What if everything that is supposed to help people with a physical disability could potentially hurt them? Almost everything that can be good for us may potentially have negative side effects. This understanding thatI'veacquired of the mind state of a person with a physical disability has helped me to uncover a very interesting theory. A person with a drug or alcohol addiction should know that anything that reminds them of drugs and alcohol is very detrimental to their recovery. That being said they are strictly advised to stay away from people, places or things that are associated with drugs or alcohol because of the likelihood of relapse. A person can be in recovery for 20 years and the strength of the addiction can be so deeply ingrained in the subconscious of a person that something as simple as a smell of a drug or alcohol can possibly make a person relapse, erasing years of progress and recovery in an instant. But the advantage that a person with a drug or alcohol addiction has is that at least there is research and proven studies educating a person with an addiction giving them a greater chance of protecting themselves from suffering relapse.

Imagine for a second, everyday using and seeing things that are designed to help you but the side effect of these things can and may be more damaging to you than the problems they are meant to solve. We see examples of this everyday with medical commercials (listen closely to the side effects) some are very scary!

My point is that the things that are designed to help a person with a physical disability could as in drug and alcohol addiction, trigger thoughts, memories and feelings that can be very detrimental to a persons rehabilitation mentally and physically, simply because they are constant reminders of their situation. I have done my own personal research and shown people a picture of a wheelchair and a picture of a handicap sign (I dislike that terminology very much). I asked each person what was the first thought or feeling that came to mind. Their answers ranged from some form of injury/impairment or pity, all having negative connotations.

I then explain my theory to each person and their point of view changed drastically. The truth is people with disabilities are very strong actually, mentally, and physically. Try to follow a person with a physical disability around andcomplete their daily tasks in exactly the same way that they do and I guarantee you will see how much strength it takes and how literally everything they do can be considered a workout. My theory is although strength and confidence is gained by having to perform their daily task and face the world, things like wheelchairs, signs, and people rushing to help them may be triggers that keep a person from fully realizing their strength and maintain their confidence because it instantly reminds them of the state that they’re in. This can internally erase any ground that was gained that day. Most people with physical disabilities don’t like to receive help while performing a task. But what is wrong with helping someone? Maybe it’s not the help that’s the problem. Maybe the problem is that it reminds a person that they have a physical disability.