By Emily Esfahani Smith — 2017
The time between diagnosis and death presents an opportunity for “extraordinary growth.”
Read on www.theatlantic.com
CLEAR ALL
We’ve been taught to refer to people with disabilities using person-first language, but that might be doing more harm than good.
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People are disabled in countless different ways, so there are few practical tips that will apply to everyone. Yet a few key things can improve your experience.
The ongoing dialogue I have with my own perspective and emotions is the biggest job I’ve ever undertaken. Exploring this internal give-and-take forces me to grow in surprising ways.
Often, disabled people have their disability treated, but they don’t have their emotional or spiritual needs addressed.
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Depression and suicidal ideation are more likely among people with disabilities due to factors like abuse, isolation, and stressors related to poverty, among others.
Adults with disabilities report experiencing frequent mental distress almost 5 times as often as adults without disabilities.
In the end, I fall back on one statement that I repeat to myself pretty often. “We are not given the burdens we deserve, we are given the burdens we can bear.”