I have my telephone assessment next week, and I'm a nervous wreck

Joolz2107

Hi everyone, I have a telephone assessment next week and I am making myself ill worrying about it as last assessment the woman lied about a lot of things luckily I had the woman from The Council On Disability as a witness to it all, I got zero points to which the lady done a MR for me and got low rate care and mobility! I think it is awful the way we are made to feel or is it just me that thinks like that? I feel they are constantly trying to catch you out and you need to think carefully about what you say or you’re made out to be a liar, I suffer from terrible anxiety and depression amongst other chronic pain conditions and I wish I could go back to paid employment but I can’t because of my health-this whole process with pip from filling in the form, assessments etc and the waiting game is terrifying sometimes and if you weren’t suffering from anxiety before the claim I’m sure you will by the end of it. Sorry for the rant.

Ross_Alumni

Hello @Joolz2107

Thanks for posting, the assessments certainly can be a daunting prospect can't they? I'm sorry to see how much you appear to be not looking forward to it, but I completely understand your nerves and I'm sure many others will too. 

It's normal to feel unsure about how it's going to go, especially when you have had not so great past experiences of the process, however with the right amount of preparation and rest in the run up to the assessment I'm sure you can do fine. Have you had a think about the sorts of things you would want to say to the assessor? Perhaps it might be worth considering some anecdotes that show how you meet the descriptors.

Do you have any support from friends or family members at this time? It seems as though you are under quite a bit of stress and I hope you have supportive figures around you Furthermore, you mentioned your depression and anxiety, are those things you receive support with too? Is your GP aware of how they impact you?

Popdiva43

Good morning all, joolz2107 I know how you feel, I'm being to brick it, as have my pip telephone tribunal in a couple of weeks, and it's making me feel so ill, I feel I'm going to say something wrong, but I suppose it can't get any worse with the zero points I got.

Joolz2107

Hi Ross

Thanks for the reply, yes my doctor has just increased my dose of antidepressants, I’m also doing an online course with my mental health team but these PIP assessments just fill me with fear! I’m going to either try and get someone from CAB or COD to sit with me and prepare, I just want it over and done with! I’ll keep yous posted with how it goes and thank you as always for listening and replying, I could sit all day and just read this forum-so helpful and understanding because it’s real people that suffer from problems like myself, thnx again @Popdiva43 for your post-good luck with your tribunal-if it helps I’ve been to a F2F tribunal and won my case a few years ago so ????.

Leigh14

Hi @Joolz2107. I was incredibly anxious about my assessment, but found it helped to make notes of what I needed to say. Remember not to answer with just yes or no to questions, ie, I cannot walk further than 20-50 metres, followed with what happens (pain, breathlessness etc) 
Good luck with it all. You’ll be fine, then it’s something else to put aside until the decision is made.