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

[Laughydodo]

Named changes for this

Fed up of the vile comments about disability including on mumsnet.
(I know it’s a minority on here). Especially against those who claim PIP.

Fed up of feeling like a second class citizen because I claim benefits.

Fed up of people saying my mental health will improve if I am at work.

Fed up of disability top trumps with people saying things like- I have this , this and this disability and I manage to work.

Fed up that some people seem be hoping that Pip is abolished and then people like us will have to find another way to support ourselves. Also so fearful of this happening.

I clung onto work for years with having epilepsy and fibromyalgia. Fighting to stay in while employers were trying everything to get rid of me. I would be let go from one job on health grounds only to start the process again and it end the same way.

I now claim pip and esa as i have up to 20 seizures a week. Half of which I lose my memory and speech (I don’t even recognise my husband at times) and are totally wiped out for half a day at least . Would love some of the smug arseholes that’s seem to think everyone can work find someone who is willing to employ me. Oh and I piss myself as well and lose control of my bowels with many of my seizures. This is without the pain of fibro coming into it all.

So come on then these people on here who think all disabled people should work- suggest all the jobs that I can do that will benefit my mental health so I won’t be a burden on the state. Would you honestly be happy to employ me?

Sorry but the self righteous comments from people who dont have a clue is really starting to boil my piss. Oh and one day it might happen to them. I was 22 when I developed epilepsy, 30 when I got fibro after having glandular fever. I would not wish this one anyone obviously but people seem to forget that disability can happen at any time.

So waiting for the jobs suggestions to begin and the list of employers that would employ me-

Just as bad. They need to educate themselves and read the room.

In principle but imagine being asked in an assessment whether you ever have suicidal thoughts, you say yes because you do and the report then states client says no intrusive thoughts. It's the blatant lies and forcing people to move joints in ways that aren't suitable that's the problem.

Last time I was assessed I was so fed up of the constant harassment I sent in one of the many many letters I'd received from Matt Hancock telling me to stay in and all that goes with being permanently immunocompromised.

It's a bit ironic that the health secretary was writing to you saying your sick and the dwp are also writing saying prove that your sick.

If you are getting 20 seizures a week I can't imagine you could really go out safely l, let alone work. What about if you have one whilst crossing the road. I imagine you can't drive. Your life sounds hard enough without trying to go out to work on top. PIP is meant for people like you.

yanbu - I had to hide that awful thread yesterday about PIP when the sanctimonious self imposed benefit bashers swooped in like bald eagles (apologies to eagles). They are fucking shameful and have no idea what it’s like when you want to but can’t work. There’s very very few magic jobs that are easily available, even navigating the job search is a nightmare. They clearly have no idea how hard it is to get awarded PIP and it makes me very angry they can get away with sweeping generalisations they haven’t a clue about.

I don't think being assessed as such is the problem. It's the fact that assessment reports are sometimes often not accurate and at times bear very little resemblance to what the claimant has said. Evidence from claimants' doctors is also regularly ignored.

The criteria used are also very arbitrary and you can be very unwell and still not fit the boxes.

A high percentage of refusals are also overturned at tribunal which means the DWP are regularly making incorrect decisions ( based on inaccurate reports by assessment providers.)

Most people don't understand quite what it's like living with a disability until they actually experience it.

My teenage daughter has just been granted PIP. She previously received DLA.

It might surprise surprise people that know her because the true extent of her health issues are kept as private as we are able to.

I think that's probably the case for many people where the disability might not be an immediately visible physical issue.

I've just been awarded Pip. I'm managing just about to work while having young children but every day is a struggle. I agree with those posters that the conditions that are put in the category of 'I know someone who had that and it wasn't that bad therefore you must be exaggerating' are incredibly hard to deal with because every person that you discuss your struggles with thinks you must be a benefit scrounger and shouldn't get the help. It is exhausting and I'm exhausted from being exhausted.

@LoremIpsumCici Said exactly what I wanted to say but far more eloquently!
I'm sorry about your situation and your daily struggles.
Too many people think pip is " free money" and the government stance on benefits( people can do the right job if they want to) fuels the ignorance and stigma for claimants
I have Cerebral Palsy which will only get worse with age.

If you felt that you were not that "needy" of a blue badge, then maybe you should not have been applying for it in the first place. Some people would lump you in with the "piss takers", whether you were awarded one, or not.

I only saw a little bit of the other thread. I think people get mixed up with those people who have clearly tried lots of different strategies for managing their health conditions with work until it’s not viable anymore, and the conversation about helping people out much much earlier on which is valid.

If you receive very little help or support in the workplace from the start and it just keeps failing - like the OP described, all you are doing is making people fail over and over until they can’t cope with it anymore. The help people need when first diagnosed with depression probably is some time off work - by the time you have reached this stage you will likely be quite unwell? no one is there to help them adapt to their diagnosis, there are no mental health services or support systems in place when people do try to go back to work so the fail cycle starts again.

More resources are needed in mental health services and employers can be forced to be far more accommodating to someone with a disability or health condition that significantly impacts their lives. A lot of employers will put in a wheelchair ramp to be accessible but then prevent disabled people from having time off when their health requires by threatening to sack them.

Of which the vast majority are overturned on appeal.

So rather it's inept first instance decision makers than people taking advantage.

I know a few people who just appeal the decisions for PIP and it's overturned. Makes you wonder what the first lot were thinking / writing down.

The fact that so many appeals are overturned at PIP tribunals, speaks volumes. The system of assessing, is in dire need of reform. It is costly for the cases to have to go to the tribunal, not to mention stressful, and time consuming for the claimant, who is in so many cases, proven to have been wrongfully assessed in the beginning.

I hear you OP.
I have 2 invisible illnesses. I work but would actually be better off on benefits. I want to work but obviously have challenges that others don't see. When I pull off a long shift it can take me days to recover.
Even my own family don't get it so I don't even attempt to get anyone else to understand. The other day when I tried to talk about an appointment I was going to, a relative of mine said 'Could you ask them this question for me?' then said she was joking but actually I wasn't convinced she was.
My illnesses get dismissed because on the surface I cope well and therefore it is very isolating and I often feel very alone. There are online forums for support but often they can make me feel worse.
Sorry off on a tangent there but I think to sum it up, many don't realise what it is like to not have good health or wealth. Especially on MN.

It's clearly designed to be as difficult and upsetting as possible.

I'm certain I qualify but I won't apply. I'm not mentally prepared to be called a liar or have to go to a tribunal. It's challenging enough coming to terms with having a degenerative disease, let alone have to go to court to prove I'm not imagining it.

@RaiseYourSkinnyFists Cripes, that’s so ridiculous and unfair. Surely a degenerative disease is clearly diagnosed in your medical notes, how could anyone have the gall to challenge it?

My Mum suffered from MS, for example (died years ago pre-PIP) and there’s no way anyone could deny that she had a degenerative disease.

Maybe they wouldn't but I'm too scared to even apply. With them making that many mistakes, it's clearly deliberate.

Sometimes I gaslight myself that I'm imagining it! The idea of the government doing the same to me makes me so incredibly worried. I've had suicidal depression in the past and I'm terrified of being put back to that. I genuinely fear that I wouldn't survive that kind of treatment.

It's awful. I'm praying for some kind of reform that means they can just accept what's on my medical records.

@RaiseYourSkinnyFists 💐

Thank you.

What gets me is that I used to work in a really challenging profession. I'm more than capable of dealing with complicated processes. But this is just inhumane.

I ended up having to take taxis (paid for by me)to the hospital appointments as my daughter’s wheel chair wouldn’t fit in the car due to the way the surgery had to be done. I was right I didn’t need the blue badge in the end. I never got the chance to take up anyone’s space, so you don’t have to worry about that.

That’s ok. I just roll my eyes. 🙄

Best strategy, I reckon.

As everyone else has said you are obviously a genuine case with genuine disabilities that significantly affect your activities of daily living and the ability to maintain your own safety.

Sadly that is not the case with many others. Some think a medical diagnosis is reason enough to claim. The criteria does need to be clearer imo.

I think you meant to post that to somebody else, since I said almost exactly the same thing and completely agree.

People don't claim on the basis of a medical diagnosis. The criteria are not based on medical diagnosis.

How could the criteria be clearer, in your opinion? Can you give examples?