Today on Time to Talk Day, Spokz People – an organisation that provides online mental health support for disabled people and their families – wants to encourage the disabled community to talk more about mental health and wellbeing.
The challenges of looking after your mental health as a disabled person
More and more high-profile non-disabled people are coming forward with their experiences of how their mental health is affected by events, stress and pressure. However, when you are disabled, it is harder to do this.
Being disabled is often surrounded with so much negativity, that to say your mental health is also affected feels like a double helping of taboo.
But when you know that most of the distress we experience stems from the lack of access to society, and how society treats us, excludes us and sometimes discriminates against us, it makes perfect sense that this would have a mental health impact.
Often, we can also feel silenced by those around us. We spend so much time making sure that others around us are okay, that we neglect our own wellbeing.
Many of us who are disabled have complex lives, and are so busy managing support workers or assessments, medication et cetera that looking after our mental health gets shoved to the bottom of the pile. There are always more important crises that need addressing first.
The challenge comes when your mental health becomes a crisis and quite often, we then discover that the services that are out there for non-disabled people aren’t suitable for us for many reasons: they’re too expensive, they’re not accessible, they are unwilling to make adjustments for our needs or the therapist plainly doesn’t understand disability because it is rarely included in therapy training.
Because society is rarely set up to include disabled people in the workforce, many of us are on low incomes and cannot afford therapy and are excluded from this support. That’s when you can even find accessible therapy services who have any understanding of disability. Many disabled people we have spoken to say they have often given up on finding suitable therapists after contacting more than 50 and in some cases more than 100.
Spokz People Wellbeing Community and Programme for disabled people
That is why Spokz People was set up: to provide a safe space where disabled people can discuss the mental health impacts of being treated differently and to find skills and resources to manage this. We aim to prevent things from escalating into a mental health crisis. By offering low-cost and long-term support you find belonging in a community where you can discuss your ups and downs and be you.
Kim, one of our members, says this:
“I have a few disabilities and conditions, one of which is Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) and I was keen to join Spokz People because I feel that there are lots of aspects of managing my conditions that can be challenging on a day-to-day basis.
“It’s really easy to ignore all those issues and push them to the back of your mind rather than address them, but over time I think they build up. Most of the time things don’t really bother me, but every so often everything feels like too much or I don’t know how to deal with it. I’d rather take a proactive approach and work on those issues before they become a problem rather than once they are.
“The most useful thing for me is the Zoom group sessions. The community aspect means you can discuss and interact with people going through similar problems and share advice and ideas. It also makes you feel less alone in what you are going through. This kind of group discussion allows me to think about and explore my situation by listening to others’ experiences, without having to find the words for my own feelings – something I always found challenging in one-to-one therapy. Mel, who leads the group, is a really positive person, so even though we are often talking about things that we find difficult, the mood is always positive and fun and I come out feeling I’ve had a great time (something I’ve never found with previous therapy) and I look forward to it each week. It’s also a good chance to socialise!”
We have regular themed events as well as special guest speakers and a host of other tools, videos, exercises and resources on our website.
Some of our future events
- 7th February – a conversation around all the different ways we can help our minds and bodies heal from trauma
- 14th February – workshop on fatigue with guest speaker Jo Southall, a disabled independent OT
- 28th February – special event discussing suicide
- 13th March – special guest Zoe Lloyd from Enhance the UK discusses all things sex, dating and disability-related
Why not give us a go?
We have a 30-day free trial, and our support is low cost at only £1.15 a week! Take the opportunity at the start of this year to create a small space in your life and prioritise your mental health.
Head to the Spokz People website to find out more and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
You can also check out Emma Purcell’s guest post on Spokz People – Time To Talk Day: The Challenges And Benefits Of Having Care Support From Parents As A Disabled Adult
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