To think we are becoming a country of hypochondriacs?

I know that's what OP posted. But that poster I was responding to, and the conversation, had moved on a lot from that.

I was responding to that particular posters and her posts, not misc people.

Charities might not advise this anymore but advice is rife all over the internet about how to maximise your claims. A quick search on YouTube alone will give you all the guidance you need.

The difference wasn't about the impact it had on the individual but how they reported this in their claim. A lot of this stuff cannot be realistically verified by a health professional so they have to take your word for it. They can't hide spy cameras in your house and check that your anxiety means you can't leave the house or you physically struggle to wake and dress on a bad morning.

In fairness, there are people who get PIP who have far milder impacts on their life than people who have applied for PIP and been turned down. If you use the right words, you can get it when you do not actually need any extra help.

Pip has nothing to do with your condition it's how it impacts your life

I don't dispute that, although she's far from the only one committing various frauds at a high level. and it all adds up. What I'm saying is a lot of people target those with disabilities and the poorest in society, in general, disproportionately because they hate or resent them, not because they genuinely care about the country's finances.

I also do not think that a high number of people are claiming sickness benefits and PIP fraudulently because it really is not easy to do.

@Bumpitybumper actually chairties in the past who did this do not advise to use bad days as a standard answer anymore.
And of course awards differ for the same condition, they effect everyone differently!

Yes I do. I also know that there are ways to complete the claims that can lead to vastly different awards for the same condition and that many people are actively encouraged to emphasise their symptoms on the worst days to optimise their awards.

Michelle Mone is being investigated but realistically the scale of her fraud will be a drop in the ocean compared to how much we spend on disability and out of work benefits. The latter is an ongoing cost that is set to spiral even further over the next few years. I have already mentioned that.we spend an equivalent of 2/3rds of the NHS budget each year on servicing our nation debt. We have to tackle the big hitters and get these costs under control otherwise things will get worse and worse.

Michelle Mone, HS2 etc all need to be dealt with but welfare spending is absolutely something that should be looked into and reformed as a matter of urgency.

Do you have any idea how much medical evidence you need to get pip

Every snowflake is different

Quite agree with @Bumpitybumper . One person off sick - everyone’s sympathetic. Six people off sick and those left are not very sympathetic at all.

The reported 0.4% rate of fraud has been calculated and verified how? It's almost impossible to prove that a PIP claim is fraudulent and infinitely harder than something like housing or child benefit. The government actually has no idea how many people are claiming PIP at higher levels than they should be or how many people are claiming PIP that shouldn't be eligible at all. I hate the fact that this statistic is banded around as if it's definitive proof that fraudulent claims aren't being made.

COVID happened and unfortunately it's left a lot of formerly well people damaged. It's something like 2m people!

But it's always the people on the bottom of the rung that people target and accuse of exploiting the system, isn't it? There's not post after post on here about the likes of Michelle Mone exploiting the system, but tons of benefits bashing goes on unchecked.

I don’t think many people are faking illness, but more likely have a genuinely skewed perception of how ill they are - particularly with mental health “conditions” such as depression and anxiety and, most of all, stress.

Of course it’s impossible to judge and so doctors and employers err on the side of caution. Is someone in a really bad place through job stress, or do they find the job frustrating and don’t like being reprimanded? I know the latter person - was given a warning for calling in sick at Christmas so promptly went off with stress - signed off long-term by doctor.

Society is organised to protect the vulnerable but this is where the problem arises. The system is currently organised is a way that assumes that the vulnerable are a relatively small minority and that the non vulnerable majority can contribute enough to provide the additional support and resources that the vulnerable need. There unfortunately is a sub-section of people though that see this and want to exploit it. The reality is for many people it is easier to be seen a vulnerable because of the extra benefits and allowances you get by doing this. It is sadly human nature and anecdotal evidence on this thread, countless other threads and experiences in my own life have proven this to be true.

So we end up in a situation where society becomes suspicious of everyone. Resentment grows and doubts fester. The most vulnerable end up losing out as resources are overstretched and there is a growing desire to restrict spending in this area as many taxpayers feel they are being taken for a ride. It is sad but it is what will happen when society's kindness and compassion is taken for weakness. There will always be those who seek to exploit this for personal gain.

You are worth far, far more than posters like that. I pity them in a way for being so full of bitterness and so lacking in empathy.

Be kind to yourself Raven. Some people have their heads so far up their backsides, they sit on their shoulders. ❤️❤️

I agree about over testing. You have a bad cold your blood pressure may register as too high.
Preventative testing targets those most at risk. So targeting those who are older, or already have risk factors makes sense. Testing healthy 25 year olds makes no sense at all.

I have lots of tests and to be fair when you start looking you just find more issues. Over testing isn't always a good thing

What exactly are we talking about here in terms of friends, their ages, your relationship? Because casual friends who don't know me that well would probablu not even know I have this disability or that gives me grief. People I see regularly might have an idea but I'd keep it light - eg if they see I am moving strangely or if I'm embarassed because I am struggling to carry something and I'd just say somethign like, "oh, I have a bit of a dodgy shoulder but I'll be fine tomorrow|."

But my close friends do know becuase they're the ones who I feel comfortable complaining that it's bloody painful this week and it's making normal tasks 1million times harder than usual.

Oh yes.
Cause poverty would alleviate all the illness symptoms.. not make them worse at all.

I hope to god people that hold this opinion fall fowl of an illness.. because nothing will change your tunes faster than experiencing the life of those you look down on..