PIP for Anxiety

[IntelligenceIsFree]

AIBU to clear things up?

The current nasty rhetoric around disabled people at the moment is astounding. Society needs to be reminded that we are ALL one illness or accident away from disability.

Everyone knows someone who is gaming the system, yet the PIP fraud rate is extremely low. The public demonising, does not match the reality.

The hot topic is “anxiety” and how people with “anxiety” are gaming the system, getting “free” cars and robbing tax payers; this is being constantly fed through media, news articles and so on.

This is simply not true. The people spouting this nonsense clearly have no idea how PIP works. Nobody gets PIP without strong medical evidence. Nobody.

Before anyone posts “my neighbour got PIP just by telling lies”. No, they did not. That’s not how it works.

People need to be educated properly on how benefits work, how they are awarded and what the criteria for mobility cars actually is; the cars are not in fact free.

People need to be educated on the fact that there is anxiety, which every human suffers from at some point, and then there are anxiety DISORDERS which are entirely different and can be life changing and debilitating. Hence, the need and entitlement for PIP.

Brenda down the road who feels too anxious to go to Bingo on a Friday night is NOT getting PIP ❌

Mary up the lane who has such severe OCD that she cannot leave her own home for fear that she will die, IS getting PIP .✅

There’s a huge difference.

The current turning on disabled people is shameful and we are living in a country full of hate because Bob (and his Uncle) are annoyed that they are paying tax to “support all of these scroungers”.

Bob (and his Uncle), needs to hope that they never get cancer, or suffer life changing trauma or have an unfortunate accident to avoid being served a huge scrounged humble pie.

I do not suffer from anxiety but as a human, I am pleased we have a system in society to support the most vulnerable people who need it. Life can happen to anyone.

Neither of my posts were about you.
You made them about you.
I am speaking from me. You equally have no idea about my situation. We don't know each other at all to judge each situation.

My posts were general thoughts on the fact there is often something for everyone. A lot of people on benefits could technically work they choose not to.

I never directed any of it at your situation specifically as I know nothing about it. It's odd you chose to make it about you though...

If you believe you were not physically able to do a thing and you didn't then good for you. Don't need to be explaining it here.

Because I found a job I could do that works with my situation.
The situation I describe might not have been you, but it sure does suit a lot of people on benefits.

You sure have made my posts so personally about just your situation it's odd. Kind of working against your point though.

The government or anyone has no clue unless they have lived it i have bipolar, bpd, mild brain damage and organ failure and nothing has ever been as debilitating as anxiety. Now my anxiety is at a manageable level im back at work (part time) because of obviously all my other conditions but there is absolutely no way I could of worked even an hour back then it was the worst period of my life.

I believe you may think you had severe anxiety but im explaining to you if you was working you didnt

I’d also ask how many people getting PIP for anxiety and OCD use the money to pay for therapy. That’s what the payment is for too - to get therapy so you can recover and return eventually to the work place, otherwise you’re never going to get better, so will be taking PIP for the rest of your days. I suspect many do not use it to pay for treatment, so they’re not helping themselves.

Genuine question as I don’t personally know anyone in your situation, but I appreciate there are lots of people facing the same issues - if you’ve claimed DLA and PIP since you were 16, what skills, qualifications and experience do you have for work? Do you have education/training etc? Have you tried to work? Have you volunteered? I’m not sure what you mean by barriers to work - do you mean they won’t make reasonable adjustments for you? How could we make you more attractive to employers? If you are capable of work we should have a system that gets you into work. I work with a lot of autistic people, that’s not necessarily a barrier to work.

Oh right. Because I didn't respond the exact same way you did it wasn't as bad. 😂

So you're one of those who has to grade everyone's issues against their own because you personally know each individual circumstance that could never be as bad as yours.
Got it.

When disabilities become a competition I'm out. I stand by everything I said and I will leave there.

No it isn’t. PIP assesses disability as a way of determining the extra costs of living with a disability. There is absolutely no expectation that PIP is used to obtain treatment at even more cost. And PIP is absolutely nothing to do with the ability to work, or return to work at any point. It doesn’t assess the ability to work in any way shape or form.

If they’re moving away from anonymous reporting, how are they ever going to identify fraud? To me, that just says the government is trying to fiddle the figures so that it appears fraud is decreasing, when that’s not the case. Just another manipulation of figures by this useless government.

Not for anxiety i haven't as by the time I claimed pip i was so severely unwell I had good support from cmht. I did however pay for dbt for my bpd as they don't offer that in the area I live on the nhs (bloody postcode lottery)

I don't understand how people get pip fraudulently. My experience is you need A LOT of evidence to get it and if you don't have the evidence you have no chance, even if you really need it.

Genuine answer to a genuine question. PIP is absolutely nothing to do with work. It doesn’t assess the ability to work and it’s not an out of work benefit. It’s a universal benefit paid to claimants as a contribution to the extra cost of living with a disability, regardless of whether or not they work or could work.

But when it’s raised on these boards about why PIP isn’t being means tested, there’s usually a barrage of people saying that they need to pay for therapy, privately due to long NHS waiting lists, which can hit even those on higher incomes due to the cost.

This is MN. The assumption is that unless you’re on your deathbed when you claim PIP, you’re gaming the system.

You are the one saying I should have got a job that fitted around my anxiety disorder. I then explained to you that you don't understand how severely unwell I was. And you so casually saying well I just worked round it tells me you don't understand. Let me guess you think all anxiety is social anxiety so you got a job where you didn't talk to people. I don't have social anxiety and never have.

You do. people on here talk out their arses and have access to their neighbours medical records and bank accounts

This is absolutely it.

It’s not that so many are committing fraud it’s simply that people don’t agree they should get PIP and that translates in their small minds to fraud.

PIP isn’t means tested because that would defeat the object of the award. It’s universal because disability is universal and doesn’t differentiate between rich and poor. Why would you award PIP to a disabled person whose income is under some arbitrary threshold but expect someone who sits above that threshold to skint themselves before they could claim for the same disability - it amounts to a two tier system which will inevitably screen out those who are pennies above the threshold and who need the support.

And it doesnt alter the fact that claimants are not expected to use PIP towards therapy that they have to pay for in order to get themselves back to work - for the simple reason that PIP is not an out of work benefit and doesn’t assess the ability to work.

No.
See there you are making it about you again.
I said most people on disability payments can actually get jobs that suit their situation.
I explained what I had and why I could have been on disability but chose not to.
You decided the post was all about you and your situation so jumped on the defence.
Instead of thinking to yourself well that said most, my situation was different so there for doesn't apply to me.
You chose a "doth protest too much" scenario instead.

Seriously. Wasn't about you. I still stand by what I said and if it doesn't apply to you try stfu.

This is yet another pointless thread. PIP system, as well as the entire welfare for working age adults, will change in four years max.

Labour are very unlikely to touch it unfortunately, so the next government, which is very likely to be some combination of right wing, will tackle this in the most drastic way. It's not just that current welfare is completely unsustainable financially, but the tide has turned in terms of public opinion as well.

They’re moving away from anonymous reporting because too often where they do investigate it turns out that the reporter is malicious and the claimant isn’t doing anything wrong. Reporting in this way costs the taxpayer even more and turns the claimants life upside down because the first thing that happens is benefit is stopped while investigation takes place and for genuine claimants that can cause real hardship. Why would the government want to fiddle the figures downwards when they are trying to reduce the disability benefits bill by any means possible. If the figures were actually high they would be shouting it from the rooftops because it would support the narrative.

I am amazed at the energy to post for hours and fight everyone coming from the seriously ill posters here !

MN is good for that sort of thing however there are a lot of able bodied people legitimately on disability who could actually work.
That's a fact.

There are equally a lot who should be on it but there is always going to be people taking the piss and no way to stop it without stopping some who do need it.

I think you are right and many people who genuinely need help will suffer as a consequence :(

But its not different this is the reality for a lot of people with a severe anxiety disorder the confusion comes when people like you think they have a severe anxiety disorder and just casually interview for new jobs to work around it.