Mental health complainants fear reprisals - study bbc.in/3Xqh5XC

I once applied to Access to Work. After a long wait, my assessor was kind & recommended extensive support. Funding was approved, yet the administrative burden upon me & total lack of guidance for my then employer meant we never went ahead with it. It shouldn't be this way.

During my undergraduate degree, my lecturers were so unwilling to support me that Student Support got the Legal Team to tell them they were breaching the Equality Act (to no avail). I was expecting similar at my postgraduate institution, but it could not be more different!

The video is up of our seminar last Tuesday on learning disability and autism in the #MentalHealthBill. What a fantastic lineup of powerful speakers calling for MPs to table amendments that advance rights. Rightful Lives DoughtyStPublic doughtystreet.co.uk/media/5449

I have just been diagnosed with ARFID: Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder. It is endlessly validating to be told I have a legitimate eating disorder rather than just being *wilfully fussy*. Now, a long wait for access to therapy & dietetics. But I am grateful for it.

Tomorrow will be medical appointment number 6 in just 7 days. The appointment fatigue that comes with having chronic physical & mental illness should not be underestimated. I feel drained from self-advocating. I'm triggered from procedures. I can't sleep due to pain.

It feels unjust that my healthcare has to dictate where I live. I would love to live back in Brighton again. But healthcare access & service quality was so abysmal & neglectful there that it just isn't feasible. My healthcare in London has been wonderful, fast, & compassionate.

I have officially finished the first year of my MSc despite chronic illness flare-ups around *practically every deadline*. If you're interested in learning disability, autism, & neurodivergence, my course is wonderful with the most supportive tutors! port.ac.uk/study/courses/…

Medical professional: "Is your autism well controlled?". Me: ...

As someone with ARFID, the most stressful part of going from living alone to living with family is what I eat now being constantly scrutinised (& inevitably criticised) by others. I just want to be able to eat what I am able to eat in peace.

Am I proud of being autistic? Yes. Was I always proud of being autistic? No. Being proud of being autistic does not mean existing in an allistic world is easy, it just means that I am no longer ashamed of the associated struggles. #AutisticPrideDay

I'm all for amplifying the importance of co-production. But does having a "Co-Production Week" encourage tokenistic attempts at it which inevitably fall short? Genuine co-production shouldn't just happen during a designated week, it should happen all year round.

I had to let occupational health send a copy of my report to my line manager. This is all well & good but it contained *a little too much* information for my liking, including specifying how many times a day I go to the loo. Oh, the indignity of chronic illness & disability.

TW: suicide When I was assessed for PIP in 2022, I was asked why I hadn't "successfully" managed to kill myself. I received zero points. I was too distressed to go to mandatory reconsideration or tribunal. The assessment (& report) is utterly dehumanising. #TakingThePIP

I shared some thoughts over on LinkedIn for today's World Patient Safety Day 2025. linkedin.com/posts/chloeapt…