interest in activities once loved, low energy, prolonged periods of sadness, etc. It is consists of widely contrasting dual mood poles which are the manic high and depressive low, hence the reference ‘bipolar’. 

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This is characterized by failure to recover or bounce back  after experiencing or witnessing a distressing event. The condition is accompanied by stimulators that can bring back reminiscence of the trauma and can come with severe emotional and/or physical reactions. An individual may be diagnosed with dealing with this challenge when prone to experiencing symptoms like flashbacks of the trauma, feeling of distress when reminded of the trauma, heightened reactivity to stimuli or situation similar to the said trauma, anxious and depressive episodes, etc. 

 Individuals living with physical disabilities may frequently experience feelings of sadness or anger. Oftentimes, these mental health challenges are likely reactions of the individuals to the society’s ill treatment or/and for people who are experiencing disability for the first time, they are reacting to the stress that comes with the grief and adjustment periods which are the periods of acceptance and transition to the new way of living. It is during these times, that the individual goes through the 4 stages of grieving process, which are shock, denial, anger and/or depression and adjustment/acceptance. All individuals do not go through all these stages in this order, the order could be different from how it is here and some people skip some of these stages.

For further clarity, I’d brief some more about these stages;

 ~ Shock: During this stage, the individual is experiencing a period of physical and emotional insensibility, it can last from several hours to days and even weeks.

~ Denial: Here, the individual feels like they still have the ability they once possessed, or they try to engage in activities they used to do and when they fail to succeed in those activities, the anger/depression will surface.

~ Anger/Depression: This stage is a reaction to any form of loss, it surfaces from the realization that the individual may not go back to the life they once had or live those experiences anymore. It is a very crucial  stage, It involves grieving for the loss of the individual’s abilities, changes in their body and lifestyle and also negative treatment from the society. This stage can last for long, in some cases, for a lifetime, depending on the individual.

~ Adjustment/Acceptance: As time passes, the anger or depression might diminish and give way to feelings of acceptance and then adjustment begins to set in. This stage doesn’t necessarily prove that the individual is devoid of all sad emotions, it just means that they have accepted and are adapting to the new lifestyle. 

If any part of this is a mirror of a personal challenge for you, I encourage you to seek  professional help to assist you to cope better with the challenges and also, I want you to understand that disabilities don’t change who we are, it only conflicts the image we already have of ourselves, you’re still the same person and your transition into this different life isn’t the end. 

You matter always...

CHINWEKENE❤️