What Is Normal?

Is managing mental health symptoms normal? What I mean by this is would going to work while experiencing disturbing repetitive thoughts be within the boundaries of what is considered tolerable by the DWP or an employer? Is it normal to experience severe anxiety and panic when travelling, especially during the rush hour? Is it acceptable to have a couple of hours of sleep each night for a week and still function normally? Is any of this within the limits of what is considered acceptable and tolerable?

The reason I ask is that those of us with mental health problems, the symptoms of which can vary significantly and in severity at different times, are being assessed using criteria that assume a boundary between stress related symptoms that are deemed tolerable and those that are considered intolerable.

Before I had a breakdown I didn't have disturbing repetitive thoughts, panic attacks and depression but after many years of these symptoms that have not responded to treatment I continue to live with them and function to a degree even if this is not as well as before I became ill. I have no other option. Is what I tolerate as normal to me actually “normal” and no barrier to work as the government seems to imply? I am trying to work out what symptoms and their intensity are considered acceptable when responding this week to the transfer of my DLA to PIP. I can have a very bad month, week or couple of days and at other times feel relatively normal. My illness is not like a clock that rings the alarm at regular intervals each day. How do I convey this variability or decide what is tolerable when I have had to live with such extreme symptoms?

It is incerdibly difficult to convey an illness or disability to people who haven't experienced it without trying to to people who want to cut off your income and livelihood.

In cases of fluctuating conditions it becomes more difficult but I have seen people say that they describe their worst days and not so worse days and try to average them out. Maybe you could keep a diary.
I think normal is a subjective term. The question is ones ability to function in society, doing a job, undertaking everyday tasks etc. It is not upto someone else to determine what you are going through and how it affects you. You must fill in the form to the best of your abilities by directly answering the questions bearing in mind the reliability test overarching the whole claim form and provide supporting evidence. Perhaps you can ask your GP or consultant how they would answer the questions and to support your application or a relative, carer, friend or advisor at a charity dealing with illnesses such as yours.

Thanks for your reply. As you state, it's very difficult to know how someone feels and what is tolerable to them. My concern is that if I were to work would an employer tolerate periods when my symptoms were severe enough to need time away from work? My experience is that in the job I had and which contributed to my breakdown they were unsympathetic and eventually dismissed me. I worked for a mental health trust so if a statutory health service was unable to support one of its workers then I have little faith that this has improved generally now.

It's my impression that any limited help transitioning into work for those with disabilities has been set up coercively and is not really supported by employers. Leaving those of us who might need the support of some benefits if unable to work full time in a catch 22 situation.

My GP is very supportive but neither has the time nor expertise to advise me about how to fill in benefits forms. I will visit the CAB once the forms come through but it's the initial telephone call that really frightens me because if they ask me questions about my illness I often forget important details or overlook explaining how they affect me because I've had them for so long that I've grown used to adapting my life around them. I suppose being able to manage them is in the context of not working.

You won't have to give details of how your illness affects you in that first phone call, that will come later with the PIP2 form.