I’m so frightened

mangomungo

I’m currently on income related esa support group & child tax credits and received migration notice to be done by November.
I have anxiety, depression and suspected adhd and autism, it’s a 5 year waiting list and I’ve been on the list for a year. I haven’t had a DWP assessment since 2020 and I am so petrified of this move I have lost 8lbs in a month, the last face to face assessment 2019 took me a year to recover from and gave me ptsd like symptoms, even a year after the event.
I wake up in a sheer panic every morning because of Rachel reeves, talking about getting people back into work. I voted labour thinking they would look after people like me but looks like I’m wrong. I’ve seen a lot of people saying she’s going to reform the lcwra, I’m so frightened of universal credit anyway and this has made it so much worse. I’ve had all the cbt/DBT therapy in previous years (which made it worse) but my GP doesn’t even ring to check on me anymore, I have no help at all. I literally don’t even want to be here anymore and I’m not mentally strong enough to deal with 5 weeks of no money and then the gruelling process of probably being reassessed, then even forced into work? Or having my extra disability premium removed as they’re talking about? I would no longer be able to do the basics to live. I have a child and if it wasn’t for him I would have been long gone, he needs his mummy but his mummy can’t cope anymore, truly I don’t want to be here anymore and I can’t see a way through this.

Rosie_Scope

Hi @mangomungo, welcome to the community. I'm so sorry things are feeling so tough for you at the moment. I can understand how stressful it can be to listen to all the possible changes about benefits, lots of our members are feeling similar things at the moment and it's not easy.

I hope the community can be a place where you can connect with others who know what you're going through so you can feel less alone in it.

Have you got any supportive friends or family members about that might be able to help you talk through some of your difficulties?

I'm going to send you an email later today so please look out for that 😊

mangomungo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/909467#Comment_909467

Thank you for your response but unfortunately I don’t have anyone to support me, which is why I’ve ended up posting on here 😞

Biblioklept

You won't be 5 weeks without money, your housing benefit and ESA will be paid for 2 more weeks after you put your claim for UC in, as long as you claim before the date they gave you @mangomungo, you can also ask for an advance from UC to help with the other 2/3 weeks, yeah it has to be paid back but only in small instalments ❤️ It isn't as bad as people say and you won't need to be reassessed for lcwra/support group so don't worry about that either!!

As for the changes, no one knows what they're doing but it won't be any time soon, try ad ignore all the rubbish about it and focus on your switch over to UC for now and your wee boy ❤️❤️

mangomungo

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/909477#Comment_909477

Thank you so much for your kind message, it feels really overwhelming but you’ve put my mind at ease a bit, it’s just such a scary thing when someone has the ability to take away your ability to live or not ❤️

Nightcity

Bless you! I'm autistic with adhd and dyslexia/dyspraxia. I also have chronic clinical depression. My autism us bordering between stage 2 and 3 and I need a carer.

I know the fear as well, these days though as hard as it is I refuse to.let them steal my life and mental peace.

Here for you during awful time

Nightcity

Rosie_Scope

@mangomungo, sorry to hear that. I hope we can offer some support 😊

Have you had a little look at our post about managed migration? It's been written by one of our members and has a good bit of information about what to expect:

UC managed migration guide — Scope | Online Community

If you're in the support group on ESA you shouldn't need immediately reassessing and will be put into the LCWRA (Limited capability for work and work related activity) group on UC as standard. While I didn't transition from ESA, I have had a mostly positive time on Universal Credit, so there are definitely good experiences out there. Sometimes it's easier to find negative stories as more people post about those rather than when things went well. It's still stressful to be moving over though, I can understand why you're worried about the process.

If you've got any questions, our members are often very helpful and might be able to put your mind at ease on some things. Please don't be afraid to ask about anything, there are no stupid questions here 😊

mangomungo

thank you for your kind comments everyone I’m glad to know I’m not alone with it and that it might not be as bad after all. I really struggle with change and always have and this is a big thing for me, and the news and media definitely make it worse. fingers crossed any changes the government makes will not impact anyone vulnerable as the past 14 years we’ve had enough of that and it’s been really hard and scary for people with poor mental health that relies on benefits. I hope everyone here is having a good day aswell and thank you for taking your time to comment here ❤️