How to use these examples honestly
- They are illustrations, written to show the kind of detail that helps a decision maker understand a day: what happens, how often, how long it takes, whether it is safe, and who helps.
- Describe your own experience in your own words. Never copy an example, or any part of one, that is not true for you.
- Each activity is named as it appears in Schedule 1 to the Social Security (Personal Independence Payment) Regulations 2013. The descriptors reference sets out the statutory wording for every activity.
- Every example lives on one condition guide. This page only points to it, so what you read there is the whole example, with the reason each detail matters.
Daily living activity 1: Preparing food
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“I can make toast or a sandwich, but if I start something on the hob I lose track of it as soon as I get distracted.”
Anxiety · example only
“Most afternoons the worry builds until my hands tremble and I feel sick, and that is exactly when I would be making the evening meal for me and my son.”
Autism · example only
“I eat a small number of safe foods and can make some of those, like toast or plain pasta.”
Back pain · example only
“Leaning forward over the worktop to chop or peel is the posture that sets my back off, and within a few minutes I have to straighten up and walk it off.”
Bipolar · example only
“Each phase of the illness shows up differently in the kitchen.”
Chronic pain · example only
“I cook in short bursts with a kitchen timer, ten minutes on and ten minutes sitting down, because pushing on through is what sets off my worst flares.”
COPD · example only
“Bending to the low oven leaves me so short of breath that I have to sit on a kitchen chair for several minutes before I can do anything else.”
Crohn's / IBD · example only
“In a flare I'm too exhausted to stand at the cooker for more than a few minutes, and I often have to leave the kitchen suddenly for the toilet, so pans have boiled over or burnt.”
Depression · example only
“I used to cook for the family every night, but since this episode started I cannot get myself to begin, and I will open the fridge, stare into it and close it again.”
Diabetes · example only
“Numbness in my fingertips means I cannot feel how hot a pan handle is, and I have burned my hand twice without noticing until blisters came up.”
EDS and hypermobility · example only
“I can't stand at the hob for more than about five minutes before my knees start to feel unstable, so I sit on a perching stool and use a jar opener and a chunky-handled knife.”
Endometriosis · example only
“On flare days I can't stand at the cooker for more than a few minutes before the pain makes me sit down, and nausea means I often can't face handling food.”
Epilepsy · example only
“My tonic-clonic seizures come about twice a month, usually without warning, and one started while I was frying onions, so my brother found me jerking on the floor with the oil smoking.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“Fibro fog means I lose my place in even a simple recipe, and several times this month I have salted something twice or forgotten part of the meal altogether.”
Long Covid · example only
“Since Covid, most cooked food smells rotten or like burning rubber to me, especially onions and meat, and the smell often makes me retch.”
MCAS · example only
“Leftovers set off flushing and stomach cramps for me, so every meal has to be cooked fresh from the handful of foods I tolerate, which is a lot of work on a day when I am already reacting.”
ME/CFS · example only
“Cooking from fresh is something I can do about once a week, sitting at the kitchen table to chop and resting between each stage, and that meal costs me the following day in bed.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“Gripping a knife is unreliable because my right hand is numb, and I have cut myself twice this year chopping vegetables without feeling it straight away.”
OCD · example only
“I cannot handle raw meat or eggs at all because of fears about making my family ill, and if I think something has touched the wrong surface I throw it away and start again.”
Osteoarthritis · example only
“Osteoarthritis has affected the base of both thumbs and most of my finger joints, and the pain gets worse the more I use my hands, so by teatime I cannot grip a knife firmly or turn a stiff tap.”
Parkinson's · example only
“In the hour before each dose my right hand shakes too much to hold a vegetable steady to cut it.”
POTS · example only
“Standing at the cooker in a warm kitchen is one of the quickest ways to bring my symptoms on, and before long my heart races and my vision closes in.”
PTSD · example only
“I can make a sandwich, but I do not use the hob when I am on my own.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“For two to three hours after I wake my hands are stiff and swollen, so breakfast is something I can pour, and lunch is the first thing I try to make myself.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“Sedation from my medication lasts until about midday, and even after that I struggle to get going on anything, so on my own I mostly eat bread, crisps or nothing until the evening.”
Stroke · example only
“Everything in the kitchen has to be done with my right hand now, so I use a spike board to hold vegetables, a kettle tipper and a non-slip mat under the bowl.”
Daily living activity 2: Taking nutrition
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Crohn's / IBD · example only
“During a flare I often go most of the day without eating, because eating brings on pain and urgency and I'm frightened of it.”
Depression · example only
“My appetite has gone, and on bad days I can reach the evening having had nothing but a cup of tea, not because I have decided not to eat but because I never feel hungry and cannot see why I should bother.”
Parkinson's · example only
“Cutting meat is impossible when my tremor is bad, so my husband cuts up my food before he puts the plate down.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“Gripping ordinary cutlery is impossible during a flare, when my fingers and wrists swell, and I cannot cut anything firmer than a potato.”
Daily living activity 3: Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“I take my ADHD medication in the morning, but on my own I miss it about two days a week because I cannot remember whether I have already taken it.”
Bipolar · example only
“Lithium is my main medicine, taken morning and night, and the level has to be checked with a blood test every three months, with regular checks on my kidneys and thyroid as well.”
BPD · example only
“After a crisis last year my care team arranged for the pharmacy to dispense my medication weekly, and my partner keeps that week's supply and hands me each day's tablets.”
COPD · example only
“I use two inhalers twice a day and a nebuliser when my chest is tight, and each nebuliser session takes about fifteen minutes once it is set up and cleaned.”
Crohn's / IBD · example only
“I inject a biologic every two weeks and take several tablets at different times of day, plus a steroid course when I flare.”
Diabetes · example only
“Overnight my glucose sensor alarms when I start to go low, but I sleep through it about once a week, so my wife wakes me and brings me glucose tablets.”
Endometriosis · example only
“I take a hormone treatment, strong painkillers and a nerve pain medicine at different times each day, and the painkillers make me drowsy and forgetful.”
Epilepsy · example only
“I take three different epilepsy medicines morning and night, and the doses have changed four times this year.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“I take four different medicines spread across the day, including pregabalin, which my GP has told me not to miss or stop suddenly.”
Long Covid · example only
“My tablets are a beta blocker for my racing heart, two antihistamines and a sleeping tablet, at four different times of day.”
MCAS · example only
“Every day I take antihistamines morning and night and a mast cell stabiliser dissolved in water before each meal, and I carry two adrenaline pens everywhere.”
ME/CFS · example only
“I am very sensitive to medicines, so my GP prescribed a low dose of amitriptyline as a liquid that I measure with an oral syringe each night.”
POTS · example only
“My treatment is two tablets at set times, salt capsules with meals and the fluid target my cardiologist set, and if any part of it slips my symptoms are much worse by the afternoon.”
PTSD · example only
“I take an antidepressant in the morning and a tablet for nightmares at night.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“Every Sunday evening I inject methotrexate, I take folic acid on a different day, and my bloods are checked every twelve weeks for my liver and blood counts.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“Clozapine means a blood test at the clinic every four weeks before the pharmacy will release my next supply.”
Daily living activity 4: Washing and bathing
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“Physically I can shower, but starting is the problem.”
Anxiety · example only
“Since a panic attack in the bath last winter, when I felt faint, could not get my breath and could not get myself out, I have been frightened of washing when nobody else is in.”
Back pain · example only
“Stepping into the bath became impossible once I could not lift my leg high enough, so last year the council fitted a level-access shower with a fold-down seat and a grab rail.”
BPD · example only
“The days after an emotional crisis are flat and empty, and whole days pass without me washing because nothing feels worth doing.”
Chronic pain · example only
“Twisting to reach my back or bending to my legs sets off a burning pain that can take an hour to settle, so I wash sitting on a bath board across the bath with the shower on low.”
COPD · example only
“Steam makes my breathing much worse, so I shower with the bathroom door open and the water only lukewarm, sitting on a seat the occupational therapist fitted.”
Depression · example only
“Washing feels like far more than I can manage when I am low, which has been most of this year, and I can go five or six days without a shower even though I know I need one.”
Diabetes · example only
“Because I cannot feel heat properly in my feet, I scalded one of them in the bath last year without realising, so my wife now runs the water and checks it before I get in.”
EDS and hypermobility · example only
“I don't use the bath any more because my hip subluxed getting out of it last winter, so I shower sitting on a shower stool and hold a grab rail to stand up.”
Endometriosis · example only
“During a flare I can't stand in the shower for long because the pelvic pain makes me feel faint, so I use a shower stool.”
Epilepsy · example only
“I stopped having baths after a seizure in one, when my mum found me with my face close to the water.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“A shower uses up most of the energy I have for the morning, so on bad days I have to choose between washing and doing anything else.”
Long Covid · example only
“The heat and steam of a shower make me breathless and faint, so I keep the water barely warm, open the window and sit on a plastic chair in the bath.”
MCAS · example only
“Hot water brings up hives across my chest and can make me light-headed, so I shower quickly in cool water and sit down on the edge of the bath if my heart starts racing.”
ME/CFS · example only
“Showering is one of the things most likely to set off a crash, so I limit it to twice a week, sitting on a bath board, and afterwards I lie on the bed in a towel until I have the energy to dry off.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“Warm water makes my legs go weak and my eyesight blur, so I shower in lukewarm water sitting on a fold-down seat, with a grab bar to pull myself up.”
OCD · example only
“I wash in a set order, and if I lose count or brush against the shower curtain I have to start again from the beginning, so a shower usually takes me well over an hour.”
Osteoarthritis · example only
“My knees no longer bend far enough for me to sit down in the bath or push myself back up, so we had a battery-powered bath lift fitted, which lowers me into the water and raises me again.”
Parkinson's · example only
“Stepping over the side of the bath to get into the shower is where I am most likely to fall, especially first thing before my morning tablets start working, so my husband helps me in and out.”
POTS · example only
“A hot shower can make me black out, so I wash sitting down in cool water and keep it to about five minutes.”
PTSD · example only
“I avoid showering when I am alone in the house, because being undressed behind a locked door brings memories back.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“Squeezing a shampoo bottle or wringing out a flannel hurts my hands, so we have pump dispensers, a lever tap on the shower and a wash mitt I can slip on rather than grip.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“I genuinely do not notice when I need a wash, and even when someone mentions it the effort of starting feels enormous.”
Daily living activity 5: Managing toilet needs or incontinence
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Back pain · example only
“Lowering myself onto the toilet and getting back up sends a jolt through my lower back, so we have a toilet frame with arms that I push up from.”
Crohn's / IBD · example only
“During a flare I need the toilet 10 to 15 times a day, often with only a minute or two of warning, and I have accidents two or three times a week.”
Endometriosis · example only
“On bad days, which for me is about two weeks of every month, opening my bowels is so painful that I hold onto the grab rail to get down onto the toilet and back up, and sometimes I feel close to fainting.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“I self-catheterise four times a day, as my continence nurse taught me, and with numb, clumsy fingers each time takes me around fifteen minutes.”
OCD · example only
“After using the toilet I have to wipe and wash in a particular way until it feels clean enough, and after opening my bowels that can last half an hour and often ends with a full shower.”
Osteoarthritis · example only
“Sitting on a standard-height toilet and standing up again is hard because my hips and knees will not bend far, so the council fitted a raised seat and a rail I can push up on.”
POTS · example only
“Getting up in the night to use the toilet is when I am most likely to faint, because I go from lying flat to upright with no time to adjust.”
Daily living activity 6: Dressing and undressing
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Autism · example only
“I can physically dress myself, but I can only wear a few items because tags, seams and some fabrics feel painful.”
Back pain · example only
“I sit on a firm dining chair to dress, because the bed is too low to push up from, and I use a grabber to get my pants and trousers over my feet and up to my knees.”
Bipolar · example only
“In a depressive episode I can wear the same clothes, including what I slept in, for a week at a time, and getting changed only happens when my husband lays clean things out and keeps reminding me through the morning.”
Chronic pain · example only
“Since the pain spread from my wrist up my left arm, even the light pressure of a sleeve or a strap feels like burning, so I wear loose, soft clothes and skip anything tight.”
COPD · example only
“Socks and shoes are the hardest part of dressing, because bending forward squeezes my chest and I have to sit up and recover after each foot.”
EDS and hypermobility · example only
“I wear clothes without small buttons and use a button hook and a sock aid, because my fingers and wrists slip out of place when I grip small fastenings.”
Epilepsy · example only
“Most of my seizures happen in my sleep, and on those mornings I wake with a bitten tongue, aching muscles and a fog that lasts until the afternoon.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“Mornings are when the stiffness and aching are worst, so I dress in stages, sitting on the edge of the bed and resting after each layer.”
ME/CFS · example only
“Most days I stay in soft loungewear, because changing into day clothes and back again at night uses energy I need for eating and washing.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“Pins and needles in my fingers make buttons and zips almost impossible, so I mostly wear pull-on clothes, and my daughter fastens my shirt and coat when I have an appointment.”
OCD · example only
“Getting dressed is tied up with a feeling that something bad will happen to my children unless it feels exactly right, so I put clothes on and take them off again until it does.”
Osteoarthritis · example only
“My right hip has worsened so much that I cannot bend far enough to reach my foot or lift it onto my other knee, so socks, shoes and the bottom of my trousers are the hard part.”
Parkinson's · example only
“Before my first dose of the day I am too stiff to get my arms into sleeves or bend to my feet, so my husband dresses me if I have to be up early.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“Early in the day my fingers will not bend properly, so shirt buttons, cuffs and the zip on my coat have to wait until my flatmate is up and can do them for me.”
Stroke · example only
“My weak arm has to go into a sleeve first and come out last, and if I get the order wrong I end up stuck with my top half on and have to call for help.”
Daily living activity 7: Communicating verbally
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Autism · example only
“Most of the time I can speak and understand everyday things.”
Long Covid · example only
“Mid-sentence I lose ordinary words like spoon or Tuesday, and I can see people waiting while I search for them.”
Parkinson's · example only
“My voice has become so quiet and flat that people often ask me to repeat myself, and in a busy room I am simply not heard.”
Stroke · example only
“Since the stroke I know what I want to say, but the wrong word often comes out, like asking for the remote when I mean the kettle, and long sentences fall apart halfway.”
Daily living activity 8: Reading and understanding signs, symbols and words
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Autism · example only
“I can read the words, but letters from the council or DWP confuse me because I take things literally and cannot tell what they want me to do.”
Depression · example only
“My concentration is so poor that I read the same paragraph over and over and still cannot tell you what it said a minute later.”
Diabetes · example only
“Retinopathy has left patches missing in the centre of my vision, so even with my glasses I need a lit magnifier to read letters, and a single page takes me a long time.”
Stroke · example only
“I lost the left half of my vision in both eyes, so when I read I miss the start of each line unless I lay a ruler along the left edge and track back to it.”
Daily living activity 9: Engaging with other people face to face
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“I can talk to people I know well, but with anyone new I talk over them or lose the thread, and I can tell it is going wrong.”
Anxiety · example only
“With anyone outside my family I go red, my voice shakes, and I am so busy worrying about how I am coming across that I lose track of what is being said.”
Autism · example only
“I can manage short, predictable conversations, like paying at a till, if I have rehearsed what to say.”
Bipolar · example only
“How I am with people changes completely with my mood.”
BPD · example only
“I read rejection into small things, like someone glancing at their phone while I am talking, and within seconds I can go from calm to so upset that I either snap at them or walk out.”
Depression · example only
“I have let almost every friendship drop since this episode began, and when people do visit I struggle to say more than a few words because there is nothing in my head to say.”
MCAS · example only
“Since I reacted badly to someone's perfume at a family party, I panic when people I do not know come close, and I cannot follow what they are saying because I am watching for symptoms.”
PTSD · example only
“I can talk to my partner and my sister, but with strangers I am on edge the whole time, watching the door and their hands.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“Around anyone unfamiliar the voices get louder and start commenting on what the person is saying, and I struggle to tell which words are real.”
Daily living activity 10: Making budgeting decisions
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“I can pay for shopping at the till and check my change.”
Anxiety · example only
“Looking at my bank balance brings on a panic attack, so most weeks I have no clear idea how much money I have.”
Bipolar · example only
“Money is often the first thing to go when I am heading into a high.”
BPD · example only
“Spending is how I try to calm myself when I am dysregulated, and once I spent most of a month's wages on clothes and takeaways in a single evening.”
OCD · example only
“Paying a bill online means checking the account number and the amount over and over, because I am frightened of sending money to the wrong place, and one payment can take me an hour.”
POTS · example only
“When I have been upright for a while my thinking goes slow and cloudy, and I make mistakes with money that I never used to make.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“When my thinking is disorganised I cannot keep track of what has been paid, and in March I paid my phone bill three times and missed the water bill completely.”
Mobility activity 1: Planning and following journeys
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
ADHD · example only
“I can get to places I go every week, like the local shop and my GP surgery.”
Anxiety · example only
“I panic anywhere I cannot get out of quickly, so trains, queues and crowded shops are the hardest places for me.”
Autism · example only
“I go to the same shop and the same bus stop every week without help, as long as nothing changes.”
Bipolar · example only
“During a manic episode two years ago I got on a train to the other end of the country on impulse, with no money for the journey back, and my family did not know where I was until I rang them two days later.”
BPD · example only
“Under stress I dissociate, and the street starts to feel unreal, as if I am watching myself from a distance.”
Chronic pain · example only
“After my pain flared so badly on a train that I could not stand up to get off at my stop, I became too frightened to travel anywhere unfamiliar on my own.”
Crohn's / IBD · example only
“I plan every journey around toilets and won't take a bus or train route unless I know I can reach one quickly.”
Depression · example only
“Leaving the house at all is beyond me on most days, and the thought of even the walk to the shops fills me with dread and a heavy kind of tiredness.”
EDS and hypermobility · example only
“When my pain is high and I've taken my painkillers, my thinking is foggy and I lose track of where I am, even on routes I know.”
Epilepsy · example only
“I have had two seizures in town, one on a bus and one in a supermarket queue, and the second time I came round in an ambulance with no idea where I was.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“On fog days I can set off somewhere I have been many times and suddenly not know which way to turn, and once I walked straight past the end of my own street without recognising it.”
Long Covid · example only
“Busy stations are where my brain fog is worst, because I cannot take in announcements, screens and crowds all at once.”
MCAS · example only
“Perfume and diesel fumes on buses have caused most of my reactions, and twice I have had to get off between stops, flushed and dizzy, somewhere I did not recognise.”
ME/CFS · example only
“Noise and bright light on buses or in shops overload me quickly, and then I cannot think clearly enough to read a timetable or remember where I am going.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“When I am fatigued my thinking slows right down, and I have stood at a junction ten minutes from home unable to remember which way to turn.”
OCD · example only
“Before I can leave the house I check the hob, the taps, the windows and the front door in a fixed sequence, and if a doubt creeps in I go back to the start, so getting out of the door takes half an hour or more.”
PTSD · example only
“I can walk to the corner shop on my own in daylight.”
Schizophrenia · example only
“I believe people in cars are following me, so when I am out alone I keep changing direction to lose them and end up lost, sometimes a long way from where I meant to go.”
Stroke · example only
“Traffic coming from my left is what I miss, and I have stepped out in front of a cyclist I simply did not see.”
Mobility activity 2: Moving around
The Schedule 1 descriptors for this activity
Back pain · example only
“Walking upright sets off the sciatica, and after roughly 30 metres, which my son paced out as the distance from the disabled bay to my surgery's front door, the pain shoots down my left leg and my foot starts to go numb.”
Chronic pain · example only
“The pain management programme I did last year taught me to pace, and my walking baseline is about four minutes at my slow speed, roughly the 40 metres from my flat along the landing to the lift.”
COPD · example only
“The bus stop is about 80 metres from my front door, and I stop twice on the way, bent forward with my hands on my knees, until my breathing settles.”
Diabetes · example only
“Burning, stabbing pain in both feet starts a few minutes into any walk, and by the time I reach the post box at the end of the next street, about 120 metres, I need to sit down on someone's garden wall.”
EDS and hypermobility · example only
“On most days I can walk roughly from my front door to the corner shop, which I measured on a map app as about 60 metres, before my knees and ankles feel like they will give way and I have to stop and hold onto a wall.”
Endometriosis · example only
“On most days I can walk about 100 metres, roughly to the end of my road, before pelvic and lower back pain makes me stop and lean on something.”
Epilepsy · example only
“Drop attacks make my legs give way with no warning, and I go straight down two or three times most weeks.”
Fibromyalgia · example only
“My usual limit is about 30 metres with my stick, roughly from our front door to the neighbour's gate, before the aching in my hips and legs and the heaviness of the fatigue make me stop.”
Long Covid · example only
“Before I caught Covid I walked the dog for an hour a day, but now my heart races and my chest feels tight after about 100 metres, and I have to find somewhere to sit.”
MCAS · example only
“Walking faster than a stroll, or for longer than five minutes or so, brings on flushing, itching and a pounding heart, and once my blood pressure dropped and I collapsed outside the school gates.”
ME/CFS · example only
“Inside the house I can walk between rooms, but outside I manage about 30 metres, roughly from the front door to the car, before my legs feel like lead and I have to sit.”
Multiple sclerosis · example only
“My left foot drags when I am tired, so I wear a device on my leg that lifts it and use a stick, and on a good morning I can walk about 40 metres before my toes start catching on the ground.”
Osteoarthritis · example only
“Both knees grind and ache with every step, and after about 60 metres, the distance from our door to the postbox at the end of the close, I stop and lean on my stick until the pain settles.”
Parkinson's · example only
“Doorways, crowds and turning corners make my feet freeze as if they are glued down, and when I try to push through I tip forward.”
POTS · example only
“Two or three minutes of standing still is enough to set my heart racing, my vision greying and my legs feeling heavy, so in a queue I have to crouch down or sit on the floor.”
Rheumatoid arthritis · example only
“The joints in the balls of my feet are damaged, and even with the insoles from podiatry it feels like walking on pebbles.”
Stroke · example only
“My left side is weak, so I cannot use a walking frame, and I walk with a four-footed stick in my right hand.”