In an essay in the New York Times (1/24, Lyons, Subscription Publication) “Disability” series, writer Gila Lyons details her ongoing up-and-down struggle with panic disorder. She writes that while “physical disabilities are understood and written into law and accommodated…mental illnesses are stigmatized, nebulous to measure and accommodate, and often seen as a fault in the person, rather than an uncontrollable physical reality.”
Currently, “consensus among the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the National Institute of Mental Health and the American Psychiatric Association points to mental illness as significant changes in thinking, feeling or behavior coupled with an inability to function in daily life in terms of self-care, maintaining jobs and relationships.”
Lyons reminds readers, “The Americans With Disabilities Act protects those with both physical and mental disabilities by ensuring they have fair and equal access to employment, housing, transportation and governmental services,” while “the Social Security Administration recognizes anxiety disorders, along with eight other categories of mental disorders, as conditions that qualify for disability benefits.”
Related Links:
— “When Life Gave Me Lemons, I Had a Panic Attack,” Gila Lyons, New York Times, January 24, 2018.