🌍 Disability and Mental Health (Easy Read)

 

👥 How many people are affected?

• Around 1.3 billion people live with a disability
• This is about 16% of the world’s population
• That means about 1 in 6 people

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🧠 Mental health and disability

• People with disabilities are more likely to have mental health problems
• They are twice as likely to experience:
  • Depression
  • Anxiety
• Many people report high levels of stress and distress
  • Around 32% to over 50% in some studies

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🌎 Worldwide facts

• About 1 in 7 people (around 1.1 billion) live with a mental health condition
• People with disabilities have a higher risk of mental illness

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🇺🇸 United States

• Over half of adults with:
  • Cognitive disabilities
  • Mobility disabilities
    report frequent mental distress
• Adults with intellectual disabilities:
  • 21% to 34% experience mental health conditions
  • Some may have severe mental illness

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🇬🇧 United Kingdom

• Over 4 million people have:
  • A long-term physical condition
  • AND a mental health condition
• Over 15 million people live with long-term conditions

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🇦🇺 Australia

• People with disabilities are 4 times more likely to have mental health conditions
• Around:
  • 32% report high distress
  • 40% with severe disabilities report very high distress

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⚠️ Key risks

People with disabilities are more likely to experience:

• Depression
• Anxiety
• Obesity
• Diabetes

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💬 Common mental health conditions

The most common are:

• Anxiety
• Depression

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🚧 Barriers to support

People with disabilities may find it harder to get help because of:

• Poor or no transport
• Buildings not accessible
• Lack of support services
• Money problems
• Social inequality

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❤️ Why this matters

• Everyone deserves equal access to care
• Support should be:
  • Easy to access
  • Inclusive
  • Understanding