Mental Health Awareness Week - Disability - linking movement and good mental health for a better quality of life
Mental Health Awareness Week - 13-19 May 2024
"Movement: Moving more for our mental health"
5 minute read: Disability - linking movement and good mental health for a better quality of life
With this year’s Mental Health Week theme focusing on “movement”, Imagine Independence is writing 5 mini-blogs that are related to improving mental health through movement and exercise. Today we’re focussing on disability. Imagine provides services to over 2000 people who experience a range of conditions which can cause them to reduce mobility in one way or another.
Living with any form of disability can have a wide range of knock-on effects, including an impact on mental health. Mental Health Week encourages us to consider how to improve the mental health for the people around us, and for ourselves. For example: Adults with disabilities report experiencing frequent mental distress almost 5 times as often as adults without disabilities: CDC.Gov Disability and Health Promotion
Disability effects many people in many different ways – the World Health Organisation says “Disability is part of being human and is integral to the human experience” and that1.3 billion people experience a significant disability; that’s 16% of the global population who are much more likely to be experiencing poor mental health than the rest of the population. A person’s disability may relate to an illness that is behavioural, emotional, sensory, physical or developmental, the one thing they probably share in common is the way their interaction with the physical world around them is impacted. Movement through this world can be difficult but can also have great benefits.
The organisation We Are Undefeatable shares inspirational stories, and say that “When you’re managing a health condition, being active is about finding what works for you. This can include ways to move that many people don’t realise count”. Sport England’s 10 year strategy called Uniting The Movement is very clear about the benefits of exercise for children and young people with a disability: “We know that regular physical activity has both physical and mental wellbeing benefits for people of all ages, and the evidence these guidelines are based on clearly shows that disabled and children and young people can benefit from daily activity – even in small bouts”.
If you’re supporting someone with a disability, your role in helping them with movement can be very important: working with limited time and resources, or significant mobility/access barriers could easily get in the way. Support planning needs to be person centred; Imagine Independence always has a strong fucus on personal choice along with social inclusion when working with a person who requires support of any kind. Doing activities that will be fun, enjoyable and have that feelgood factor are achievable with creative planning and partnerships. Money and time don’t have to be a barrier, as Disability Rights UK puts it “the key is that the person you support gets to move more and have fun in the process”.
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