I struggle a little with some of the comments about anxiety. I totally a knowldege that anxiety is a real and debillitating condition for lots of people and makes their everyday lives very difficult or pretty impossible.
However, i struggle with some of the suggestions people make and criticisms they make of responses of people working in public services, because of the idea that anyone, anywhere might have anxiety.
People with anxiety might well be extremely sensitive and find things others would find normal, upsetting. That is true and of course,mid you are interacting with someone you know has anxiety, you should be extra careful of what you say/do and be aware of how your actions might impact them. Of course. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to behave as you would with people without anxiety in any circumstance. Taking the extra care needed when dealing with someone who is extra sensitive, or avoiding saying or doing things which might upset people with certain anxieties, cannot be possible or required or expected from those working with the public who deal with huge numbers of people, most of whom don't have anxiety, on the off chance that one of them might have anxiety.
It seems to me right that people are broadly sensitive when in public roles, are extremely careful and aware of anxiety with individuals who are known for it, but cannot and should not show that kind of behaviour all the time to all - it wouldn't be helpful or productive. For example, dealing with an anxious person who is very sensitive might take twice the time to dealing with someone else.....fine, if it is needed, but not a good idea to behave in a way which takes twice the time for everyone regardless.
It seems to me that often those who think every behaviour should be as if the recipient is suffering from severe anxiety is in itself a lack of perspective and sense of reality. It is right to expect those who are known to need it, to be treated extra carefully and be given the extra resources they need, but not to expect it as a general provision for the whole population, just in case. And it's not wrong if someone experiences general, normal, decent care which they find insufficient due to their anxiety, when no-one giving the care had anyway of knowing about the anxiety.
The receptionist did not know the Op had psoriasis and could not be expected to. She did not know her request would really upset Op. She made the request because she weighed the surgery full of people who were struggling with a baby who cried for a lengthy period of time against asking the Op to consider going outside ....and the receptionist decided the request was the lesser of the 2 evils given a difficult situation. It wasn't malicious nor uncaring. It was simply a judgement based on circumstances and the limited knowledge she had. Maybe Op felt a bit miserable and 15 others felt immeasurably better because if it? maybe some of those othe 15 suffered from anxiety and had struggled to get to the Doctors and were terrified of a mossy waiting room and found their worst imaginings coming real? But the idea that it was a wrong and terrible thing to do for the receptionist and that a complaint is needed just strikes me as a misjudgement and loss of perspective. There will be times when things happen to all of us which aren't perfect or make us feel a little uncomfortable......they don't all warrant a complaint and we aren't all entitled to have, and it's simply not possible to have a life without minor little blips. We have to realise that and recognise when things are just little blips rather than big deals needing a genuine complaint.
And I know anxiety can make making those judgements difficult....but part of it is also recognising that one if the consequences of being anxious and over sensitive is struggling with those reactions.