|
SECTION 2—MOBILITY (continued)
OR ‘my need to check things and do things in a certain order slows me down to the
stage where sometimes I have missed buses or even appointments… I need someone
with me to reassure me that things are OK and that I needn’t go back and check
yet again…’ OR
‘in the past I have tried to hurt myself by jumping from a bridge. I don’t know
now if I really wanted to die, but I ended up breaking both my legs. I was in
hospital for a long time. These days I just think about it now and then, but I
still feel so low that some days I can’t even make myself get out of bed let
alone get out of the house. I need someone with me to encourage and push me…
otherwise I just turn round and go home without the things I need…’
Basically then there isn’t a ‘right’ or a ‘wrong’ way to fill these forms in—
but the more information you can give about the difficulties you have outdoors,
the more likely the DWP are to have a complete picture of your mobility needs.
Most pages in the form go on to ask how many days a week you have these
difficulties. Some also ask ‘how long’ and ‘how many times a day’.
The trouble is that many people experiencing mental health problems have good
days and bad days, good weeks and bad weeks.
Put down the number of days you have some difficulty with each activity, or, if
your problems are unpredictable and you might have problems any day, you should
still answer ‘7 days a week’. You can always explain any variability within what
you write. It can also help to mention it if your mental state can deteriorate very
rapidly, if you try to keep this hidden from others or if you do not accept that
you have mental health problems.
|
