Filling in blue badge form for anxiety question help

[granadagirl]

Hi
As mentioned I’m filling in my form on council website
The question are not really clear (to me) what there asking
Anyone able to help
So
What measures are currently taken to try to improve journeys for you between a vehicle and your destination
Enter description of measures taken to try to improve journeys ?
I’m not asking what to put, just what exactly they mean by it
Thanks

I didn't know you could get a badge for anxiety. I have it horrendously, nearly admitted to a psychiatric hospital,.etc

Well now you know why don't you apply..

but after my maternity I'm going back to work... I didn't realise I could get PIP etc. Tbh i think i need to work to help myself.

PIP and BB has nothing to do with work.

@Someone1987 congratulations on going back to work and good luck. Anxiety is horrible, I hope it all goes well for you. X

@gotothecooler to your first question - because I don't need one.
To your second - Ok. Have I touched a nerve?

@ChickenDrumstick thank you so much

@granadagirl Hopefully posting in the Special Needs board - there is a Mumsnetters with SN Board, and the posts don't show up in active convos, I think (because of the kind of crap encountered on this thread) - will introduce you to some posters with both expertise and empathy!

to your first question - because I don't need one.

Fair enough.

To your second - Ok. Have I touched a nerve?

No, not at all. I don't really get why you think this? I wasn't being defensive I was just pointing out that you can work and claim PIP and have a BB. I do none of those things for the record.

but after my maternity I'm going back to work... I didn't realise I could get PIP etc. Tbh i think i need to work to help myself

PIP isn't means tested. It's nothing to do with work and I'm pretty sure you need pip to get a BB also.

@gotothecoolergo sorry, it's hard to read tone on here and I have had experience of other users pulling apart what I said. Sorry, I overreacted!

@gamerchick ah, interesting to know. I've never claimed anything or even looked into it.

You can apply for a BB without claiming PIP. Certain PIP/DLA awards will mean an automatic entitlement but that doesn't mean you can't get one without. Plenty of people apply without claiming PIP.

You can apply for a BB without claiming PIP. Certain PIP/DLA awards will mean an automatic entitlement but that doesn't mean you can't get one without. Plenty of people apply without claiming PIP.

@Jaxhog

Not every disability is a visible one Jaxhog.

Hey, I wasn't getting at anyone who genuinely needs one! And I resent the comment that my friend should park further away with her wheelchair. Seriously? Have you ever tried to wheel a wheelchair through a busy car park on your own?

There are a lot of people who claim to have found it easy to get one or borrow a relative's badge. And the fact that there so many badges that disabled spaces are frequently filled up sends its own message.

But that is the point isn't it - you can't assume that it isn't difficult for those with invisible disabilities to negotiate their way through a car park. Or even to get out of the house. There isn't a disabilities top trumps. Because your friend needs a bb it doesn't mean that my son doesn't. He is as entitled to that bb as your friend is under the rules. The fact that he won't apply for one because people like you judge that he isn't worthy of it, and the prospect of someone saying something in a car park would send his anxieties stratospheric means he doesn't apply for something he is ENTITLED to. Think about that.

Poor OP.

All too busy arguing and talking shit to actually answer her question. This post should be removed as it's brought out so many disablist points of view.

@PurpleDaisies

Why on earth do you need a blue badge if you have anxiety.

There’s an explanation here.

www.gov.uk/government/news/people-with-hidden-disabilities-to-benefit-from-blue-badges

You could easily have found this on google yourself. I guess trying to make the op feel bad is more fun though.

Let me rephrase that. I don’t see that having anxiety means you have to park nearer to the shop door. Broadening the spectrum of eligibility just means that wheelchair users and people who can’t physically walk, won’t be able to park near shop entrances. If changes have been made to the eligibility then more spaces need to be made available.

God this is getting messy!
I only asked a bloody question
And all hell let loose with judgemental arseholes who haven’t a clue on the crippling lifestyle anxiety causes

I’m asking for this thread to be deleted

Exactly TheWord, my son does have a blue badge with we use frequently even though he's physically mobile I'm not risking his safety by trying to navigate a packed car park when I can park nearer to a shop regardless of what others think .

@granadagirl I’m so sorry that you feel this way. Anxiety is awful and it’s very sad that some people don’t recognise that. I really hope you find the help you need, just tell them how bad things are and how much it will help you. Good luck. Xxx

Op just ask for it to be moved to a disability topic of maybe mental healthy I sure you will get less judgemental replys .

It’s entirely possible that someone without a mobility aid may need more space.
Gilead why would someone need more space to park unless they had a mobility need?

@TheWordWomanIsTaken

Your apparently able-bodied people comment is pretty shitty.
My son is eligible for a blue-badge - receives higher rate PIP for mobility. He has autism.
Your attitude is the very reason why we won't apply for one - because the prospect of someone with such a narrow mind dictating who is 'eligible' causes him a great deal of anxiety in case someone challenged us for using it.
I could easily say your friend should park further away in a car park if they need space to get their wheelchair out - after all they can then be wheeled through the car park.
But of course I wouldn't/couldn't say that.
Sheesh

I’m not saying the original comment was great, but as someone who grew up with a chronically ill DF and physically disabled (not visibly though) Sibling I still think your comment and attitude is by far worse. There are two attitudes to disabled badges;
A- Without one shopping would be potentially harder and less safe.
B- without one shopping would be impossible.

My sibling doesn’t have use of one arm (can’t even drive a car) but he wouldn’t take a disabled space over someone in a wheel chair because he can get in and out of a car if someone parks next to his door and he has someone with him to assist with carrying etc. To him and my parents this is common sense and not just ‘well he’s entitled to it so let’s park next to the door’.

I’m sure there are very good reasons why your sons shopping experience is easier and safer with a blue badge but to imply he needs one just as much as a paraplegic

It's not disability top.trumps PumperTrumper my child does have a blue badge his need is every bit eligible as everyone else who.is entitled to one his autism and severe learning disabilities means he can't walk anywhere safely let alone a packed car park whoever is entitled to a blue badge has as much need as anyone else .

gotothecooler said "You can apply for a BB without claiming PIP. Certain PIP/DLA awards will mean an automatic entitlement but that doesn't mean you can't get one without. Plenty of people apply without claiming PIP."

Absolutely correct, but sometimes that message is not properly conveyed to the client.

I think this depends on individual Councils and on their interpretation of "The Rules" that some of their staff members relay to you.

In ours, my DD's badge was up for its third automatic renewal (so 9 years from first being awarded it) and she was told if she didn't have Enhanced rate of PIP, they would not renew it under any other circumstances which meant no badge, ever again.

I did some digging and discovered that the fact was they would not automatically renew it without enhanced PIP Mobility, so she had to go for an independent assessment by the Council's physio. She did that and her badge was renewed.

Several months later, she was awarded PIP and for her, it had been very helpful having the Council's assessment to submit to the PIP Tribunal as the Council's assessor had scored her as being a lot less mobile than the PIP assessor had.

@granadagirl, if your online application is rejected, you MAY be able to request an assessment in person (no idea how it works now due to COVID) so don't give up.

For all the people who have no idea who is and is not eligible to apply for a Blue Badge and assume it's only for people they consider to be visibly disabled, (despite having no knowledge or medical qualifications) here's the criteria www.gov.uk/government/publications/blue-badge-can-i-get-one/can-i-get-a-blue-badge

I have ASD and I’m technically eligible for a BB even though I don’t currently have one. I regularly drive to the supermarket and drive round the car park only to leave again because I can’t find a “suitable” parking space.

I’ve also missed out on a hospital appointment before because I couldn’t park. Parking is one of the triggers that causes me to go into severe meltdown. I haven’t applied for a BB because I’m extremely conscious that people who physically can’t walk etc need it more than I do.

I don’t want to be goady but the thought of the (many) people I know with anxiety all suddenly applying for BBs fills me with dread. It’s proven CBT can massively help with anxiety, so hopefully people are able to get the therapy they need before resorting to a BB.

Sometimes I'm required to drive my FIL and when he is my passenger we need to use the blue badge due to his limited physical mobility. I'll admit, as an anxious person, I feel a lot better about leaving the house with him to go anywhere, knowing that I can park more easily in a disabled bay or sometimes even on a single yellow line if it's necessary to get him where he needs to be. I've never really thought about that too much, it is what it is. But if I was to avoid journeys unless I was going with him, it would be for those reasons. Driving is an anxiety fuelled task sometimes for me.

OP, it might help to mention if you avoid journeys because of your anxiety, if you don't shop or go to appointments as often as you should, if you perhaps pay for parking to avoid parking elsewhere (so that's an expense to you that is inconvenient). I think restricted access would be considered along with adjusted access.

No one has said anxiety doesnt have life crippling issues. But thats a bit irrelevent to whether you need a blue badge.

If you feel that you cannot access shops etc. unless you park in a disabled bay, then thats fine. But you need to be able to answer why, what benefit parking in a disabled bay has (e.g. the extra space helps because I need to use a hoist) and what alternatives there maybe.