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Anxiety about my appeal

hi
I have my appeal next week and I’m so nervous. I haven’t managed to find any support service to help me so have done all the paperwork on my own and will be going on my own. Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences that they could share with me please
I have my appeal next week and I’m so nervous. I haven’t managed to find any support service to help me so have done all the paperwork on my own and will be going on my own. Does anyone have any suggestions or experiences that they could share with me please
Replies
Some win, some lose.
You can only but go and tell the truth.
Like you I did my own paperwork and had to attend alone.
I was really nervous and was struggling to say what I wanted to say but the judge said he understood that it is a stressful situation.
When I got there the clerk took me through to the waiting room and then went through what would happen and the names of the panel and their roles. He checked that I had my bundle of paperwork and asked if there was any other evidence I wanted to add to it.
The hearing room was like an office not a ‘court’.
The panel – the judge and a doctor and a disability specialist – sat in a row of desks and I sat in front of them.
The judge is taking notes so watch him / her and pause if they are writing something down.
Don’t worry if you get anxious trying to answer the questions – just take a breath and start again. Easier said than done I know...
I would recommend writing down a statement of what you want to say as I was asked if there was anything I wanted to add at the end but my brain was overloaded by that point and I couldn’t think of anything at the time. I think it would have been better if I had had something to read out to them to make sure I didn’t forget anything.
Also I wrote a list of the bundle page number for the key points in the paperwork that I thought I might need to refer to.
Plan a treat for yourself when it is all over!