I'm Scared about proposed benefits reform.

emeraldmay

Hello.
I'm new on here so forgive me if I'm not posting this correctly.

 I do not think I've ever felt so scared,  vulnerable and alone after hearing this new proposal for benefits reform from rishi sunak on Friday. 

I live alone with no family only very elderly parent and only one friend who also has disabilities. 

I don't want to burden you to much with my difficulties but I don't know how I will survive if these proposals goes ahead. 

I have both physical and mental illness and I am in receipt of ESA new style ( support group) and PIP.
Without these I have no other income.

My mental health illness goes back more than 30 years after a very serious sexual assault with me being rendered unconscious. 
The consequences of this over the years to follow has has had a devastating effect on my health both physically and mentally. 

I have PTSD and agrophobia and I was placed on the servere mental health list.
 I never leave my home and have very poor coping skills.  I have to keep my life as stress free as possible to stay well.
I have fibromyalgia,  and scoliosis with a fussed lumber spine and find it difficult to walk.

I am almost sixty now and thought I wouldn't be forced to go back to work now.  apparently I am wrong. 
The government keeps moving the goal posts. They keep moving the age for retirement, but that's another subject. 
I have tried to work over the years and always ends up with me in hospital.  I was advised  by a very good NHS psychiatrist some years ago not to push myself to keep myself safe. 

I find it unbelievable when very well trained medical people who have got degrees in medicine ( Doctors)are  not going to have the authority to say weather you are fit for work or not.
You can see where this is going:

The government will bypass the Doctors and give contracts to private companies to assess people i.e  capita . These people will have very little knowledge of mental health.  People will be forced back to work with devastating consequences.  

I found rishi sunaks statement to be very condescending. 
There is a quote in the bible, 
 "walk a mile in my shoes"
How can  a man who has had a very privileged life know about the everyday stress of life?.
How can a man with millions in the bank know what it's like to be worried about money. 
I would challenge rishi sunak to 
Walk a mile in my shoe's!

I am frightened for the future. 

Sorry for the very long text. 
Thank you for reading. 

Rosie_Scope

Thanks for sharing how you're feeling @emeraldmay and welcome to the community. It's a really hard time to be disabled and I can understand why you're feeling frightened for the future when everything seems so uncertain. You're not alone in how you're feeling. Lots of our members are struggling with what's been said too, so I hope we can offer some friendship and support to each other through the difficult days. 

We're all here if you need to chat things through

emeraldmay

Thank you Rosie for your kind words.

onedayatatime

I understand your concerns. Im also confused how any changes would work in the real world. Personally, I'm not a skilled worker so my jobs have always been quiet manual in nature. Several years ago, new contracts were introduced by many employers who introduced a new system where any absence, including sick time, was calculated as a percentage. Any absence would trigger the 'back to work' meeting that would trigger the 'warning' process and calculation of absence. Warning one, warning two and then dismissal. How all of this would work for anyone with disabilities is beyond me. You're either gonna be employed for a short time before being dismissed, have an employment history of being dismissed or have to find a really flexible or super understanding employer. 
This is all just my take, sorry if I've missed your main point.
In the real world, it just isn't as straightforward as what's being proposed.
It's all added stress. I hear you. I'm sorry if this news has caused any distress. Let us try to continue with our own coping strategies and work through our daily living and we will see what, if anything, unfolds.
Take care Emarldmay. It's been nice to hear from you and it would be nice to hear more about you and your interests.
Sorry this is so long!😂

OSCAR1

THE TORIES...AND THE FINAL SOLUTION...

66Mustang

Trying not to comment on certain parties and stuff but what genius decided that ostracising 24% of the populace was a good tactic to gain votes?  

emeraldmay

Thank you everyone for your replies and kind words of support. Let's hope these cruel proposals do not get passed.  We need a new government. 🙏

sensitivegirl

I just wished to let you know I suffer a very similar mental health problem, I am 50 years old, and don’t leave my home due to severe agoraphobia after sexual abuse as a child.  It is horrible dealing with this problem, on top of having a government that look at us as just out for money from them etc.  It just adds to all the anxiety and depression etc.  I am lucky that I have a partner who is my carer, so he does everything for me.  I only get PIP, but we he is on low income so it’s still a struggle, and without PIP, we would really struggle.  Sending lots of love and support.  Tanya xx

emeraldmay

Thank you for sharing your story Tanya. I really appreciate that.  sending lots of love back to you. Xxx 

Albus_Scope

And this is why I love our Scope community, everyone is coming together.   Thank you for sharing @sensitivegirl I'm hoping we'll all be able to rest a little easier in the months to come. 

OSCAR1

I,m 54 i suffer with ipf autism mental health back and knee pain it worries me two

emeraldmay

I would like someone to suggest that the government needs some education on the everyday struggles that people with mental and physical disabilities have. Instead of this aggressive bullying tactic that they always have against us. It's nothing short of abuse and we are always the targets when it comes to cuts. 

sensitivegirl

Thanks to Albus and emeraldmay, it’s always helpful to know we are not alone.  I’m extremely shy, but I read so many posts just to feel a part of this community here.  Where would we be without those who are there to support us?  I have had the odd occasion I have felt so alone, I needed to call Samaritans, or Minds.  They are so helpful to me as well as this website.  Thanks again.  

Albus_Scope

Everyone is welcome, whether they choose to chat or lurk. I'm glad we can all be here to help.

Of course, if you ever want to join in, or need support, we're all here! 

emeraldmay

 I too have turned to the samaritans and mind for comfort and support and found them very helpful  sensitivegirl. It's nice to know i'm are not alone. I understand exactly how it feels to lack in confidence and hide away. I'm pleased I joined this forum thank you for engaging with me. Xx

emeraldmay

Thank you too Albus xx 

miss_saxby

I'm in a similar situation @emeraldmay absolutely no idea what I'm going to do if these reforms go ahead. I live alone and have OCD/ autism. I could never face working with the amount I already have to do every day and the thought of someone trying to push me into it really stresses me out. I also refuse to go to therapy as i was bullied into it as a child by unsympathetic & quite controlling parents . The whole experience just sent me backwards. I have no support other than my elderly mother and she is on a low pension so cannot help me if I end up stuck without money. It's quite terrifying that they are planning a quota of people they want to eradicate from the system. And being young and claiming for only mental health reasons, i feel I will be an easy target. It's difficult to prove mental health, most people who meet me have no clue about my real situation. And I've become quite good at hiding it. Problem is I know they are targeting the mental health groups in particular. So I am very anxious about what's to come. I'm not even sure who to vote for in the next election. As labour party has apparently refused to make any comments about what they plan to do with welfare reforms. They also haven't said much in opposition to rishis cruel proposals , so no idea if they are thinking along the same lines...?

Meg24

miss_saxby said:

I'm in a similar situation @emeraldmay absolutely no idea what I'm going to do if these reforms go ahead. I live alone and have OCD/ autism. I could never face working with the amount I already have to do every day and the thought of someone trying to push me into it really stresses me out. I also refuse to go to therapy as i was bullied into it as a child by unsympathetic & quite controlling parents . The whole experience just sent me backwards. I have no support other than my elderly mother and she is on a low pension so cannot help me if I end up stuck without money. It's quite terrifying that they are planning a quota of people they want to eradicate from the system. And being young and claiming for only mental health reasons, i feel I will be an easy target. It's difficult to prove mental health, most people who meet me have no clue about my real situation. And I've become quite good at hiding it. Problem is I know they are targeting the mental health groups in particular. So I am very anxious about what's to come. I'm not even sure who to vote for in the next election. As labour party has apparently refused to make any comments about what they plan to do with welfare reforms. They also haven't said much in opposition to rishis cruel proposals , so no idea if they are thinking along the same lines...?

I'm voting to oust the Tories. I have many reasons but if I had no others, what Sunak.& Stride have laid out for me will make me homeless and probably unalive. Labour's plans, whatever they are can't make me worse than dead I don't think...

miss_saxby

@Meg24 I have to agree. I think labour is our only choice really. Apparently the other parties never get in (so it's kind of a wasted vote) and we don't know what they think either. Nobody apart from charities has really spoken out against the plans. Its come at the worst time for me . I only just had my PIP approved after a 2 year battle. And now living alone I face the full costs of my disability with no support from parents etc. 
I'm already struggling on what I currently get, the thought of having less is really terrifying. I literally wouldn't be able to live. I don't know what the heck they think they are playing at. This is only going to make peoples mental health worse!!! 

emeraldmay

I can totally relate @miss_saxby. Do they actually realise that this is bullying and it will make people's health worse, so defeating the object. I wonder where it stands in human rights  because its abuse of power surely.  Threatening to remove someone's only source of income unless they take on work that they are not well enough to undertake.  Sounds like an abuse of power to me. Interesting that kier starmer has declined to comment as yet. Seeing that he was a human rights lawyer.  I agree with @meg24 I will be voting for Labour. This shower needs to go the sooner the better. 

miss_saxby

@emeraldmay yes it's bullying!! I actually quite liked rishi at first (he turned on the charm during covid). But he's turned out to be a fake and a phoney, now that he's got his power he is using it to rob the poor and give to the rich (tax cuts). I was appalled when I first read what he is planning to do!!
Like all of us I feel pretty powerless in this situation. Our only power is to vote against him. But even then no guarantees. It's scary and definitely keeping me up at night worrying about it all.