To be fed of of vile comments re disability and pip- so come on those people suggest a job for me.

The recent 'my neighbour gets pip and is absolutely fine and goes skydiving' type bollocks thread got over 900 replies - I'd say a vast majority were from nasty revolting smugarsed tossers agreeing that these people were all definitely playing the system or should just quietly shut up and be 'a disabled' out of view. Oh, and everyone knows someone who absolutely never had to have a pip assessment and just said they had a bad back and now get over 1000 a week. DEFINITELY

There are some utter arseholes on this site, there really are

I feel your pain I was diagnosed with epilepsy at 24 I'm now 39 and seizure free for 2 years got my licence back and in final year of uni there is hope my seizures were grand mal to the point my lips went blue and then there was the auras where I felt I couldn't speak etc I had full hysterectomy at 30 went on keto diet and cut out all caffeine this helped me massively I hope things get easier for you hun and ignore the haters 😀 💙 xxxx

I'm so sorry you're going through all this.

We will be attempting to reapply for pip for my partner shortly (ex nurse, destroyed by COVID and numerous accidents on duty that weren't recorded properly by the vile self centred management, fibromyalgia, numerous other conditions, permanent pain). I get absolutely livid at some of the comments on here from ill informed, over privileged downright ignorant, financially insulated posters who have no clue how difficult and dehumanising the process is.

And before any of those twits say, why doesn't your partner get an assessor job, they tried - the DWP absolutely does not want nurses in those posts, they'd rather have OTs with minimal medical knowledge of long term conditions and an expired registration.

I'd also be curious to know what jobs someone in constant pain can do, especially with the online writing etc market now completely oversaturated.

HRTFT but you’re right. I’m basically bed-bound, have severe multiple physical conditions as well as a mental health condition. It’s a life of pain, struggle and anxiety anyway, and these comments and the constant threat of removing resources we rely on only add to all that. I’m sorry you’re going through so much.

Why do you care what people on MN think?
I'm on ESA and PIP and couldn't give 2 shits if anyone else thinks I 'could' work or not.

Me, my doctors and the Esa/PIP people have decided I can't and they know alot more about my medical issues than some random on the net.

Don't let it get to you, you have enough going on as is.

Unless people have actually said directly to you in knowledge of your condition that you should get a job, you should simply assume when they make these comments they're not talking about you and dont take them to heart. People generalise all the time based on anecdotes about the bloke down the road who goes to Teneriffe and tarmaced his drive, but hasn't worked in years and so on. You'll never stop it, and in times when people are feeling the pinch themselves, you always get an upsurge in it as they look for scapegoats. You will also never 'win' the argument or change their minds as they will simply counter with 'I know some are genuine but I know a woman...'. So for your own wellbeing, I'd avoid these discussions on line if I were you.

Replaced by what though? Surely it would be better to have the medical professionals who over see the care making decisions rather than people who are incentivised to remove benefits.

There's always a lot of ranting but seems to be very little understanding of what it's actually like for people with chronic illnesses navigating a benefits system that's designed to trip people up at every stage.

My rheumatologist said to me at my last appointment to make sure I was claiming all benefits and also told me to reduce stress. She asked me why I started laughing, because anything to do with the benefits system is just unbelievably stressful. You're classed as a liar until you can prove otherwise, you've got the threat of the axe over your head at all times.

I've just had my first experience of the universal credit system and quite frankly it's bewildering. A digital system, my arse it is. It's clunky and extremely counter intuitive, I had to manually report self employed expenses. I mean wtaf I have to have digital accounting software for hmrc but then have to pull each transaction from the software and then workout which category it belongs in as they don't even use the same categories.

There's loads more I could say but I won't as despite having chronic illnesses the stress of dealing with benefits or talking about it as crippling too.

Op you're right it's about time people found some compassion.

Nobody asks to be ill, most people make the best of their circumstances. Will there be some taking the mick, yes but there's people taking the mick in all walks of life. What's the difference between someone faking symptoms and someone faking evidence on reports that deny a person help. I know it happens as in one of my reports despite being dropped off and picked up at the door of an assessment, I was witnessed walking across the car park. Neither scenario are right but one risks getting a criminal record whilst the other gets financially rewarded.

I’ve been a writer and editor for 20 years now and it still took me two attempts to get the PIP paperwork approved. It’s deliberately twisty and contradictory, and I can see how a lot of people manage to slip up and get their application denied.

I have a disability and I work. I’ve stayed in a job. I’m not that keen on because I am scared to move with my problems. My employers are very understanding and flexible, and I’m worried that I won’t find that anywhere else. I would love the government to assist businesses in making work more accessible for people with disabilities. But with the best will in the world, not everyone of working age can return to work.

There is unstable epilepsy, Freshers. I had a friend with that. She was under the care of a top neurologist and tried on many different medications, some of which had very unpleasant effects. She did work, tried had, but was not at all kindly treated at work. She died of a massive coronary at 40.

My friend was a lovely, kind person and life would have been so much better had she not had the stress and strain of work plus the hurt and disappointments which she experienced in the work place.

OP I totally understand your feelings.
I had a great career in a responsible job and then became seriously ill. It was a real shock to the system as I had enjoyed good health.
For various reasons my body never recovered and I developed several long term conditions. I would rather not say as last time I did it wasn’t pleasant.
I cannot begin to describe the devastation. And yes it’s had an impact on my mental health because when you go from having a busy life to being at home, often bedbound, sometimes unable to walk you have days when you can’t go on. Or that’s how you feel.
I am lucky that I have been able to work from home here and there - I have used the Permitted Work scheme and have never, ever been penalised. I have actually found it really helpful.
However for anyone who thinks that is easy, having a bucket by the bed to throw up in and a commode next to it, and shaking with exhaustion while you move between the two isn’t much fun.
I am currently unable to do anything at all work wise but I always live in hope.
Please don’t go near MLM. In my experience they often target vulnerable people and you need your money for basics.
I would rather have any physical condition than revert to mental health issues I have had in the past. They are so debilitating.
I have a supportive DP and a few good friends. I have lost family members and mates along the way.
I can only say to posters who spit bile - I hope it never happens to you. I hope it never happens to someone you love. I hope you never live in the fear that grips you when you get one more form to fill in.
As for ‘benefits cheats’ if you have any knowledge of statistical behavioural theories, any system creates cheats. In every sphere of life there are people who buck the system. Whether it’s cheating on your tax returns or MPs expenses, there are those who simply lie. It is part of human nature, I am afraid, and I don’t like it more than the next person.
But don’t use that as a stick to beat the genuinely ill.
Just thank your lucky stars it’s not you.

I would just like to add a voice of support OP, my mum has complex medical needs and has been unable to work since her late 40s (she’s late 60s now). The judgement see she has had from some people, including some in her own family, has been disgraceful over the years. She has many similar conditions to you an a severe spinal condition that means she cannot walk and needs daily morphine to control the pain. She is a wheelchair user permanently now. Some people are awful.

Do you take medication for your epilepsy, as it sounds incredibly poorly controlled?
I've worked with several people who've had epilepsy before but all were on medication that controlled their condition to the extent that seizures were a rarity. I wonder whether in your previous jobs employers havent realised your epilepsy isnt under control at all so have had completely the wrong expectations?
What do you take?

I would try not to let the comments by ignorant people bother you. Next time you are in a supermarket/bus/busy street look around and ask yourself if the opinion of every single person there is really worth your energy. In the older days we wouldn’t have given a shit if the drunken idiot man at the end of the bar had something negative to say about our lifestyle, or indeed the moron mouthing off at the back of the bus. But there’s something about seeing comments written on a thread that lends a bit of legitimacy and weight to truly idiotic opinions and mindsets. So my advice is try to visualise the writer of ignorant comments as the half witted numbskulls in society they probably are.

Sorry you’ve been dealt such a poor hand with your health. The benefits system in this country are an absolute disgrace.

It's so bloody hard to get benefits that really people ought to stop with 'oh it's just a bit of anxiety'. They're not approving that!! And it's not like you get to live in the lap of luxury once you do get approved.

There's undoubtedly places where the system could be improved and made more flexible and adaptable; some people could work at least part time if properly supported and interventions were earlier, like for mental health. There was a piece on NPR in the USA this week about a woman with spinal muscular atrophy who was able to work a 6 figure job as a VP at Chase because the government paid for her 24/7 caregivers (to the tune of $300K a year). Naturally, she was getting caught in a loophole where they wanted to pull that. Almost no-one could afford that on their own.

I didn’t have GAD because I wasn’t working, I had it due to an abusive childhood. Leaving work made it worse not better, thats my point. I am definitely not ignorant about GAD, mine was pretty bad from a very early age, it’s always been with me.

I say this in a kindly way…..but the reality for many disabled is that they do not wake when they want to ( they have likely been awake most of the night with pain)……they do not chill ( pain will not allow them)…..they don’t have hobbies as such ( 1 . They don’t go out much and 2. The pain doesn’t allow them to concentrate on anything non essential to the daily activities of living)…..and although family may pop round to see them if they are local, they have mainly lost contact with most friends as they are unable to get out much nor have the inclination due to pain……
its a hard life to imagine if you’ve not walked the walk

No I haven't. Does any other country have the equivalent of PIP. Not as far as I know. I'd like to see it abolished and replaced.

Just to clarify I did have a diagnosis of GAD.

@User37482 working only benefits peoples mental health when being out of work is the reason for the mental health spiral. It does not benefit people that are unable to work due to mental health issues. Your ignorance is astounding.

You can't have checked Starmer's voting record at a reliable source, then. https://www.theyworkforyou.com/mp/25353/keir_starmer/holborn_and_st_pancras/votes

Never applied for pip for dh as suspect the process could end up doing for him. Worked for 30 years in a high stress job then broke so thoroughly life since has been about keeping him from suicide. If awarded his would be for mental health and anxiety and it would be so deserved. I can’t explain what happened and he has done everything h to heal but it’s not happening. People don’t get it unless they have seen it sometimes.

Have you ever been to a PIP tribunal?!!

I have fibromyalgia and CFS. I thought my lot was bad with the pain and the chronic exhaustion that gets so bad I can’t even remember how to safely make a cuppa.

I’m so sorry you’re dealing with this OP also one fed up with the comments and half the population wishing me dead so I’m not a burden to them.

Erm I did, diagnosed by a psychologist. It had previously been managed with medication, this no longer worked. It took an immense amount of getting past fear to dig myself out of that. I wish we had better services for people suffering with mental health issues, I really do. At one point I was spending close to 2k a month on therapy. This is not feasible for the majority, we are not extremely wealthy so that was a big chunk of our income. I wouldn’t have done it unless I really needed to.

The trigger was entirely down to leaving work, I utterly spiralled. I am not saying any of this to have a pop at people on welfare. My point is that working can and does improve mental health for people with anxiety disorders. Even if it’s not work but caring for your kids, getting up and doing something to the best of your ability, being busy pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. All these things help.

I hope PIP is replaced. It's far too hit and miss.