Emotional Stages of Disability

The emotional stages of adjusting to disability are similar to the process of overcoming grief. There are no set limits on how long a person remains in each emotional stage, but each stage is vital for a person to accept the reality of living and coping with disability.

Shock

• Shock may be experienced soon after a person discovers his disability. This emotion can last anywhere from a few hours to a few days. A person at this stage may feel a sense of numbness, both physically and emotionally, overwhelming depersonalization and a huge sense of loss.

Denial

• Denial is a defense mechanism and coping strategy that prevents a person from fully accepting the reality of his situation -- that he is disabled. He may also experience unrealistic and wishful expectations of recovery. Denial allows the realization to gradually sink in and can last from three weeks to two months.

Depression/Anger

• At this stage, a person expresses anger and depression as he begins to come to terms with his disability. Anger may present itself in the form of anger with others and the surrounding environment or internalized anger because he feels unworthy or believes he is to blame for his disability. He may also show depression and feelings of hopelessness and distress. In his depression, he may grieve the loss of future expectations or former satisfactions that can no longer be fulfilled, as well as the change in not only his body, but also in his body image and function as a human being.

Acceptance

• Acceptance and acknowledgment of disability implies emotional detachment and objectivity. A person will accept the renouncement of false hopes and begin to feel comfortable with his changed body. Acceptance does not necessarily mean a person is happy with his disability, but that he has adjusted to his new life and roles by realizing his limitations and new potentials.