Living with Dyslexia: Mental Health, Wellbeing and Therapeutic Support

Dyslexia, wellbeing and therapeutic support

Dyslexia relates a specific difficulty with reading and spelling. What is less visible however, but just as important, is the emotional and social impact of living with dyslexia in a school system and world that demands regular interactions with written language.

Research shows that children, young people, and adults with dyslexia are at increased risk of anxiety, low mood and reduced self-esteem. These difficulties are not caused by dyslexia itself, but by the experience of repeated frustration, academic failures, struggling to understand, being misunderstood, and feeling exhausted and ‘less than’.

When reading or writing feels hard, avoidance is a very natural response. Avoidance isn’t laziness or lack of motivation, it’s the brain’s trying to protect itself from something that feels stressful or exposing.

Over time, repeated difficulty can sensitise the brain’s threat system. Even the anticipation of reading may trigger a stress response: tension, irritability, emotional shutdown or overwhelm. The more an individual avoids literacy, the bigger and more threatening literacy-based tasks can feel.

What parents often notice

Parents often notice reluctance to engage with reading or homework activities, a sense of helplessness in their child, tears or anger, perfectionism, complete disengagement and school reports indicating their child’s learning is behind their peers. Many children hold it together at school and then release the stress at home, where it feels safer.

Emotionally and socially, this can show up as negative self-talk (“I don’t get it,” “I can’t do it”), worrying, low self-confidence, being quiet and pulling back from relationships and talking, thinking they are not ‘good enough’ at learning and school, feeling exhausted by the extra effort required to process oral and written language, and physical complaints such as headaches or stomach aches. These are signs that the nervous system is under stress.

How therapy can help

The emotion cycle involved in reading difficulties, which includes feelings of confusion, uncertainty and exhaustion, likely result in avoidance behaviours. This avoidance behaviour can then increase feelings of anxiety, an emotional state in and off itself that inhibits learning, This cycle helps explain why emotional support matters alongside educational support for some individuals with persistent reading difficulties (i.e., dyslexia).

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) supports people to recognise and gently challenge unhelpful beliefs and thoughts, so as to develop more realistic and helpful thoughts, and to reduce avoidance behaviours. While research specifically on CBT for dyslexia is limited, CBT has a very strong evidence for being able to reduce anxiety and strengthen self-esteem, both which commonly accompany dyslexia.

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) focuses on building psychological flexibility — learning to notice difficult thoughts and feelings without being overwhelmed by them, and continuing to live life according to what matters most to the individual. ACT is particularly helpful for shame (i.e., feeling that there is something wrong with you), perfectionism and disengagement.

Dialectical Behaviour Therapy (DBT) offers practical skills for emotion regulation, distress tolerance and managing overwhelm. Although not designed specifically for dyslexia, DBT skills have been effectively adapted for neurodiverse and emotionally sensitive individuals.

Therapeutic support does not target the essential development of literacy-based skills. Therapy does however support the development of emotional competence, self-confidence, emotional safety and resilience by building psychological and emotional regulation skills. It can therefore help individuals with dyslexia to engage with learning, relationships and life with greater self-compassion, strength and success.