Mental health conditions can cause a range of debilitating symptoms that can prevent a person from living a normal life.
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Not all mental health diagnoses are disabilities, so let’s explore where the line is and what legal protections are available.
What does the law say about mental health and disability?
The Equality Act 2010 states that as it’s a protected characteristic, it’s illegal to discriminate against a person because of their disability. Under this act, a disability is defined as a physical or mental impairment, which has a long-term and significantly negative impact on daily life.
Receiving a diagnosis of a mental health condition doesn’t automatically mean that you’re disabled. However, it may become a disability if your condition is causing problems in your education, work life or impacting your ability to carry out everyday tasks, such as looking after yourself or socialising.
Is my mental health affecting my daily life?
There are many ways that your mental health condition could be impacting your daily life, including preventing you from working, making it difficult for you to eat or prepare food, and preventing you from driving or using public transport. For example, you may experience high levels of anxiety that cause panic attacks when leaving your house or severe depression that makes it difficult to get out of bed for weeks at a time.