Esa assesment form.

marie68

hi,I’ve been on esa now for 3 years and have recently received the assessment form to fill in.Ive never passed on the form and I have always been sent for medical.My problem is anxiety,depression and scared of change, social isolation and not being able to go out with someone being with me.My mum and dad both passed away when I was very young and 2 of my siblings committed suicide within one year of each other this happened 18 years ago but it is still very raw to me,I still have a lot of nightmares because of this.Now another one of my siblings has just passed away through cancer last week,I can’t cope with all this and I have become very isolated.Ive been on antidepressants 200mg and sleeping tablets for years and I’m petrified filling this form out,do I put my sibling has just passed away with cancer on the form?I just don’t no what to do.Thanks for reading.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @marie68, and a warm welcome to the community!

Thanks for sharing this with us. I'm so sorry to hear about what you've been through, and I hope you're coping as well as possible. Do you have any support in place for your mental health?

If you're struggling with filling out the form, it may be worth seeing if there are any local services who could help you with this. Do you have a Citizens Advice near you?

If you need extra help filling in your ESA50 form, you can go to your local Citizens Advice in England and Wales or in Scotland - someone will help you fill it in and explain everything to you in person.

You can also get help from your local disability support agency or local mental health charity.

marie68

Hi pippa,no I don’t have any support in place for my mental health!I also forgot to mention that I am suffering from ptsd I think that’s mainly the reason as to why they put me on the esa for 3 years.Do you think I should just fill in the form the best I can and see what the out come is as I don’t go out the house.Thanks so much for your kind words and information.

Pippa_Alumni

Hi @marie68, I'm sorry to hear that. If you're struggling to get out, there's some great in-depth guidance on this page for filling in the form that will hopefully help you along, and perhaps our members will be able to offer some suggestions too. 

Is your GP aware of the challenges you're facing at the moment? If not, it might be worth considering speaking to them and letting them know, in the hope they can refer you for some further support. 

poppy123456

Hi,

You need to fill out the form with as much information as possible about how your conditions affect you. Remember they're trying to get a picture of how your conditions affect you and your ability to do any type of job.

You need to send any relevant evidence with the form because they rarely contact anyone for this.

You also need to make sure the form is returned by the date in the letter. Failure to return it by this date and you could be found fit for work for failing to return the form.

Most people have face to face assessments, it's rare to have a paper based one.

See link for help with filling out the form.

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/employment-and-support-allowance/help-with-your-esa-claim/fill-in-form/

marie68

Hi, thanks for sending me the link for help in filling out the form.                                              Yes my GP is aware of my condition but I don’t go to see them all the time as I’m just on the repeat prescription as I don’t like to go out.Im just basically suffering in silence to be honest!Thanks for your reply.

marie68

Thanks for your reply and I will get my daughter to get this form off to them in a couple of days.Ive got until the 11/02/19 thanks again pippa.

marie68

Thankyou poppy for your reply.

poppy123456

You're welcome. Good luck.