People with Dyslexia need to keep a really close eye on their mental health, there are so many reasons and aspects to why…
Often poor attainment with literacy leads to low confidence and self-esteem and stays with us from school. Whether it’s in a work place or educational setting, we so often feel inadequate or not as good as our peers.
People with dyslexia experience high levels of anxiety because we live in fear or worry that we don’t quite understand things or don’t quite get things right or do things quickly enough.
The general worry of just fitting in can be overwhelming and lead to burnout. Sometimes we choose to socially isolate ourselves, exhausted from a full day at work or school, we often have limited capacity left to socialise. This means that we don’t build the support networks around us that we need to either ask for help or just have a conversation about what we’re struggling with.
If we’re dyslexic, we have a higher risk of being depressed, this is because people with dyslexia experience failure daily and are aware of this failure. We have to learn and practise being resilient and get used to making and managing dyslexic errors. Imposter syndrome is something that everybody experiences, but people with dyslexia are more prone to experiencing this. We doubt or minimise our abilities putting our successes down to luck, often unable to accept or recognise our achievements. Often people with dyslexia have co-occurring difficulties or learning differences such as ADHD or dyscalculia or ASC, this means we’re not just dealing with one learning difference, with dealing with a whole range of neuro diversities.
A lack of awareness and understanding means that so often there isn’t the support networks available in workplaces or schools! people with Dyslexia end up feeling very misunderstood or given incorrect resources or support to help them!
It all starts with awareness… how will you support dyslexic or neurodivergent people in your life this week during Mental Health Awareness Week?
