Anxiety: Understanding and Coping with a Common Emotional Disorder
Anxiety is a common emotional disorder that affects millions of people around the world.
It is characterized by feelings of worry, nervousness, and fear, and it can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life. Despite its prevalence, many people still do not understand what anxiety is, how it develops, and how it can be treated.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is a normal response to stress and danger. It prepares us to face a challenge or respond to an emergency by increasing our heart rate, sweating, and tensing our muscles. However, anxiety becomes a problem when it interferes with our daily activities and causes significant distress.
There are several types of anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. Each type of anxiety disorder has unique symptoms, but all share the common theme of excessive, persistent worry and fear.
What Causes Anxiety?
The exact cause of anxiety is not well understood, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic, environmental, and psychological factors. People with a family history of anxiety are more likely to develop the disorder, and traumatic life events, such as abuse, neglect, or loss, can trigger anxiety symptoms. Additionally, chronic stress, substance abuse, and certain medical conditions can also contribute to the development of anxiety.
How to Manage Anxiety
Fortunately, anxiety is a treatable condition, and there are several effective strategies for managing its symptoms. Some of the most commonly used strategies include:
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT is a type of therapy that helps individuals understand and change negative thoughts and behaviors that contribute to anxiety.
Medication: Antidepressant and anti-anxiety medications, such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) and benzodiazepines, can be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms.
Exercise: Regular exercise has been shown to have a positive impact on anxiety by reducing stress and improving mood.
Relaxation techniques: Techniques such as deep breathing, progressive muscle relaxation, and mindfulness can help reduce physical symptoms of anxiety and promote a sense of calm.
Lifestyle changes: Simple lifestyle changes, such as getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, and reducing caffeine and alcohol consumption, can also help reduce anxiety symptoms.
How Anxiety Affects Me
From a personal perspective anxiety comes and goes. It is the fear of the unknown that can spiral into stress, panic attacks, depression, and procrastination. For example, bearing in mind it is a Sunday so you would not expect any businesses to call you today, yet I noticed a missed call. Not knowing who it was that was calling me, I withheld my number and proceeded to call the number back and I was put through to the DWP.
Update Monday 13th February 2023. I had another missed call today and this time they left a message that they will phone me between 11 -12 despite me telling the PIP assessor I am in University Mon, Tue & Fri. I did accept the call when they rang and they said they are increasing my PIP payments as they needed some more information about my mobility. So it looks like they work Sundays as well.
Stress & Anxiety impact on a sufferer of multiple sclerosis.
Considering I have voice mail activated you would think the person that was trying to reach me would leave a message, but unfortunately, they didn’t which has now made me feel anxious and on edge. Stress and anxiety can cause a person suffering from multiple sclerosis to relapse.Relapsing remitting MS (RRMS) | Multiple Sclerosis Society UK (mssociety.org.uk)
Fortunately, I have my mum as my rock and she tried reassuring me that they will write to you if they cannot get in touch and that I needn’t worry as she will take care of things for me.
Conclusion
Anxiety is a common and treatable emotional disorder through medication, CBT therapy, and hypnosis. It can have a significant impact on an individual’s quality of life. By understanding its causes and learning how to manage its symptoms, people with anxiety can take back control of their lives and improve their overall well-being. If you are experiencing symptoms of anxiety, it is important to seek help from a mental health professional who can provide an accurate diagnosis and develop an effective treatment plan.
I would like to think when I wrote last November the anxiety of filling out a physical PIP assessment form that someone must have read my post considering I have linked Capita and DWP to this site because today I read with delight that digital forms are now being tested out.
The announcement of the new form came through an answer Mr. Pursglove gave when asked if DWP would “make an assessment of the potential merits of introducing an online portal for Personal Independence Payment claims to help improve communication” between DWP and claimants.
It was reported that the NHS wastes £100 million per annum sending out letters, so imagine the letters and the forms combined and how much is going down the pan, where the money can be reinvested into nursing.
I feel in this day and age when we are supposed to save the planet from carbon emissions and are supposed to be moving forward in the tech era that businesses and organizations should refrain from sending out mail by post. Imagine how many trees could be saved simply by going digital.
This is a positive step moving forward.
People who do not have computers or smartphones, most likely have a relative, friend, or carer that does.
When will the powers that be wake up that low-income families are not surviving because of the price rises? It is all very well to say to reach out to a charity but there is no quick remedy available.
Suicide is at a record high and people like Yee-King Ho, known as ‘Fion’ to friends and family, came to live in London from Hong Kong in April 2022, moving to a flat in Richmond in what family hoped would be an exciting chapter in her life, felt there is no way out which resulted in her taking their own life.
***Warning Sensitive Material***
In Loving Memory -RIP
‘Intelligent, dedicated’ woman, 27, takes her own life after struggling to afford £900-a-month rent and having to choose which meal to eat
Here are a few comments that were with the article below:
james moss This is what is wrong with a low-paid economy, people do not want to just survive, people want to have a life, where they can save, and save for a pension, as well as find a home they can afford whether single or families people need proper wages to be a full member of our society, the conservative governments have broken the link between low pay and social homes, we were told that private renting would self-regulate, instead, the rental market has driven the housing market to the crisis we are now suffering, the young woman in question was like many people in this country drowning in the cost of a place to survive, and that is what she was trying to do survive, to live in the UK today and cover the costs 35K is needed, with less than that people are surviving on the crumbs and it is sadly wrong, 2 people on minimum wage can manage, but again it is marginal.
DBDavid Beech The inept political awareness and lack of action from UK citizens simply assist the corrupt to thrive, when poorer citizens cannot survive.
Master Plan
Maybe this is the master plan to help get rid of the poor people living off the state. Imagine how much money they would save if there were fewer people dependent on them.
Question to the Powers That Be.
Do you not find this article alarming?
Do you not see that people in the comments agree that this is disgraceful?
Have you ever had to worry about putting food on the table or worry how to pay your bills?
Were you born privileged with a silver spoon in your mouth?
How about supporting small businesses, the disabled, and the vulnerable?
The Powers That Be Do Not Care About Low-Income Families Or The Vulnerable
They say they care but in reality, they don’t. Has anyone done the maths on £104 a-week tax credits which equates to £2.60 an hour?
I get it, a self-employed person has to do everything in their power to get more work but what if the person does everything they can and still no more work comes in, how are they supposed to live?
Even if you are single over 35 on universal credit which equates to £334.91 per month = £2.10 per hour or £83.73 a week to live on.
Do the sums not add up, do you need to go back to school to resit your maths test?
Example of Living On Universal Tax Credits & Housing Benefit For a Single Person Over the Age of 35 (Unemployed)
Here is an example of a single person living on Housing Benefits and Universal Tax Credits.
Housing Benefit £590 even though their rent is £650
Universal Tax Credit £334.91
Total = £924.91 ( Equals £5.78 an hour based on 40 hours per week)
So if you continue with the calculations:
Opening Balance: £924.91
Rent: £650
Closing Balance: £274.91 (or £68.72 per week divided by a 40-hour week = £1.71 per hour to live on)/
If a person lives on £274.91 and just pays their utility bills there is nothing left over to pay for food.
Arguably people who are disabled or on the sick may get £247.40 PIP per month (lower rate) Personal Independence Payment (PIP): How much you’ll get – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) but people who are unemployed because small businesses are not hiring, do not want to spend money on services that they will try and do themselves to cut costs. Even the likes of Elon Musk closed down many offices around the world and laid off people, so how are people supposed to live when they can’t find suitable employment? Small businesses are also struggling.
Can no one see the bigger picture here or is it just me?
I welcome any comments and do share this with your connections.
If you are feeling suicidal, remember there is always a solution to every problem.
I think the large corporation should pay taxes and there should be a profit threshold cut-off, where excess amounts of profits go back into the system.
Do not let your thoughts get the better of you. Speak to someone just to get things off your chest or send us a message via our Facebook Page (we will keep your information confidential).
“Personally what I find therapeutic is to vent my frustration online for everyone to read”.
If you have suicidal thoughts, talk to someone about them, don’t bottle things up. If you do not have any friends or family, reach out to the Samaritans on 116 123 For Free. Sometimes talking to a stranger can help you put things into perspective and helps you tackle daily challenges. Arrange an appointment with your local doctor and explain how you are feeling. Do not drink alcohol or take recreational drugs as this may make the matter worse. Seek professional help asap.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) Telephone Assessment
Written by the Editor Renata M Barnes.
Today my daughter had her PIP assessment over the phone. My daughter told me she had four reminder text messages saying that her phone call appointment was scheduled for 09.15 hrs yet the assessor phoned at 08.45 am and when my daughter did not pick up phoned again at 09.10 am (where is that 09.15 may I ask, did the assessor have cognitive impairment to not phone at the scheduled time)?
The assessor was made aware I was listening in as the call was on loudspeaker.
The duration of the call lasted one hour and ten minutes and in that time my daughter was asked the same questions which were on the questionnaire she submitted.
Breach of GDPR
The caller never said the call was being recorded even though by law they have to say. Furthermore, the assessor did not offer a copy of the call recording which means that the assessor may have been working from home or the call was not recorded at all.
My daughter suffers from Multiple Sclerosis which is a progressive disorder that there is no cure.
There is (HSCT) hematopoietic stem cell transplantation currently not available on the NHS, which aims to wipe out and regrow the immune system similar to Lemtrada Alemtuzumab treatment which my daughter had last year.
Sensitive Questions
The assessor asked the same questions as what was on the form but went into some very alarming questions, some of which were so sensitive that could have caused a trigger in mental health patients, like have you ever had any suicidal thoughts or wanting to self-harm.
No one should be in a position to answer such a question because:
It can cause a trigger and the person may not have had those thoughts before, but may now have a seed planted in their head to do it sometime in the future. When asking such a question you should not put those words directly into a person’s thoughts. It should be handled in a way of “how low do you feel on any given day” and “how do you feel when you are feeling low“? You should not say “have you had suicidal thoughts”?This is a TRIGGER. This type of questioning should only be done by a qualified professional, face-to-face (not over the phone).
Secondly, the person being interviewed may not be truthful if there are many people present. Perhaps the person may not want to admit those thoughts in front of their carer, parent, or a total stranger. Someone who is feeling low and that question is asked, could theoretically not tell the truth to the person asking, yet the option would be there in their minds. One should never plant a seed in someone’s head. Only a professional psychologist or psychotherapist would assess a person’s mental health, not a complete stranger.
The assessor should go by the medical evidence from the doctor’s reports and not ask these questions directly (by asking this question it is deemed as reversed psychology). Only a mental health professional should ask these questions. Talking about suicide is a taboo topic that is very sensitive, one needs to build trust between the person asking and the patient. People with suicidal thoughts may sometimes never admit to having them, so it is best to ask “how low a person is feeling” or “has ever felt” and open up a dialogue, rather than ask that question directly.
Asking the person if they can wipe their posterior is degradingespecially when admitting if one can or can’t to a stranger.
What has that got to do with my daughter’s condition she is not in a wheelchair which was made clear at the beginning and is on her medical records. I understand that these questions may be asked but should be directed to the clinician and not the patient.
Work & Studying
PIP is a non-means tested benefit and when deciding a person’s eligibility for support their disability or condition and how it affects their life is taken into account. So what with the twenty questions such as “what is content marketing” etc? (what I have written now is called content).
When my daughter was asked how she gets to university she said she takes a taxi. I noticed a pause from the assessor. So unless she was thinking that would cost an arm and leg, don’t tell me because I already know that is why I help my daughter pay for transportation. So despite telling the assessor my daughter does not walk far, why in the next line of questioning does the assessor ask how far can she walk in terms of a length of a bus? (I thought these questions were not relevant and were no longer being asked).
When asked what work she does my daughter said marketing and how many hours per week. My daughter is the assistant editor of this website so she may work two hours one week or 16 hours the next. It depends on the assignments I give her. My daughter is not self-employed unlike myself. The assessor continued so what is my daughter’s role which she replied writing blog posts. Blog posts can take an hour or can take a whole day to do and it all depends on how many words are written and for what purpose. I have more than one website www.irenata.com I use a link wheel of websites to drive traffic from multiple directions. www.mrketingcardiff.com and www.ukcontentwriters.com to name a few.
My daughter then was asked a question if there was a fire at the university how long would it take her to get out of the building? (How would she know that if she has never had a fire evacuation? The assessor continued to say this was a hypothetical question. This is ridiculous as how would my daughter know where she was at any given point in a worst-case scenario if the lifts did not work it would take her longer? How long is a piece of string? She could be on the top floor. (So does that mean if you escape a fire you have no problem with mobility).
Stress
My daughter was never asked about her stress levels although she did mention the frustration of her disability. Stress and frustration can coincide together but they can also have different meanings. The assessor did not go into too much detail other than how my daughter remembers to take her medication and who feeds the cat (yes that was asked). https://disabledentrepreneur.uk/stress-cognitive-function/
Stress is a complicated disorder in itself. Stress can be prolonged whilst frustration is short-term. The stress of rewriting a blog post or assignment due to a lack of concentration or increased fatigue can cause frustration.
Medication
My daughter was asked what medication she was on and the one medication the assessor said and I quote “Hold on I need to Google it“, this is no word of a lie and I can prove this was said, just don’t ask me how.
Irrelevant Questions
. Who lives with you (why is that relevant)?
How many bedrooms have you got? (and the point is what)?
I am really looking forward to my assessment because it will open a can of worms regarding the GP support I have not had.
My daughter’s call lasted over an hour, this is not going to happen with me as time is money and I already wasted one hour today listening in to a call that was pointless.
“The assessor insinuated because my daughter has a part-time job and is studying it may look like there is nothing wrong with her even though it is her physical well-beingthat is affected and not her mental health.
I did not think this should be used as a fit for work assessment, but more so as a health and well-being assessment and the prognosis of the ability to function from day to day.
I have disabilities but I still can work by managing my health in such a way it does not hinder me. It is the outside world I have a problem with, because of my OCD and social disconnection issues. However, if I was put in a situation where it was an emergency and had to leave my home, I would worry about the consequences of my disorder afterward. I have literally thrown away things I have not been able to salvage or disinfect. I am the happiest in my own company with my own surroundings.
I run several businesses online for my clients but that does not make me fit to work in the physical world. One should not draw conclusions about a person’s ability because from one day to the next the ability to function can be impaired.
For my own assessment, I have given them enough information, that I envisage my call will be halved. I most certainly will not answer questions like what my daughter was asked today, because they have enough evidence on file. I am not going to answer questions such as am I capable of wiping my own ar#e?
My daughter should have stated she documents her health online but for some reason omitted this. We will have to wait on the decision in 8 weeks’ time.
Multiple Sclerosis is an auto-immune disease that attacks healthy white cells. The lesions that can affect the brain and spinal cord can cause a wide range of potential symptoms, including problems with vision, arm or leg movement, sensation, or balance. It is an incurable disease with lifelong symptoms that can sometimes cause serious disability, although it can occasionally be mild. The average life expectancy is slightly reduced for people with MS and symptoms can be alleviated with different courses of treatments. In most cases, people get diagnosed in their 20s or 30s but it has been known that patients have shown symptoms as young as 15 years of age. In fact, it can develop at any age. It’s about 2 to 3 times more common in women than men.
MS is one of the most common causes of disability in younger adults.
relapses due to temperature, either too hot or too cold (and cost of living price rises –not discussed)
cognitive impairment (concentration, balance, losing grip in hands – not discussed)
Other than fatigue, vision, numbness, and pain nothing else was discussed in the above list or the fact that stress and anxiety can cause MS relapses.
So why is the government somehow wanting people with disabilities to jump through hoops (quite literally) to prove they are disabled when their medical records should suffice?
I would have put a stop to the questioning and said so what do you know about multiple sclerosis or in my case OCD & cerebellar atrophy. Secondly, I would have said… so I gave you access to my medical records but clearly, you have not read them.
I reckon these assessors have to do something to sift through the scammers in this world, but the people that genuinely need help, are made to feel belittled, degraded, and inadequate just to get the extra bit of help.
Therefore with the rise in the cost of living and keeping one’s home warm the extra bit of money helps. Yet this was not discussed, which tells me the assessor had no knowledge of Multiple Sclerosis.
The assessor said I quote so you are making an effort to work and let the disability stop you, sorry I am not being patronized even though it came across that way.
I did want to put my two penneth in, but I figured that it was best to keep my mouth shut and see what happens when the decision is made for my daughter.
The Assessor
The assessor should have:
Stuck to the given scheduled time and not rang half an hour earlier.
Said if the call was being recorded or not and asked the interviewee if they wanted a copy of the call recording.
The assessor should have also introduced herself properly (which she did not) and said what she was qualified in (which again she didn’t).
The assessor should have acknowledged the other person listening to the call but chose to ignore them (which was deemed unprofessional).
The assessor should not ask extremely sensitive questions to cause a trigger.
The assessor should have gone by the medical records to gain all the information she needed without humiliating the interviewee.
The assessor should not have asked irrelevant questions such as who feeds the cat and why?
The assessor should not have spoken about her own health issues as that is unprofessional.
Asked how long the household did online shopping (how is that relevant to the claimant when we were in lockdown which had nothing to do with the claimant’s illness).
Asked to explain what content was in my daughter’s job role.
Under normal circumstances a PIP assessment is an opportunity for you to talk about how your condition affects you – it’s not a diagnosis of your condition or a medical examination.
The DWP will use evidence from the assessment to help them decide if they need PIP.
Therefore it is best to make your own report and detail everything about your illness and how you manage your daily activities.
An in-depth report is evidence that can be used against the DWP if your claim is denied. Having a phone call you cannot record the conversation.
Concluding the call you should ask for a copy of the recording which you are entitled to have by law.
People have the right to request copies of the data that is held by an organization, the ability to search and copy recorded calls will be necessary. Requests of this type must be responded to within one month. GDPR and Legitimate Interest. https://www.compliancejunction.com/gdpr-rules-recording-calls/
A health professional will carry out your assessment, write a report and send it to the DWP.
Talking about how your condition affects you
A helpful guide on the Citizens Advice website says that you should be prepared to talk about how your condition affects you even if you have already detailed it on your PIP claim form.
This can be hard to do, but it will really help if you can talk about:
the kind of things you have difficulty with, or can’t do at all – for example, walking up steps without help or remembering to go to appointments
how your condition affects you from day to day
what a bad day is like for you – for example, ‘On a bad day, I can’t walk at all because my injured leg hurts so much’ or ‘On a bad day, I’m so depressed I can’t concentrate on anything
It is a good idea to have your own copy of your PIP claim form with you for telephone assessment, that way you can refer back to it.
I strongly suggest on headed paper write a concise report detailing your illness without leaving out a single thing.
Discrimination
A disabled lawyer launched a ground-breaking legal case against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) over his claim that it deliberately discriminated against him in rejecting his claim for disability benefits. Daniel Donaldson founder of the Scottish social enterprise law firm Legal Spark, believed DWP chose to discriminate against him and other people with mental health conditions in the way it has dealt with their personal independence payment (PIP) claims.
This is very worrying if the DWP has discriminated against a lawyer. Although the article about Donal Donaldson was published in 2018 it is very worrying how the government is playing God with people’s lives who genuinely need help.
Daniel ended up taking the DWP to Glasgow Sheriff Court and was seeking nearly £5,000 in damages, to cover bank charges, the removal of his bus pass, and £4,000 in compensation for the discrimination.
Donaldson sued the DWP Equality Act against the Scottish government because it failed to take on responsibility for PIP from DWP when it had the powers to do so in 2016.
A Scottish government spokesman said:
“We have repeatedly called on the UK government to halt the roll-out of PIP in Scotland, most recently following the report of the UN Committee on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities which called for a review of PIP due to the damage it is causing people”.
Donaldson said the “UK government had created “a hostile and degrading environment for disabled people” by “using public policy to strip people of their statutory entitlement to benefits”, including PIP and employment and support allowance (ESA)”.
My Concerns about the up-and-coming assessment for my daughter
Circus Monkey!
Assistant Editor
My concern is my daughter who has Multiple Sclerosis and is also the assistant editor of ‘Disabled Entrepreneur – Disability UK Journal’, according to the MS Society, the DWP is making it even more difficult to claim. PIP fails | MS Society
It is soul-destroying having to justify you have an illness. People should not have to be made to perform like circus monkeys to prove they are ill. The assessment is on the 5th of January 2023. I will be listening to the call.
My daughter has already expressed anxiety and stress and is worried about taking the call.
PIP Email Address
I have advised my daughter to write a letter and attach it to an email prior to the assessment call, this adds extra weight to your claim and creates a carbon footprint of evidence.
PIP say they do not have an email address even though they do😂 : contactus@capita-pip.co.uk
“Medical evidence should suffice. A primary neurologist consultant is far more qualified than any PIP assessor”.
An Assessors Qualifications
According to Capita’s, website to be an assessor you may be a nurse, occupational therapist, paramedic, physiotherapist, pharmacist, speech and language therapist, or clinical psychologist who is looking for a change, for new opportunities.
As a Disability Assessor, you’ll:
be a fully qualified healthcare professional
have a minimum of one year’s post-full registration experience
be fully registered with a relevant UK regulatory body (NMC/HCPC/GPhC or other), without restriction or conditions and with a valid PIN
live and be based in the UK
have sound written communication skills
be able to manage conversations and ask questions effectively
This proves that they do not have to have to be specialists in any disorder. A nurse has general knowledge of how the body works but is not specialized in any field other than nursing.
All registered nurses must choose from one of four specialisms as part of their nursing degree – adult nursing, children’s nursing, mental health nursing, or learning disability nursing. It’s possible to change after graduating, but this doesn’t mean your career is decided.
Adult nursing
Adult nurses work with patients over 18. They can work in hospitals or in community settings such as people’s homes, health centers or nursing homes. Once qualified, they can take extra courses to specialize in areas such as cancer care, women’s health, accident and emergency, critical care, practice nursing, health visiting or school nursing.
Children’s nursing
Children’s nurses work with children and young people up to 19 years old and can work in a variety of settings, from specialist baby care units to adolescent units. Children react to illness in a very different way from adults, and children’s nurses are specially trained to understand their needs. Children’s nurses also support, advise and educate parents and carers. Once qualified, they can specialize in areas such as health visiting, school nursing, intensive care, child safeguarding, and cancer care.
You cannot confuse a nurse with a doctor or specialist. A nurse will not have the same qualifications as a doctor, neurologist, consultant, or psychiatrist.
What is Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a chronic, neurodegenerative condition for which there is currently no cure.
In MS, the body’s immune system attacks myelin, the protective cover around nerve fibers. Damage, which can occur anywhere in the central nervous system, interferes with messages traveling from the brain and spinal cord to other parts of the body. Symptoms are many and varied but unique to each person. They can include problems with balance, vision, the bladder, bowel, speech, memory, fatigue, and painful muscle spasms, among many other things. MS affects over 100,000 people in the UK, many of whom experience their first symptoms during the peak of their working lives, in their 20s and 30s. MS is both a fluctuating and progressive condition. While the progression and symptoms of MS vary from individual to individual, primary progressive MS affects around 10 to 15% of people with MS. This is progressive from the very first symptoms. The remaining 85% of people with MS are initially diagnosed with relapsing forms of MS, where people have distinct attacks of symptoms with the underlying damage building up over time.
Many people with MS will go on to develop secondary progressive MS within 15 years of being diagnosed.
“Having MS is debilitating – it shouldn’t be made harder by a welfare system that is humiliating, degrading, and adds more stress which can lead to relapses. Stressing an individual out to the point that they relapse could consequently make that person lose their mobility and become bedridden”.
If a person with Multiple Sclerosis relapses because of the stress they endure fighting for something that should help them, then the government should be made accountable.
From a personal perspective, my daughter did actually relapse after being frustrated with her laptop not booting up consequently hurling it across the room. So stress is definitely a factor, that should not be ignored.
Disclaimer – Although I phoned PIP last week I have since written other articles which would have pushed this article to the bottom of the pile so I have changed the publishing date to today for easy access even though the article was originally published last week.
PIP Review Digital Form.
It is my turn to have a review for my personal independence payment and they do not make it easy to renew. The system is designed for you to not have the energy to argue. But arguing is what I am good at among my other many talents.
I can honestly say my OCD and stress levels have got so bad all because of the emotional distress PIP has caused.
I have phoned three times and had one call back.
Today (14/11/22) I tried to do the review over the phone and the person who said he would phone me put me through to someone who was not helping. I ended up not confirming the callback, so I guess no one will phone me unless I phone back again and wait another 30 mins to get through.
This PIP review process has caused my OCD to flare up more because they cannot access my website, or so it seems (so they are not human) to read my article even though I repeated my domain name umpteen times.
I was told I would have to have an assessment, I turned around and said I would want to know the qualifications of the person before assessing me, although I would not have any proof. Anyone can say they have a Ph.D. over the phone.
This website and my medical records should be sufficient evidence in order to be able to access my information. I am not going to jump through hoops to prove I am disabled.
What are Personal Independence Payments For?
Personal Independence Payment (PIP) can help with extra living costs if you have both:
a long-term physical or mental health condition or disability
difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of your condition
You can get PIP even if you’re working, have savings, or are getting most other benefits.
“I AM IN EMOTIONAL DISTRESS AS A DIRECT CONSEQUENCE OF PIP”
“I cannot handle stress, hence hate making phone calls or talking to peoplewho cause me stress”.
I phoned last week 10th & 11th of November 2022 and today 14th of November 2022 and explained I needed a digital form to send to them and their response was “sorry we currently do not have the form”.
Why make it difficult? all documents are on a database and all are stored on servers somewhere.
I explained I do not have a social worker (I felt this comment degrading, I am not that mentally disabled that I would need a social worker), and I stated I have many sensitive documents to send (which I cannot send in the post) which not only would cost me a fortune in printing and postal fees but could also jeopardize my privacy.
I am anxious about the humiliation I will have to endure with the assessment like my medical records are not enough evidence.
In fact, I found a letter that was archived confirming my article and health condition.
I am the Editor of Disability UK – Disabled Entrepreneur Online Journal which I own, I am also the Editor of other online publications, which are all under the www.ukwebsitedesigners.co.uk umbrella.
There is nothing wrong with my intellectual brain (Nikola Tesla had OCD).I am an abled-bodied person although I have physical and mental problems as referenced in my letters sent to my GP, which can be confirmed on my medical records. I just have issues dealing with people who stress me out, I cannot cope very well with stress and anxiety, and have a problem dealing with germ contamination. My mental health is an issue to include:
OCD
Intrusive Thoughts
Depression
Stress
Anxiety
Emotional Distress
Procrastination
My Daily Life Routine
I have everything delivered, my grocery, my prescription, and take-outs. I have a business and do everything online, there is nothing I cannot do, other than send PIP Review forms back. 🤣😂
“I can adapt my life around my disability”.
“I am able to cook and clean and do all the usual things anyone else can do with the aid of disposable latex gloves and sanitizing products”.
“I just find it difficult to interact with the outside physical world.
(Wearing latex gloves in public is embarrassing)”.
Although this is tongue-in-cheek humor, (Obviously, this video is a joke, someone with OCD would not allow anything to touch the floor (the spray bottle and backpack touched the floor). However, there is a serious side to OCD where I have been known in the past to sanitize public seating before sitting down. I once cleaned a window sill at a hospital before putting down my laptop and showed the dirt to the doctor, who turned around and said and I quote “I am not a cleaner, take it up with the ward manager”. It got to the stage where I refused to sit in the GP waiting area or in the office. I now avoid public humiliation, germ cross-contamination,and social interaction as much as possible. I now live in a sanitized quarantined home and do everything online. I am happy to keep my own company!
“I can manage my finances and run a business and can give support to anyone that needs me”.
(I prefer not to have incoming calls unscheduled as I could be working and do not want to be disturbed), plus the fact I prefer to communicate online rather than talk over the phone, phone calls cause me stress – phone phobia.
“Phone calls cause me anxiety”.
What happened to being eco-friendly and saving the planet?
I carried on saying, I do not go out, I run a business and the easiest way is to send a digital copy, (every organization on this planet has online or digital downloadable forms, but PIP doesn’t). Even the gov website has online forms inclusive of tax returns and renewals of working tax & child credits.
PIP has made me emotionally distressed.
I also confirmed the email address (contactus@capita-pip.co.uk) I would send the information to and was told “sorry this is not the email address it is for appealsand renewals, not reviews“. Quick thinking I replied that in the subject line I would say please forward this to the relevant person to which the agent replied “you cannot send it there because it may never be seen”.
I also stated this was causing me anxiety, so the agent said she would phone me back in an hour, which she did, and said she could send someone over. I replied because of my OCD I do not have people coming over, besides I run a business and cannot stop my business to stop and chat or fill out forms. How on earth am I supposed to forward sensitive data to a complete stranger?
Telephone Confusion!
(Which has caused me anxiety)!
The agent also gave me the option to get my daughter to send in the form but again I do not want the sensitive data sent in the post, she then asked when my daughter was coming back from UNI.
I did not clock on what the assessor meant until we ended the call.(I suffer from cognitive impairment due to my cerebellar atrophy), all I remember the assessor saying was “so you do not know when your daughter finishes uni” repeating it twice.
My daughter lives with me and goes to a local university I do not know her timetable so do not know when she finishes uni on any given day. But I guess the assessor thought my daughter travels or lives away.
I guess where the confusion came from when the assessor said do I have anyone to fill in the form or post it on my behalf, I said I only have my daughter but she goes to uni and what I should have continued to say is too busy to do errands for me.
It’s usually the other way around, I do all the writing, and phone calls (virtual landline) if I really need to. (I spoke to PIP 4 times over this review), and chasing on my daughter’s behalf but strictly online.
I am Super Stressed by this Review!“This is why I hate talking over the phone”!
Can of Worms.
This personal independence payment review is going to open up a can of worms because not only with my GP not responding to my letters other confirmation that they were received and put on the system but the breach in GDPR by having a cluster pharmacist tell me she had read my letter which was not addressed to her and was marked private and confidential.
I am now stuck between a rock and a hard place. I will send the form to the email I have regardless and see what happens but I will also contact pip again on Monday 14th to see if they can access this article to download, (I did that and the person said due to security reasons he could not access my site), even though I said I had embedded a PDF, including screenshots of the form to view online or download. No one then can argue they cannot access my review. I hate all the stress, I do not need it in my life.
“There is no cure for OCD”!
My OCD is not curable, so why does PIP think my OCD has miraculously got better? considering I have suffered with it for the best part of 30 years, in fact, the more stressed I am the worse my OCD gets. I use on average 200 pairs of latex gloves a week and do not interact with the outside world other than online. I will also send proof of invoices from Amazon on how much I spend.
I actually noticed an error in my letter on page 3, this is my cognitive impairment playing up because within the same sentence I said I use 200 pairs of gloves (I should have said (200 pairs per week ) which would be 1000 pairs, not 500 as stated. I jumble up words when I get stressed. I have not amended this error just to prove a point. Normally when I do content writing I read the article 20 times or more and get a second set of eyes.
Final Thoughts
No one can argue I never submitted or published my PIP review on time.
In fact, with the stress I have had to endure with my attempted communication, I have filled in the form which has caused my OCD to flare up and it is being sent this Wednesday recorded and signed for. The whole process could have been dealt with differently without it being degrading and humiliating.
But what I stated in the form which caused me a lot of distress filling it in, is that I will be contacting the health secretary Rt Hon Steve Barclay, and will be asking the Politicians who have OCD to comment on their disabilities and see if they are treated the same way and how they cope with the disorder.
I should not have to feel like I am bonkers. It does not help when I am trying to heal and have people question me even after I have attempted to show proof.
I have shown evidence of one of my disabilities online (OCD). I know there is a protocol that PIP needs to adhere, to assess people but at least treat people with dignity and not degrade them, make life easier by doing online forms, saving the government money, printing and sending out paper forms (This in itself costs the government money), thus also helping to save the planet from carbon emissions and it would be less stressful for people with disabilities that perhaps have problems filling out physical forms like myself.
I read that the NHS wastes £100m a year sending out letters so how much does it cost the government to send out PIP forms by post?
“Just because I am disabled does not stop me from doing things, I just have to adapt to my surrounding to fit in with my disabilities”.
“My disabilities do not define me or stop me from following my dream”.
“Go Digital, Save Money & the Planet”
One final last thing I would have had an assessment sooner with my GP over my mental health had they bothered to contact me, seeing as I wrote two very detailed letters which were confirmed by the practice manager that they had been received and had been put on the system, but no clinician contacted me regarding my most recent letter, even though it stated in the email someone would.
Mentally Disabled Are Being Forced to Work – Instead Start a Business Today!
The DWP went from an assessment system that somewhat fairly assessed fitness to work using a doctor and other professional consultants, with information taken from relevant sources to support the claim, to a system that mostly uses random questionable people with minimal health qualifications assessing with the aid of a computer-based system deliberately designed to find faults thus making people fit to work. The result: people have committed suicide. Tens of thousands of people have died after being declared ‘fit for work. Hundreds of thousands are being plunged into deeper poverty. Foodbank use has increased by at least 2000% since 2009/10. Many people’s mental and physical health conditions have worsened as a direct result of the tests and the cuts. The DWP are finding any excuse however flimsy to sanction people; limiting or cutting altogether their only source of income for week, months, or even years. People have been admitted to hospitals that are already short-staffed and overrun because people are going hungry and becoming malnourished. People have died of hunger. The sick and disabled are being exploited as cheap labor, and are clearly regarded as ‘2nd class citizens’ by leading figures in the DWP including Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Iain Duncan Smith (IDS) and Lord David Freud. And the DWP is being investigated by the United Nations.
The horrifying truth is DWP is going to be forcing people with Mental Health Disabilities back to work. However, there is a solution to every problem.
In the event, this starts to unfold and where you may have to go to endless job interviews, meet with job advisors, etc, you could start your own business, thus eliminating all the stress and anxiety.
You could essentially become your own boss, a sole trader, but I recommend starting small and expanding steadily.
It is not hard to set up a business but you must have a plan and things you may not necessarily know but need to know, you can learn online. Besides we can advise you should you need our support.
What You Will Need!
Decide on what your business is going to be about (everyone has an interest, something they enjoy doing, turn that into a business)
Have a business plan
Profit Loss forecast
Have knowledge of book-keeping
Secure a domain name as you will need a website
Design a Logo
Inform DWP if you are on benefits that your circumstances have changed, you will also have to fill in a Housing Benefit renewal form each year showing copies of all your accounts, including statements, invoices, working out spreadsheets
Inform HMRC that you have started a business. You will have to submit a self-assessment form each year with online accounts to be submitted by the 31st of January of each year, however, to renew tax credits, you must submit your application by 31 July
Apply for working tax credits
Start keeping a record of all your money coming in and out
Keep your personal expenses separate from your business
Get a business bank account
Learn about social media marketing and advertising, content writing, and backlinks
Grow a network of connections, the best place to start is on LinkedIn
Secure a Facebook Page with the same name as your domain name (try to have a keyword in the domain and FB page)
Need a helping hand we can build a website/blog for you. We will do search engine optimization, write content, market, and advertise your business across our social media link wheel of websites, blogs, social media pages, and groups as well as our connections.
Everyone has some sort of interest whether it is a sport, health, cooking, or gardening there is a multitude of things you can do, from selling, teaching, or creating.
Imagine not having to answer to anyone or have anyone tell you what to do. Imagine not having to book sick days off. There is absolutely no reason why you cannot work for yourself. You will never have to leave your comfort zone again.
Obviously, self-employment is not for everyone and we all need a guaranteed wage but there are always working tax credits to fall back on:
Working Tax Credits – Average Amount Of Entitlement.
Alternatively, you can leave it all for us to do with blogs starting from £35.00 per month and websites from £55.00 We will even give you a head start:
We will give you a free previously unregistered domain that is not on our books. The domains on www.ukdomainbrokers.com are being brokered on behalf of other domain investors. However, do check out some really useful articles and resources to help you get your business off to a running start.
FINAL NOTE FROM THE EDITOR.
Reading between the lines the UK government is in debt and needs to get the economy rolling again. Where they can sanction (force people to work) they will. They will use every trick in the book to find ways to take from the poor and give to the rich. Remember the government sees disabled people as a burden on their purse strings, so we have to stand our ground and fight for our rights and not give in to intimidation, humiliation, discrimination, and bullying.
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