Do you consider anxiety and/or OCD a disability?

It's really helpful knowing the cause, especially as those issues – the bullying and your mother's OCD and anxiety – are no longer relevant to who you are today. Once your subconscious mind understands this it can be possible to leave them where they belong; in the past.

OCD is a diagnosis
generalised anxiety disorder (GAD) is a diagnosis

anxiety is a symptom and is a normal emotion for everyone in certain contexts so I would say that ‘anxiety’ cannot be a disability but a diagnosed anxiety disorder could be.

Given the impact and duration you’ve described @blueeyedfairyyou could request reasonable adjustments and your company’s OHS provider could give you confirmation in writing that your symptoms are covered under the Equality Act via referral.

Yes it is a disability (glad someone has referenced ). However I do think that many people in society have been prevented from overcoming / being useful member of society through lack of help to manage and lack of flexibility of employers. The disability does not stop you being valuable and useful, it needs adjustments and support. Not being given handouts but no continuous support. I do speak from personal experience so while my words might be harsh there is some understanding there.

It’s not the condition itself, it’s the impact it has on your life. People can have the same condition but some will be covered by the Equality Act definition of disability and some won’t depending on the severity of their symptoms and the duration of them.

No

You’re disabled under the Equality Act 2010 if you have a physical or mental impairment that has a ‘substantial’ and ‘long-term’ negative effect on your ability to do normal daily activities.https://www.gov.uk/definition-of-disability-under-equality-act-2010

Anxiety and anxiety disorder are not the same thing

No anxiety isn’t a disability. If that was the case most of the country would be disabled. Time people get a bit of a grip regarding this sort of thing.

I used to declare myself as "not registered disabled" when I had an illness which impacted my daily life significantly for at least a year. tbh, it still affects my life now, 20+ yrs later, but a lot less so I stopped ticking that box a long time ago.

I never asked my employer for any adjustments bcz I could manage without.
What adjustments do you want from your employer, OP?

Anxiety isn't but Anxiety disorder absolutely can be. I have bipolar, bpd and Anxiety disorder and my anxiety disorder has been the most debilitating it caused agoraphobia for 2 years and panic disorder.

No. Anxiety is not a disability

i know someone with fantasy OCD, they continue to work but they are very ill, they mask at work, took a long time for them to share their illness with their employer - I’m convinced their employer knew, I’m sure the mask must have slipped. I don’t know what the definition of a disability is but their life is significantly affected by it - they are under the care of an NHS psychiatrist.

I also don't agree that everyone suffers with this at some point in their lives. I think there's a tendency to associate the negative feelings which arise from sad or stressful situations with anxiety/depression, but they are just the normal reactions which we are supposed to feel in order to process life events.. When a person experiences anxiety or depression which is so severe they cannot think or sleep or function in the workplace, it has become a disability.

I would think that OCD often meets the criteria to count as a disability. It can be very disabling. With anxiety, I would think it depends how bad it is. For example if it is bad enough to need treatment from a psychiatrist, then it more likely to be a disability.

No I wouldn't. Unless it was so bad the person was not able to do things such as leave the house.

What was the initial cause of the anxiety when you were a child?

Debilitating, yes. Classed as disability -not sure. My colleague's adult DC has debilitating OCD and has not been able to leave their home for close to 5 years, and lives a life entirely dominated by ritual and compulsion with no time for anything else. It is the most tragic thing I have witnessed. DColleague has supported them with claiming DLA initially, and more recently PiP, so technically, at the very least disability-adjacent.

Yes I work with people with people with disabilities including the conditions you mentioned. They are referred to as non visible disabilities.

I agree. I've never had ocd so don't think everyone suffers with that either.

I disagree that everyone suffers with it. Everyone gets nervous, yes. But long term, debilitating anxiety? I have lived my whole adult life with constant stomach ache, nausea, headaches, dizziness etc from anxiety. I'm not worried about anything, my body just lives in a permanent fight or flight state.

I completely agree

It depends how much it affects you.

Well it definitely isn't an asset to your life so I'd say it disables it. For the record I don't have it but only 'normal' anxiety like before the dentist or interviews etc. But I've met many people who do through my work and relatives. Have you tried medication for symptom control as well as Anti anxylitic medication, eg propananlol reduces the racing heart, buscapan or immodium for the IBS symptoms, anti sickness medication. Just having them as backup might help you feel better when you need to go out.

Work should be told as usually a disability gives you more leeway with sickness monitoring. 💐