Invisible illnesses

Throughout this week we’ll be sharing stories from around the business to highlight our inclusion campaign - Altogether Different.

Rachel Jones is an analyst with our Financial Planning & Analysis team. Rachel has fibromyalgia and is a member of our Disability steering group.

‘I have been with the business for just over 16 years now,’ said Rachel. ‘I started out as a Christmas casual and after doing various operational manager and shift manager roles I then retrained to join finance due to my physical health deteriorating. 

‘I was diagnosed with fibromyalgia around eight years ago after three years of tests and appointments to try to discover where my pain and fatigue was coming from. Fibromyalgia is what we now call an “invisible illness”. This means that although we may look totally normal we can be suffering from chronic pain, which affects our day to day lives.

‘For me personally, I have seen attitudes to invisible illnesses change very much since the time I was first diagnosed and I’m a firm believer that increased awareness of the condition itself and the concept of invisible illnesses is helping this. 

‘Diagnosis with a chronic illness can mean not only dealing with the illness itself and pushing yourself each day to try to maintain as normal a life as possible, but also coming to terms with the fact that your life will be never be quite the same again. 

‘As the symptoms of fibromyalgia come and go very erratically we can look well one day, but later that same day, have a flare up and be house or bed-bound for the following days or weeks. It is very important that we take control of our illness and manage our symptoms through medication, looking after ourselves and pacing, to try to keep ourselves at a manageable level of pain where we can still function.

‘People have experienced negative attitudes in the past to invisible illnesses simply because they “don’t look ill,” but as with mental illness, it doesn’t mean that person isn’t suffering in some way. They really need the understanding of their colleagues - it’s as simple as that.

 ‘Fibromyalgia is a complicated condition which looks different every day, but we can all do that little bit extra to help each other out by noticing when someone is struggling with whatever their invisible illness might be and checking in with them. That really is enough to change someone’s day.’

Watch our video below to hear more on what it feels like to be included.

Supporting colleagues with disabilities

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Making our business a place where colleagues with disabilities can achieve their potential remains a priority.

Our Disability steering group was established in 2014, with its key objective being to improve the experience of disabled colleagues at Royal Mail. Call our internal disability helpline on 0800 028 6142 for advice if you are a disabled employee or manager looking for support with organising reasonable adjustments.

For more information on how to obtain support from the group or if you would like advice on managing someone with a disability, please contact DisabilitySteeringGroup@royalmail.com.