Depression Due To Disability

The instances of sudden disability are on rise. The disability could be of permanent or temporary nature. Disability could be prevalent at the time of birth or may be caused suddenly due to accident, hazardous working environment, damage to brain cells or nerves, crash or collision etc. Disability can be caused due to old age too, for example, vision impairment.

Any kind of disability has a negative impact on the mind and mental health, more so in case of disabilities that hamper basic movements or disabilities that are of permanent nature. A person who was in perfect health and fully in charge of his/her life, can suffer from trauma due to the physical pain and also the mental turmoil caused due to sudden disability.

Disability can give rise to a lot of negative emotions like frustration, helplessness, feeling hopeless, uninterested in living, anger, guilt, pessimism or depression. A very depressed person can also have suicidal ideas if he/she is not able to cope with the condition.

There may a lot of hurt and frustration, as the person is no longer able to control his/her life. The sudden level of dependency on others can cause a feeling of helplessness, anger at self, guilt on self (if the person feels he/she is responsible for the disability) or shame or embarrassment.

There may be a feeling of resentment, agitation, or revolting feeling about the condition in which one is placed. This may be due to the suddenness of the event, and inability to accept the condition.

Disability may provoke depressive feelings because it creates greater level of dependency and impacts the social functioning of people. The inability to perform the functions and duties of the household, loss of job, dependency on other family members, not being able to contribute productively, feeling that he/she is a burden to family members, lack of free movement and the helplessness arising out of this situation can lead to depression.