When you’re really too ill to work, but not ill enough for disability....

[TheEmojiFormerlyKnownAsPrince]

What do you do? I’m 56, just worn out with anxiety. It got worse in the run up to menopause. I struggle in to work, buts it’s so hard when you’re bloody anxious all the time.

But l don’t need any extra care or have mobility issues, so don’t appear to qualify for PiP. I do struggle with therapy because l can’t get the time off work.

Do what happens to those of us in these grey areas? I’ve struggled with it all my life😕

I’m sorry, Emoji, it’s utterly draining. I feel a bit the same - on and off my whole life, but years of a particularly bad patch from peri menopause on. I don’t know about the PIP situation, I’m afraid. Hopefully someone else will.
I’m sure you’ve tried a whole host of things by now, and I don’t want to be tiresome with suggestions. Is your therapy NHS or private? Are you on HRT?

If you currently have a job then getting signed off sick by your GP would be the first step. Some employers have quite generous sick pay and others have statutory, you should be able to find out what yours is. Doing that might give you the opportunity to have some therapy and assess things. Longer term if you need to leave this role you might find another job less stressful. If not you can claim Universal Credit and there is a 'limited capability for work and work related activity' element which you can be assessed for but you do have to jump through some hoops to get to that point. It sounds like you could do with some help with your MH whatever you do about work though.

Can’t take HRT. It’s not particularly work that’s stressful. It’s just everything. Brexit, sleep, Trump, war, anything really.
I’m on loads of meds and have had tons of therapy. But it just doesn’t ever recede properly. I appear high functioning but it’s always there waiting to release all its demons over nothing