Care for the Mentally Disabled

CARE FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED 1
CARE FOR PEOPLE WITH MENTAL HEALTH DISORDERS AND DISABILITIES
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CARE FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED 2
Introduction
Mental health disorder refers to a condition or state of improper functioning of the mind due to a
wide range of causes. Anxiety, schizophrenia, depression and addictive behaviors are some of
the causes that hamper the functioning of the brain. Intellectual disability is a state of limited
intellectual functioning where reasoning, problem solving skills and learning are affected and at
the same time the behavioral adaptations are hampered with hence inability to undertake normal
social interactions and generally poor in daily practical skills (Stumbo 2018, p. 1732). The lives
of such people in the society are impacted either partially or entirely therefore special
interventions are required for this group of people in the society because the limitations
associated with the condition or state of their minds demands so. This essay therefore focuses on
the impacts of mental health challenges on an individual’s life, holistic care and special
interventions for this group of people.
Mental health disorders affect the life of an individual and family in various ways. Working
efficiency is significantly reduced when a working individual develops a mental disorder. This is
because among the top causes of mental disability, mental disorders (Phalen 2019) such as
depression and anxiety top the list in causing intellectual disability. Diagnosis is often done to
determine the cause of the developing problem and to identify appropriate intervention measures.
The diagnosis may amplify the extent of the problem if the patient receives news they’d not wish
to comply with. The normal functioning of the body is significantly reduced due to poor
judgment that follows the onset of a mental disorder. Eating becomes one of the major problems
since the person may forget the essence of food in the body. This then leads to the risk of

CARE FOR THE MENTALLY DISABLED 3
opportunistic diseases invading due to low immunity. Inappropriate behavior may arise posing a
greater risk of infections to the individual since self-care and hygiene activities will either be
minimally or not practiced at all. Socially these individuals suddenly stop relating well with the
people and the environment around. Hostility in some case becomes the order of the day for
these people an aspect that makes the society to distance themselves from them (Frankham 2019
p. 66). In cases where people distance away from the mentally challenged, loneliness and related
trauma takes place thus leads to adverse conditions.
Families with members who have mental disorders account for great losses. The shutdown of the
ambitions, dreams and aspirations of the mentally disabled come along with significant trauma.
The profound social stigma associated with mental disability, creates continued and long lasting
guilt, frustration and sadness (Fox 2018 p. 351). These families then have to make social
adjustments in order to cope with the irreversible situation that has taken place. The burden of
health care lies on the family ranging from medication to the care provided at home. Medication
for such persons may involve therapies which are at very close time intervals an aspect that
demands availability of a family member to ensure the disabled gets the service. This therefore
implies the caretaker will stop working to cater for the disabled. Continuous support in basic
undertakings is another challenging task since the person may refuse to do the required. The
disabled may have to be fed and in some instances they may be unwilling to eat or in the process
may harm the one feeding them. Personal upkeep activities such as bathing and changing clothes
remain an insignificant burden in cases where adults are involved since one may be unwilling to
adhere to the guidelines given. Financial constraints is the another major issue facing such a
family. In case the breadwinner is the one declared invalid, then the other family members have
to really struggle to make ends meet in support of themselves and the disabled.