Invisible Disabilities and How to Ease the Life of People Suffering From Them

Table of contents:

• What Is An Invisible Disability
• Examples of Invisible Illnesses
• Frequent Misconceptions Associated With Hidden Disabilities
• How Do People With Invisible Illnesses Feel?
• How Can We Help?
• How Can AllsWellAlert Help People With Disabilities?

Disabilities are a massive social problem even in 2022. People living with such conditions often feel depressed because of the many limitations they face. Physical state is very significant for mental health and overall wellbeing. Besides, this group deals with much more personal safety risks than a healthy population.

Life gets even more complicated if the disability is invisible to those around you. They don't notice when you feel unwell and cannot provide timely help.

This article aims to ease the life of people with invisible disabilities and their families. Learn more about invisible disabilities, their consequences, and ways to reduce the negative impact.

What Is An Invisible Disability

Invisible disabilities are a form of disabilities that aren't obvious from the start to the people around those suffering from them. While it may seem that you don't know anyone in this category, the invisible disabilities list is extensive. According to University of Massachusetts research in 2015, about 10% percent of the US population have invisible disabilities. The latest study cited by Disabled-World.com states that the percentage of Americans with invisible health issues exceeds 20%.

People with such disabilities may not have a particular attribute that we usually associate with severe health issues. They aren't always in a wheelchair or have a cane. That's why in most cases, you won't even realize somebody has such a health problem.

Examples of Invisible Illnesses

This category of disabilities contains both physical and mental diseases. For instance, depression disorder is usually ignored by society as it is easy to hide it through "He's only tired" types of arguments. We can state the same about autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, dyslexia, or different learning and thinking conditions.

At the same time, rheumatoid arthritis, migraines, diabetes, and chronic pains are invisible disabilities caused by physical reasons. Painkillers and medication may often hide any pain or discomfort, but it is usually not a permanent problem solution. Many of such diseases are chronic and can't be cured, only managed with correct nutrition and pills.

Frequent Misconceptions Associated With Hidden Disabilities

Besides the limitations affecting people with invisible disabilities, there are many myths and misconceptions about these disorders that additionally complicate their lives. These beliefs make patients feel isolated from society and suffer from a lack of understanding inside their families.

All Disabilities Are Visible

Millions of Americans still think it will be noticeable if a person has a mental or physical problem. But unfortunately, that's not the case with invisible disabilities. These illnesses affect patients subtly, causing them severe pain or mental distress. 

People With Hearing Disabilities Always Can Read Lips

Many believe that reading lips is a default option for people with hearing loss, and they can communicate without obstacles. In reality, many deaf won't be able to understand you without sign language since they often can't read lips. Moreover, the language of signs is not universal and varies across the globe.

Depression is About Feeling Sad or Not Motivated Enough

There are still social groups, especially older generations, that consider depression and feelings of sadness to be the same. It is important to note that depression is a mental disease that can affect your life to the degree that physical disabilities can't. There are different forms and variations of depression, most of which require medical and psychological help.

Hiring a Person with Disability Will Affect Productivity

A common misconception among company owners is that people with disabilities are not reliable employees. Recent research shows that people with disabilities take fewer days off and sick leaves. They stay at work longer than their colleagues and are equally productive. Hence, employers and HR departments shouldn't be biased against candidates only because they have physical or mental issues.

Learning Disorders Are Only Academic. They Don't Affect Lives

People often believe that dyslexia, ADHD, and similar disorders are more of a study problem that only causes trouble at school. That's completely wrong. Body language differences and language issues often affect the socialization of a young kid or teenager and their future personality development.

How Do People With Invisible Illnesses Feel?

Society may be hostile towards certain social groups at times. So it is no wonder that people with invisible disabilities face frustrating feelings, isolation, and loneliness. Due to the mentioned misconceptions, they often fear being close with others as they don't know what to expect.

There may be problems with employment, education, and general social institutes if you have a disability, so these people remain silent. Hiding your disabilities causes anxiety and loneliness, affecting mental and physical health.

Awareness and just a bit of compassion from society would solve many problems. But many changes in collective consciousness still must happen to achieve this. Inclusive spaces with invisible disability awareness create a more welcoming and tolerant community where each member is not afraid to be themself. Remember, sharing is caring!

How Can We Help?

Fortunately, besides changing our society, there are less-scaled but still important things we can do for people with disabilities. One of them is getting mobile apps that simplify their everyday lives and communication. We've already talked about how smartphone safety apps can make your life easier, and all of these app benefits also apply to people with invisible disabilities. 

Were you worried about panic attacks or insulin decreases? Most modern safety apps have GPS tracking along with an emergency call option. A person in need can activate emergency alerts to inform selected contacts about the problem. Being able to ask for help from a trusted source is essential to feel mentally stable and safe, and that is the minimal support anyone could do.

How Can AllsWellAlert Help People With Disabilities?

AllsWell Alert is an app people with disabilities can install to increase their personal safety. It has a panic button, accurate GPS tracking, and inactivity monitoring. When something bad happens, the user clicks the panic button to trigger instant GPS alerts that go to selected contacts. These are friends, family members, or health care teams that can provide help within the shortest time.

AllsWell works even when the user cannot reach the panic button. The inactivity monitoring feature automatically sends emergency notifications if the person remains inactive for too long. This way, people with disabilities enjoy better personal safety in all risky situations.
Download AllsWell for Android or iOS now with a 30-day trial.