People who work have anxiety too

[Fedupandgrump]

Anyone else on the verge of a breakdown with work, kids, mortgage and cost of living?

I’ve read a lot of threads recently about people with mental health conditions worried about being forced into employment when they feel as though they would not be able to cope. Whilst I sympathise, it’s come at a time where I am completely overwhelmed, burnt out and wonder how the fuck I’m going to get through the week. I treat myself to a half hour sob in Sainsburys car park every couple of days and I wake up every morning with dread, fear and anxiety about what the day will hold. However, I go and work because I. Have. No. Choice. I have two kids and a mad dog that relies on me and my husband to keep our shit together and a roof over our heads. Every day I can feel my heart racing and I feel permanently like I’m in fight or flight mode and I wonder if this is going to lead to a premature heart attack in my 30’s.

I sometimes feel like people who don’t work due to poor mental health thinks those of us who do work, are suffering less than them. I know IAMBU but I can’t help the way I feel at the minute.

I agree with that @Kendodd

I think the people who are signed off work because of mental health reasons are generally ones who are being helped my mental health teams and not just the gp. They also tend to be people with co existing diagnosis such as ptsd, personality disorders or bipolar.
Generally they are also people who have self harmed or tried to commit suicide in the past. That's why they will be classed as it being detrimental to there health if they are forced into work. It goes alot deeper than just anxiety and some anti depressed pills that the GPS hand out willy nilly!!!!

@Kendodd

Under 25s are still seen as the responsibility of their parents primarily.

For instance, when filling in student finance your parent’s income is taken into account up until the point of age 25. It is expected that your parents should make up the difference of your grant/loan if the student finance dept give you less on account of parental income. Although many parents fail in their responsibility.

Essentially there are lesser wages and benefits for younger people because the government wants to encourage them to get educated and deems that parents still have some responsibility for young adults.

If someone is disgruntled at the low amount of benefits then they can take up a course and be financed and that will bring up their income. If you live separately from your parents for 3 years you are taken as an independent student and will receive full everything, plus likely bursary and emergency grant from the Uni or college.

"Whilst I sympathise, it’s come at a time where I am completely overwhelmed, burnt out and wonder how the fuck I’m going to get through the week."

If all you need is a cry to get through the week why are you comparing yourself to someone with a lifetime disability.

I look after my son with no help from social services (as it's been cut) and at times I can't walk. No adaptation to my home as no budget.

Never get a moments break from it or being a mum. Living off 10k a year with a baby has tipped me over the edge after getting turned down to healthy start. Part of why this is happened is I don't get a moment to cry.

We are all dealing with cost of living, the payments we have received don't even bring me up to min wage and are not much more than the NI relief workers have had.

Despite this i can see how hard it is for workers. Zero hours jobs are becoming standard and are not healthy working environments.

Yet many I chat to in non secure jobs say they do it as the alternative is what I'm living, it's called enforce poverty.

@HÆLTHEPAIN Just a bottle of Barry M. Try using a wee paint brush for your toes. I use the cheap ones from the crafts bit in home bargains. Takes a wee bit longer but you don't need fold yourself up as much.

I agree with you, I'm not sure why a 25 years old should have less expenses than a 26 years old.

Now check the housing benefit rates and tell me how many properties you can find to rent on zoopla or rightmove with those kind of money! Even the shared house rates don't cover the rent. But if you have a one bedroom there's bills on top.

I'm not sure, but I think I read somewhere that if you are single and under 35 years old, you qualify only for a house share rate, not a one bedroom rate.

lha-direct.voa.gov.uk/

Agree OP.

I just find it incomprehensible that someone can net £3.3k per month (and she was clearly getting maintenance too) which is what, a £65k salary for not working.

Im all for supporting people back into the workplace but I think what people really want is acceptance and support to stay at home, indefinitely.

Who is netting 3.5k?

I so relate to this parking at work, feeling inside you should be driving to a psychiatric ward. You just carry on. I hope things get better for you OP- they did for me.

Eh? PIP, at the highest rate, is just over £600 a month. Could you tell me where the other £2.9k is coming from, please? Curious as to why I'm having to work full time to pay my bills when severely disabled if there's another magical 2.9k out there for me.

I’m confused as to why people are bringing PIP into this discussion. You can receive PIP while working, right?

The OP is talking about something different- the current debate around being signed off sick from work long term, aren’t you, @Fedupandgrump?

According to some news reports (which may be inaccurate, of course) this can sometimes happen without even being seen by a GP, which is bizarre, tbh. The OP is saying that she can’t afford to do that even though she’s struggling, it’s nothing to do with PIP at all.

I'm assuming that's the recent thread where a poster was caring for disabled child, oh whilst working part time at that

And a large proportion of the money was going to a private landlord, not for the posters frivolous spending so the actual issue is the lack of social housing which profits private landlords not part time workers caring for disabled children

I wonder if that would work, are any parties seriously proposing it yet? Something has to change, what he have now isn't working.

The argument is around UC. I’m not sure why PIP is being dragged into it. UC is payable to anyone, regardless of health, if they are eligible.🤷‍♀️

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5066331-do-you-feel-bad-for-receiving-a-high-amount-of-uc?page=1

its on one of the posts OP has quoted.

Have any of you followed the links OP has posted?

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/money-matters/5066331-do-you-feel-bad-for-receiving-a-high-amount-of-uc?page=1

Yes maybe so - but that’s another issue. All it’s doing is making the basic cost of living unattainable. If someone on benefits can net that then prices will just rise.

It’s not the whole of the problem but it doesn’t help! It’s not worthwhile to work.

I personally think someone caring for a disabled person, child or adult, should be paid the same as someone who works. Because the alternative is putting the child/adult into care/care homes with all the associated costs

Besides which, again, this is a poster who is working part time. So using this to somehow prove that carers are the issue why people don't work, when the poster is working is a bit random

@Boomer55 Because obviously anyone on any type of benefits is faking disability. Doesn't matter that it's obviously a load of shite. People seem to genuinely believe that receiving universal credit means faking reasons not to work then applying for pip.

I think that's it. The mental gymnastics on this thread is something else

I wish I was faking mine. I’d love a normal, healthy life.🙄

@Boomer55 It's terrifying to see how many people see us as a drain on society

Yeah, but, thankfully, the posters on here, most of whom don’t even seem to understand disability, aren’t making the decisions.👍

There’s no such thing as ‘understanding disability’ (unless you mean unquestioning acceptance of anything anyone says even if from the outside it looks… suspect).

Because as we are told time and time again, everything is personal, when you’ve met one person with X you’ve met one person with X, everyone’s ‘needs’ are different etc

So, no such thing as ‘understanding’ it but I suspect you meant the alternative meaning above.

I don’t understand people saying they can’t afford to go onto UC. What makes you think people claiming UC could afford to? Do recipients of UC not have the same bills as everyone else? Have you seen the housing element of UC? It’s been pointed out again and again, including in the news, that the housing allowance does not cover even the cheapest rental properties.

Are benefits too much or not enough? Which is it? If you think you can’t afford to live on UC, then it’s clearly not enough for most people to live on.

I think what people actually mean when they say that is, ‘I’m too good for UC’.