To be frightened about the Government’s plans for benefits reform?

[PilgorTheGoat]

I am one of the millions of people currently on long term sickness benefits. I receive the LCWRA element of UC and PIP due to poor mental health and autism. I have severe anxiety and depression and I am awaiting an appointment to see if I also have PTSD due to sexual abuse in my childhood.

I have tried every element of support offered to me. I’m maxed out on 2 different types of antidepressants. I have had back-to-back (excluding the 6 month wait in between) 12 week sessions of counselling offered via the NHS. I am on a waiting list for intensive CBT due to my possible PTSD. I am currently having twice weekly private, video counselling appointments.

I can’t leave my house alone due to panic attacks. I struggle to meet my own care needs and my husband has to do a lot of the work for us both (although he works full time). I have a very understanding friend whom I force myself to go for a short walk with twice a week in order to stop myself becoming completely imprisoned at home but I find this very distressing and we have to take the same route each time.

I am so, so scared about the government’s plans to end sickness benefits for people like me. We don’t have a load of spare cash, we’re just about getting by. There is no support available. I’ve taken everything offered and my husband has been very proactive in seeking out other services for me to be involved with. I’d love to be better, I’d love not to live in fear but there is no help.

I know it's been said before but it is bloody obvious that if you have long NHS wating lists you are going to have people off work for longer. Many people waiting for hip/knees etc could work again after they recover, but it's much less likely if they have been out of the workplace for years by the time they are have their procedure.

I love how disabled people are being told they should work from home. Start a “work from home” thread on here and before long, you’ll be told you’re personally responsible for the death of the high street shops and cafes, you’re the reason why the bank don’t answer their phones and you’re probably not working anyway because you’re doing your laundry and walking the dog.

Sarcasm aside, I do think being about to work from home has opened more doors for disabled people or those with illnesses or physical health needs. It’s certainly changed my life but I am NT and currently am well managed with my mental health. My problems are physical and can be very well managed by working from home during a flare up.

Around 25,000 people a year receive PIP with their main complaint being ADHD

https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-health-conditions/claim-pip-for-adhd

So they’re seriously affected just as pp said.

Interesting! That link also does say “Many of these are likely to have been transferred from DLA when reaching 16 years of age.”

It just seems a very large number that’s all. A town the size of Stroud, every year. I don’t even know what the total number would be.

9.25 million people aged 16-64 were economically inactive

I wonder how many of those 16-18 yr olds are in full-time education and I wonder how many over 60's are retired ?

I'm confused as to why ADHD requires money.

To be honest, I'm confused as to why any mental health conditions require money.

It's not like a physical disability that might incur additional costs.

I totally disagree. Thanks heavens private ADHD assessments are available as many people have suffered far too long remaining undiagnosed in school, without strategies or medication to cope, while their secondary education becomes severely disrupted. Having a diagnosis can significantly help a student access study and surely that makes it easier for them to enter the workplace after that? Unless you are implying that private ADHD assessments are likely to be fraudulent of course?

One of my adult daughters has ASD. She has excelled academically and in certain situations it would appear that her condition has caused her few difficulties. To refer to a pp, she would be more than able to write a very eloquent post on Mumsnet for example. In reality, only we her close family get to see the mask fall off at home, know how she has to be chauffeured around bc she cannot cope on public transport, and how she is socially isolated and depressed, and struggles with basic social interaction. Her work mates see a totally different person at work than we see at home. That doesn’t mean that her struggles aren’t real however because if we her parents died or became incapacitated, she wouldn’t be able to make it in to work alone.

So I would agree that some conditions are hard to diagnose and quantify. That does not mean though that they do not exist and shouldn’t be supported.

Rather than picking on people with mh issues or brains that work differently, I think a far better focus for fraud would be the gangs operating mass scams and claiming benefits for seven hundred individuals out of one address that the government officers have somehow failed to spot.

Nothing stopping you from doing a bit of your own research to understand why those with mental illness or other disorder might need the money. You have a world of information at your fingertips via Google.

ADHD isn't a mental illness. It's a neurological disorder.

Have you not heard of ADHD medication that is prescribed by a consultant psychiatrist?

Have you not heard of therapy that is provided by licensed psychologists?

Have you heard of occupational therapists or psychologists who support people with conditions like agoraphobia or anorexia in their own homes?

All of those services cost a lot of money and that is just a few examples.

ADHD is not a mental health condition. It's neurological disorder.

Can you honestly not understand why anyone would seek a disability payment for a neurological disorder. Really?

Would you say that to someone with dementia? Or a brain tumour? Parkinsons?

Is this a wind up?

You might need something to help you eat, so hello fresh or gousto.

You might need to pay people to deliver instead of getting it yourself.

You might need help cleaning, your house, yourself or your garden, or need special products for that.

You may need to pay a premium for service such as pharmacy deliveries or sight checks at home.

As NHS care is so patchy you may choose to spend it on a weekly therapy appointment that's stable.

You may need specialist clothing if you have physical or mental reactions to restriction.

Hmm, I'm sure there are a lot more!

I'm sure there are food sensitivity disorders involved too, and the costs in that.

Heating, blankets, swimming toys, mental stimulation aids...

All things that add to the £84 a week basic rate.

I'm sure there are many more!

I'm sure you'll laugh, but these are the things that stop people completely losing it! They really are necessary!

One client carries loo roll every where, that costs a small fortune these days!

Or disinfectants for OCD (we check what's safe...)

I don't think pip gets you free prescription either so if you have a couple of those, or over the counter medication...

Taxis if you can't drive.

So it does add up. And it's not preferences, it's medical needs that aren't provided onthe NHS.

You have the choice to do that though. People who can’t work and have their benefits removed won’t have a choice.

Perhaps you should read the questionnaire in the link which shows quite clearly the levels of help people who are severely affected require.

Don't live in fear. The government likes to talk a lot of arrant nonsense. They should be concentrating on improving the NHS so that people can get better rather than trying to line their friends' pockets.

To be fair I think working parents could do with most of that!

And a lot of people with psychosis don't actually claim as they don't believe there is anything wrong with them, they may be awarded pip, don't attend follow up appointments and so slip through the cracks. Those with anxiety and depression that are still able to fill out the form and claim appropriately do so because they can!!

Period pants and incontinence pads.

Some people forget to pee when they need to.

Accidents are much more likely (of all types), so the cost of replacing things. I always advise those homing devices for ADHD sufferers for their keys!

Programmes for your laptop/phone to help with form filling/spelling etc. even the basic alarm systems that alert mental health sufferers to medication taking times, appointments etc cost.

Pet food, we always recommend a pet now, unless they're really ill. Helps people get up in the morning.

Books, education, computing courses. Only the most basic are provided by the job centre.

Lots of things really!

And the beauty of pip is that the client has control, which is overwhelmingly positive for their mental health.

Most people with psychosis need someone else to claim for them, yes.

Same

Lots of working parents do have ADHD.

It can be an incredibly disabling condition for some. Life expectancy is reduced. Some people can't live independently. It's absolutely right that PIP is awarded for it.

🤣 well yes,.I think most people would like it!

For some, especially those on £84 a week, it is a necessity though. Or they just will completely disengage. That doesn't help them or society.

Even those levers to help you out of the bath. Some people NEED those, and they need replacing often. And paying some one to replace them!

That costs the NHS money.

It doesn't cost the recipient money.