Some persons with disabilities have congenital disabilities they have lived with their entire lives. Others have acquired disabilities through various means such as traumatic accidents, diagnosis of chronic illnesses, or through other life-changing means. A newly acquired disability can significantly alter a person’s life, both physically and mentally.
For many, acquiring a disability is accompanied by a grieving period. Grief is not limited to sorrow but can elicit many other intense emotions such as fear, rage, anxiety, discomfort (both mentally and physically), and feelings of alienation. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder commonly accompany the acquirement of a disability, with many people navigating the loss of some abilities while learning to live with new ones.
For many people who acquire a disability in life, they lose a part of their bodies and/or the functionality of part of their bodies. This may be coupled with the loss of physical comfort, vigour, mobility, spontaneity, the ability to engage in certain activities, particular aspects of their previous lifestyles, privacy, a sense of dignity, a sense of control, a sense of efficacy, a degree of independence, friends, employment opportunities, financial stability, their body image, and their sense of self as a whole . How an individual adjusts to a newly acquired disability is strongly linked to who they were prior to the disability onset, including what social, emotional, and financial resources they have access to. In fact, who a person was prior to acquiring a disability is more closely linked to adjustment than the severity of the impairment itself.