| Disability is a word that attracts immediate sympathy. | | | | of 'how do you measure that?' I wish I could tell you |
| Ten times out of ten, we see disability only in terms of | | | | exactly how. One thing is clear, you can only know at |
| physical disability (PD). I am concerned by this limited or | | | | close quarters - that is if you are a close family or |
| closed interpretation of the term. Often, we forget | | | | friend. |
| even refuse to accept the other type - Mental | | | | Let's assume you belong to that category, you will |
| Disability (MD) the one without any ailment. | | | | have an idea how they are doing. Here are other signs |
| The Mental Disability that I am concerned with here is | | | | to look for: |
| not one caused by and physiological ailment. It is not | | | | - They are hardworking? They are never lazy. |
| one that makes the sufferer to become a danger to | | | | - They often have passionate disposition? |
| others or to the community. It is one that makes the | | | | - They display strong stick-ability. |
| sufferer to become useless to himself and to his loved | | | | - And above all, their result is always small compared |
| ones. This variant of disability is pervasive, insidious and | | | | to the efforts expended. |
| deadly. | | | | MD feeds on the confidence that an individual has in |
| No. No. No. my argument is not about which is better | | | | himself thereby robbing the ego of the much needed |
| or less traumatic, my point is that we should accept | | | | energy required to power achievement. Being that it is |
| that some are indeed suffering mental disability. I am | | | | often difficult to recognise one with low or no |
| concerned that people deserving of our sympathy and | | | | confidence, the simple test is to compare people in the |
| help in this case are missing out. | | | | light of the success they are having or the hard work |
| One is differentiated by biology/physiology, the other | | | | that they put into |
| by psychology. One is evident the other obscure. The | | | | Mental disability is serious; it is bad, even perilous. We |
| pain from one is physical, the other emotional; one | | | | need to find ways to deal with it urgently. |
| invites sympathy the other amazement. Physically | | | | How to help a MDP |
| disabled people are almost always an inspiration due to | | | | MDP's more than many other category of people |
| their spirit, determination and doggedness. They | | | | need to be handled with care. Often some caring |
| manage to cope, even survive, in the face of shrinking | | | | people do often cause more damage by focusing |
| opportunities. Mentally disabled people perish in the | | | | more on their intention to help and neglecting the |
| midst of limitless opportunities. | | | | perception of the gesture by the recipient. |
| Because physical reality is recognisable, solutions is and | | | | By virtue of the fact that MDPs display the above |
| can be found. Mental disability however does not lend | | | | characteristics, they find it difficult to accept their |
| itself to easy diagnosis. It contravenes the wisdom that | | | | predicaments to outsiders who they think does not |
| says 'he who feels it knows it', it is insidious to the | | | | care enough about them. It is not to say that they do |
| extent that the one who suffer from it does not realise | | | | not admit this to themselves. |
| it until irreparable damage has been done to his | | | | The best approach is do what in NLP is known as |
| happiness. | | | | 'Pacing'. Pacing acknowledges and affirm good qualities |
| How to recognise a Mentally Disabled person (MDP)? | | | | while expressing concern about visible results. This |
| The insidious nature of this happiness threatening | | | | way they are more likely to accept your support and |
| malady requires that we all become trained to | | | | help. |
| recognise and confront it. PD destroys systemic | | | | The questions might be asked what is in it for you? |
| organs or lead to the malfunctioning of others. MD on | | | | The obvious rewards - i.e. the sense of satisfaction |
| the other hand engineers a malfunctioning of otherwise | | | | that you have saved a soul from unhappiness and |
| healthy faculties. | | | | stress. You will also be contributing to the success of |
| Recognising MD ought to be simple enough, but it is | | | | or community as our world can benefit greatly from |
| not. Simple in the sense that sufferers are gross | | | | the contributions of each and every person in it. |
| under-performers. That throws up the serious question | | | | |