Disabilities are more common than most people think. Most disabilities are the result of an accident, injury, aging or illness, and although most people think having a disability leads to a lower quality of life, the good news is that there are some easy things you can do to improve your quality of life. These 8 tips for improving quality of life with a disability will help!

Improve the Atmosphere in Your Home

A home should be a place where a person can feel their best. Consider the atmosphere in your home, and notice the way it makes you feel. What changes can you make to transform the feeling into one that is peaceful, cheerful, tranquil, uplifting, or whatever feeling you are going for? Remove clutter and find ways to allow in more natural light. Have your walls painted a new color. Eliminate bad smells, and freshen up the room with a natural essential oil diffuser. Add real plants to bring more life into the home, and set the mood you are going for with the right kind of music playing in the background. You’d be surprise what some simple changes can do for your health and wellbeing.

Get Outside Every Day

No matter how great the atmosphere is inside, being inside a home too much can lead to depression and laziness. Getting fresh air everyday is important for your spirit, your wellbeing and your overall health. Add variety by getting out into your yard or garden, going to a park or taking trips to a nearby outdoor attraction. If getting outside on your own isn’t something you can do with your disability, enlist the help of a friend, family member or a home care company who can help you find the right caregiver/companion.

Foster Your Hobbies

This is one of the most important tips for improving quality of life with a disability. If your disability keeps you from doing certain physical activities, the bright side is that it can free up time to work on other hobbies. For example, you might not able to go hiking anymore, but you might now have time to work on your music, art or crafts. Maybe you miss playing a certain sport like baseball, but that could free you up to engage in the sport in other ways, like collecting baseball cards or starting a fan page on Facebook about baseball. Maybe you now have time to write or read more often, or play cards with your friends. Perhaps you can go back to school. There are so many things to do in this world. Don’t let the fact that you can no longer do certain activities keep you from doing anything at all. Find new hobbies or foster ones you haven’t had time for so you can continue enjoying life.

Make a Difference

It is the people who find the power within them to do good for others that continue leading meaningful lives. Use your skills and talents to help others. Perhaps you want to help people who have a similar disability as you. Maybe there is a cause that you always wished you had time to get involved in – get involved now! It could be as simple as using what you are good at to make even the slightest difference for another person, like writing inspiring articles, knitting blankets for those in need, or even just inspiring someone else to follow their dreams. You will find that when you focus on doing something meaningful for someone else, you’ll feel lighter, more passionate about life, and even healthier.

Keep Working

Work keeps people busy and feeling important, making it one of the best tips for improving quality of life with a disability. If your disability has caused you to leave your job, it doesn’t have to be the end of work for you. There are plenty of jobs that can be done from home as long as you have a computer or telephone. There are organizations that help disabled people find and get to jobs. Working keeps you involved with other people, it gives you something to do and feel good about, and it can also help you engage in something meaningful if you combine it with the previous tip.

Maintain Relationships

Being around people who love you, such as friends, family members, or companions, is an important part of what gives us purpose in our lives. Interacting with people keeps our minds sharp and wards off depression. Make sure you are spending time with others on a daily basis. If you don’t have any friends or family members whom you can visit with frequently, you can hire a home care companion who can take you for walks, play games with you, take you shopping, help you with housework and more.

Exercise Everyday

Exercise isn’t just for people without disabilities; it is a necessity for every individual. Without it, your body cannot function the way it needs to, which leads to decreasing health and depression. No matter what your disability is, there is some form of exercise you can do. Walking, water aerobics, gardening, and light housework are all forms of exercise that can help keep your body in shape.

Get Proper Nutrition

If we were going to give you only one tip for improving quality of life with a disability, this would be it. You would be amazed at the amount of disabilities that improve when certain foods are avoided and when nutrient-dense foods are increased in a person’s diet. We are what we eat, and too many of the foods we eat these days do not react well in our bodies. Reverting back to more natural foods and home-cooked meals, and staying away from processed foods, artificial sweeteners and additives can have a huge impact on how we feel. Many people find that when they eliminate or reduce gluten, dairy and/or table sugar from their diets, their condition starts to improve as well.

Sources:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK44662/

https://www.wikihow.com/Enhance-Daily-Life-for-a-Person-with-a-Disability

Photo Credits: freedigitalphotos.net, stockimages