Upset by way govmt is managing disability benefits change

Exactly. Most people who claim PIP are using it to participate and contribute to society by using to enable them to work. To cover some of the extra costs of being disabled. Also, no one is hoarding their PIP off-shore, it is flowing around the economy.

The wording around the ‘severity’ of disability is wrong too. For most people, their ‘level’ of disability depends largely on the accessibility of their surroundings and the appropriateness of support. The language the government are using illustrates their lack of understanding/care.

The rhetoric is not that different to the facism going on in the US atm. That the disabled are shirkers, benefits frauds & work shy. That the disabled are a drain on society. That being disabled is a lifestyle choice. And yet the DWP’s own published reports state the PIP fraud rate is only 0.2%!! But ok let’s keep blaming & scapegoating the disabled to justify facist economic policies.

Increasing taxes for those working to give to increasing numbers on benefits doesn't encourage people to work.

Benefits should be a safety net not a way of life. The ballooning of people claiming and not working is far worse here than other European countries and it has to stop. I was listening to a woman on the radio yesterday who works but gets PIP so she can employ someone to clean her house and do her garden as working and doing both would be “too much” for her. Frankly working full time and keeping on top of both is hard for most people. If anything I think we should be giving the most disabled more go
improve their quality of life and not continually assessing people who will never be able to work - but claimants like the one I’ve listed, and the amount of young people not doing anything has to change.

I live in Australia. We have a new hire who is originally from London, who has lived here for 1.5 years.

She said she can't believe how many people claim benefits in the UK, and the extent of MH issues in the country. In contrast, there is very little of it here. And even those who do claim are on the poverty line - it certainly is much more financially beneficial to work in Australia, even in a minimum wage job.

Now obviously the question is why? Is it too easy to claim? Is the reward for work too low in comparison to benefits? Is the cost of living too high that people just give up on life and spiral in to depression and then 'can't' work? Is there a lack of hope in the UK? I suspect it is a combination of all of these factors. Not an easy thing to unravel.

Ultimately I think one of the main goals should be to make companies that make billions in profits, pay their staff more. Wage growth is pathetic compared to the growth in profit among many large companies. Erosion of workers rights and salaries is a big problem.

Exactly. I'm physically disabled and I'm already struggling to manage.

My whole food for today has been:
Three fish fingers
About ten chips
A small bowl of soup

And that's a good day for food for me.

Again, I'm physically disabled and I need decent nutritious healthy regular meals to help me have sufficient energy. A healthy person would start getting sick trying to manage on what I eat. Instead, I have to fight through my physical condition and weariness from constant hunger to get even the smallest thing done. Even putting a load of laundry on is exhausting for me. I haven't eaten properly in months.

And now I'm supposed to eat even less than that? How??

No, I can't get to the food bank. And no, they don't deliver.

1. the changes aren’t restricted to mental health issues
2. even if they were, loads of people genuinely cant work due to mental health issues. round my way there are plenty of extreme examples - the guy who walks up and down the high street hitting himself in the head and shouting about jesus; the woman who goes out fully naked a few times a year. many more besides. what work can they do?

They don't. Their plan is to punish everyone who can't work and hopefully starve some of them into finding jobs or commit suicide otherwise.

People will die because of this.

What else can happen?
Too many are increasingly claiming benefits for mental health and it's not sustainable.
I'd like to see benefits kept for things like genetic physical differences that make working harder, but the number of people saying they have mental health doesn't make sense unless some are gaming the system (how do the government work out which ones are doing this?).

It's sad to see how many people are gleeful about making people who are too disabled to work destitute. There's a huge number of people who aren't 'severely' disabled, whatever that's supposed to mean, but who are not well enough for work of any kind.

All of those 'lesser' disabled people are going to be even colder and hungrier, possibly end up homeless, or in desperate situations. And people are actually celebrating that.

All I've heard for days now is about what a useless burden I am on society. It's fucked up.

And no, I don't care if your auntie's cousin's dog knows a benefit scrounger.

@indigovapour Costs ARE ballooning and it IS unsustainable. Would you prefer they just pretended that wasn’t the case and did nothing about it

I would prefer they actually address the underlying issues in a long term way. Which would mean tax increases for most people to fund investment in services. New legislation to force employers to be flexible around WFH, sickness leave and reasonable adjustments and to guarantee interviews for all disabled applicants meeting minimum eligibility criteria. And more besides. A holistic approach, not the blunt instrument of cuts.

Yes they are doing something, but not something that will actually save money, get people into work or make them healthier. It’s just a mishmash of stuff they think the public want to hear; no actual strategy. It will cost more in the long run and ruin lives

Agix
They talk about anxiety and depression being over diagnosed. Of course these conditions are over diagnosed, GPS can't be arsed to actually investigate symptoms, especially if you're a woman. Head could be half off and you'd still get slapped with an anxiety diagnosis.

No such thing as “over diagnosis” by doctors.
Very sad people are falling for this.

Sorry but I have to disagree. I was widowed two years ago and during a routine doctor's appointment he asked if I missed my husband. Of course, I replied, and was then told that I could be put on "something to help with that". I asked if he meant antidepressants and he said yes. With one clumsy question he'd diagnosed me as depressed and offered medication. People ARE being misdiagnosed, and it's widespread.

I self harmed today first time in months

The worst bit is our lives will be shadowed by this for years. Wondering when it will kick in. If we can manage to scrape 4 points next assessment etc

And the likelyhood is no, most people won't.
They want people off PIP and have brought in the 4 point rule for a reason, because its unattainable to a lot of people. I looked through the descriptors and i dont think I quite fit into any 4+

But have lots of 2s and 3s, hence my award now.

You are right and today’s economic news is going to make it even more urgent.

Sorry to hear that. It is awful. No one gets it unless it affecting them.

I self harmed and ended up at my GP yesterday to talk about this. I can't sleep either.

My boyfriend was worried about me after all the new announcements and called the crisis team. They said they had a huge increase in calls mostly about the cuts to benefts.

I believe it!

Health & MH services & support charities will get completely overwhelmed. Hospital admissions & the suicide rate will increase. Right to try with no fear of losing your benefits is great in theory but is meaningless if you no longer are eligible for that benefit in the first place.
Survival of the fittest at its finest.

I broke my foot, and was told it was mental health related. It is ridiculous.

I'm putting through a pip mobility application at the moment.
I've been trying to get a diagnosis for pains and fatigue for 10+ years, last year it took as serious turn and I've lost my ability to walk. 10 years I've been told it's due to anxiety, depression and lack of vitamin D.

Just to add, I've had to wait 8 months to be seen by a specialist, I was supposed to see someone back in October but the hospital kept pushing back my referral. My Gp told me to rest my pains whilst I see the specialist, the specialist told me that my mobility has been lost by resting too much. My health could have been saved much sooner has I been listened to.