PIP for anxiety?
Why is it even possible to get PIP for general anxiety, a condition that everyone suffers, maybe LCWRA at a push, but not PIP surely. At this rate we should all be claiming it. Mobility or PIP as it's now called, was mainly for people who couldn't walk or had difficulty in walking, how would it help people with general anxiety, they have no extra costs.
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It's all about severity
A lot of conditions' symptoms are just extreme instances of what everybody (or most people) experiences
-Pain
-Fatigue
-Shortness of breath
-Vision
-Intellectual/development
-Heart/blood pressureThere are extremely severe conditions where the symptoms fall under those categories, but everyone probably experiences them all (with the exception of vision issues, which is limited to a significant chunk of the population) to some extent
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But not everybody gets those conditions, were talking of anxiety and OCD who get the benefit. A benefit for something that we all get that make us check things or get worked up which effects millions of people. This is why the bill has risen in recent years, I get anxiety and ocd, millions of others working do too, but I didn't claim or jump on a gravy train. It needs stopping for these conditions and rightly going to the people that need it. I thought that's what the reforms were all about. Years ago if you had these conditions, they'd pop you a pill and send you back to work. F2F would bring back normality I think and genuinely help people that need the benefits.
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PIP isn’t awarded for having “anxiety”, “OCD”, or any other diagnosis. It’s awarded when a person cannot reliably carry out specific daily‑living or mobility activities because of the severity of their symptoms. Most people with mild or moderate anxiety will never meet that threshold, and the system already reflects that.
On the reforms, the Government has been consulting on changes because the number of people receiving health‑related benefits has risen sharply in recent years. They want to check whether the current assessment rules are still doing the job they were designed to do, and whether anything needs updating to keep the process fair and consistent.
The Government has now announced the members of its new Disability Advisory Panel. See link:
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As mentioned above @SwiftFox, PIP is awarded for how your condition affects your daily life, it doesn't matter what the condition is. I understand a lot of people have anxiety but some struggle to just exist each day. PIP is for those people.
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The ignorance shown here is concerning but it is a common belief within the general public unfortunately, further fuelled by the media.
No-one gets PIP for a bit of general anxiety. Anyone who can function day to day well enough after just 'popping a pill' doesn't meet the criteria.
The criteria for Mobility based on anxiety symptoms alone is 'Overwhelming Psychological Distress'. That is not just generally worrying about things. It is the point where you physically cannot complete a task or remain safe due to the severity of the symptoms. Believe me, this frustrates us as much as it does 'normal' people…I get so angry at my body for removing the control that I have over it in those situations, particularly when other people just keep tossing cliches at me as if I am making a choice! I see people every day in wheelchairs or with walking aids or even guide dogs who are much more able to complete basic tasks than I am, including travelling.
Those symptoms repeated over many years, plus the fact they prevent me from accessing healthcare, has meant that I now many physical conditions in addition to the mental ones. It's wrecked my digestive system, it's ruined my teeth and eyes, and what started as a simple ear infection has left me with permanent balance and vertigo issues as I couldn't get it treated. This is the reality of an anxiety disorder, it is not the same as the 'bit of nerves' that other people feel before they go on to perform a task effectively…
If I could swap a lifetime of anxiety based conditions for one physical condition, I almost certainly would have done. That's not to take anything away from people with physical conditions at all, just that it is much easier to put aids and adaptions in place to assist with physical conditions and accessing the world than it is for mental conditions.
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There's no ignorance shown at all, you can see it on every forum about people with anxiety and ocd getting money for it, it is treatable. Some just don't want treatment.
Before we start getting our backs up, mental health claims shot up in the pandemic because no one was there to knock their claims down and now we have a bulging sick note society and when face to face start's coming in large numbers it will plummet.
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I think the issue with the face to face appointments is that people with severe anxiety most likely won't be able to attend. This will lead to the numbers reducing but it doesn't mean that it's because people were 'faking it' or not anxious enough. It's worrying as these people won't be able to get the support they need.
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Theres different types of Anxiety to be honest, some can be managed and some can't. (thats the ignorance). Anxiety stemming from Autism can't be treated and is distinct from the nueurotypical anxiety. Its often acting as a response to sensory overload, strict routine disruptions, or communication challenges rather than just "what if" worries. It frequently presents behaviorally through intense meltdowns, shutdowns, avoidance, increased repetitive behaviors, or "masking" to blend in, often stemming from a need for predictability.
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My nephew has autism, so I certainly know what that can be like and how it affects families and life. I'm on about ordinary anxieties where people can seek help and work instead choosing a life on benefits, there are some people who have never worked, claiming anxiety or adhd stops them, but you see others working.
But it's not forced to be the end, surely a lot of the onus is on whether the persons wants to work or whether he avoids seeking work, this is where F2F is necessary .
Not everyone can cope with life, I know, but we are talking of a lot of people pulling the wool over the doctors eyes and claiming here from the pandemic.
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The trouble is media and the gov fail also to realise that Pip is not a out of work benefit. Pat mcfadden was on about it about not working. Martin ( who does the money show) is a advocate for mental health, and he kept saying to him about that. We only go what the media and dwp say , and neither can be trusted.
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I'm actually really glad you posted this @SwiftFox because it shows you've never experienced anxiety or OCD to the extent that it's disabling and I'm really happy that's the case for you ❤️
I can also see why people get confused and think it's just something everyone deals with, especially when you get celebrities on TV saying they suffer terrible anxiety but are working and able to be in the public eye. They may well have anxiety but it's a vast spectrum and different areas of your life it can impact. It isn't just being nervous or worried or getting that little sick feeling in your stomach. It can be all-consuming where it leads to physical symptoms and actual harm.
Don't get me started on the way people use OCD. It's used so often as something someone can have a 'bit of' or as a way to describe someone who likes things orderly and that's not it at all.
Sadly it massively undermines those who it impacts significantly and does show an element of ignorance
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Your thread title PIP for anxiety is part of the confusion here. PIP is not awarded for having anxiety OCD autism or any other diagnosis. It is awarded when someone cannot reliably carry out specific daily living or mobility activities because of the severity of their symptoms.
It also is not an out of work benefit. People in full time work part time work and people who are not working can all receive PIP. It exists to help with the extra costs that come with a disability or long term condition. It does not replace a salary and it does not assess whether someone wants to work.
The issues you are describing around motivation GP notes or people avoiding work relate to Universal Credit and the LCW or LCWRA assessments. These are completely separate systems with different rules and different purposes.
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"there are some people who have never worked, claiming anxiety or adhd stops them, but you see others working." this comment is wild and where do you draw the line? You see people with heart failure and undergoing cancer treatment working, why don't all people with heart failure? You see blind paralympians, why aren't all blind people athletes? According to your logic if some people in wheelchairs are working, everyone in a wheelchair should be able to, right? I'm sure there are people with your disabilities working, or doing something you cannot, so does that mean you should be able to, too?
People are complex. The impact a condition has varies from person to person and no two people are the same.
For example, I'm autistic and have extreme social anxiety and keep my own company happily, other autistic people I know are the opposite and are social butterflies that can't imagine anything worse than being alone.
Not everyone with anxiety or OCD would qualify for PIP, just the same as not everyone with CP would receive the same award (or an award at all). The way someone's life is impacted goes beyond their label or diagnosis ❤️
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Look here then
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The guidance you linked does not state that PIP is awarded because a person has anxiety. It explains that individuals with anxiety may qualify only where their symptoms create functional limitations in the activities set out in the 2013 PIP regulations. That is the point I was making earlier.
The DWP’s reference to a claimant’s main disabling condition is an administrative category rather than a basis for entitlement. The award rate of forty five percent for anxiety related claims shows that a diagnosis on its own is not sufficient. Entitlement depends on whether the person can carry out the prescribed activities reliably, safely, repeatedly and within a reasonable time.
Condition specific guides exist for many health conditions and are intended to help people understand how their symptoms may relate to the descriptors. They do not imply automatic qualification.
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@Lunarnight not everyone thinks this way and I think (hope!) no ill wish was intended. Giving the benefit of doubt I assume the comments come from a place of not understanding rather than attack. So many of us here understand anxiety and how absolutely awful it can be as a condition so please stick around and find us and ignore those who just don't understand ❤️❤️
@SwiftFox the link isn't making the point you think it is, in fact it does the opposite and highlights how the DWP have grouped a bunch of conditions together under one label to paint a certain picture.
Just having anxiety is not enough for anyone to claim PIP or any other benefit. Claimants all go through the same assessments and screenings and their ability to undertake the same desriptors is assessed!! You've not engaged with anyone with genuine experience of anxiety so I can only assume you've made this post to antagonise and stir up trouble which is a shame, as it could have been a good opportunity to learn
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I look ok i put make up on and do my hair my clothes always clean but my life my Brain has ruined my life i can not do what Alarm clock Britain does favourite sayings of MPs anxiety can eat you alive that constant voice attached to everyday life if the phone rings the Doorbell goes its total panic something bads going to happen living in fight or flight mode that your nervous system so wired you notice everything peoples tone of voice body language everything is so overwhelming you just want to escape can you imagine being so overwhelmed with these thoughts this life that even seeing your daughter is overwhelming anxiety depression is a curse no life no career no real bonds relationships to scared to leave the house years of therapy breathing medication not working god who would want this life who ???? If I could work and maintain i would because living like this is hell pure hell now we have to face what's happening with pip and all these changes to lwcra doesn't exactly help people with anxiety it impacts it even more for 51 years my body been in survival mode imagine how tired that makes you and many people diagnosed with anxiety have other mental health conditions but not diagnosed so how hard is that for them
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I question why some are so against a face to face assessment? A cynic might assume it is to avoid scrutiny.
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