Planning and Following a Journey

Hello,

I am currently filling out the mobility descriptor for planning and following a journey. Recently there was a minor disruption when I was driving and I became extremely distressed, making me realise how even when driving which is when I feel safest/most in control on a journey that small changes can significantly impact me. I broke down and found it extremely distressing. I can become very distressed when I don't know the bus is going to stop (as there are a lot of road works and bus stops move a lot) and if it get busy it causes me hyper arousal and as a result I very rarely use public transport.

I also struggle with short term memory issues with familiar routes, I tend to memorise a route if I can but can't retain street names even one or two streets from my home. I am always distressed on unfamiliar routes. I have in the past although not so much recently struggled to leave my house due to flashbacks, ruminations and distress. What I'd like to know is do I write all of this? I'm thinking I should leave the last part out as that was quite a few moths ago now.

Thank you in advance.

I saw this on disabilityclaims.uk .

Quote:
"The judges in MH said that "only if the claimant is suffering from overwhelming psychological distress will anxiety be a cause of them being unable to follow the route of a journey". They said that the threshold is a very high one and commented on earlier Upper Tribunal cases saying that where those claimants were "anxious", "worried" and "emotional", this was not sufficient for those claimants to satisfy the terms of these two descriptors because they could in fact complete journeys unaccompanied without being overwhelmed. You can imagine that the Department tends to focus on the words "the threshold is a very high one". The word "overwhelming" is not defined in regulations or in MH. English law says that where a word is not defined, it takes its natural meaning."
End of quote

The IAS quoted the same phrase "overwhelming psychological distress" to me.
My take is that their bar would be too high. You can stop and check the map, right? You can use a satnav, right? Do you have a smartphone, can you use it? That has a satnav. You can use a computer, you said(?), so you can use Google maps? Those are things they asked me.
They asked if I get panic attacks - "yes most days". Ignored. I'm taking antidepressants but not anti-anxiety pills. (stupid logic, but. they wrote it.)
My wife would happily testify that Google Maps on the phone drives me well beyond "raving lunatic" when I touch the screen and it sends me to Timbuktu, but that's normal living, I suppose.

Devils advocate here:
Does it stop you planning and executng any journeys? If so get that from your doctor? If not, then it can't be overwhelming then, can it?

Hi Bis,

Flashbacks and problems relating to me leaving my house were a few months ago. Unfortunately I suffer from flashbacks most of the time.

Gascar,

Thank you for your reply and sorry for the experience you had at tribunal.