Rude assessor

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staffy_gurl74

I have to admit I came out of my assessment in disbelief. I realise the accessor needs to come from a professional perspective
but mental health is never a visible thing in a lot of cases.
 I have suffered mental health issues since a teenager.
 The assessor made little comments throughout my assessment. In hindsight I wish I recorded the whole exam..(something I advise everyone to do ..!)
She tried to make me feel stupid.
I have problems with my memory ( which I stated around 3 times to her .. ) she thought I was being rude…
 if they are going to include mental health problems in a Pip exam
I definitely think they should have a mental health expert to advise them too.
 I came out feeling worse and alone than ever. not great as I suffer badly from anxiety and when stressed can’t eat.
 Yes pandemic has made a lot of back logs and stress on the resources
but there is no excuse to treat me that way. I will be complaining .
 Even if it falls on deaf ears .
 I just think if I was younger or if that had been a younger person,
 with no life experience of ppl who stereo type mental health…
 I would have probably been very depressed after wards
and that situation did not help
at all.
The tv campaigns about addiction /mental health etc are clearly not working.
Alot of health workers still treat ppl with mental health issues like we can help ourselves…
mot is  time to change how we act treat and generally speak to people with mental health.. not make them feel worse about them selves ? 

Has anyone else suffered like this ? 

It was revolting to be seriously depressed as I have been
and to be treated that way from a professional who is supposed to hrlp you. 

Ross_Alumni

Hello @staffy_gurl74

Welcome to the community, and thank you for posting about your experience. Sorry to hear about how the assessor was with you, you shouldn't be made to feel the way you describe. If you do want to make a complaint, you can find information here about the DWP's complaints procedure, including how to make a complaint about a third party organisation such as one that carries out assessments.

Greater understanding around mental health is something that we see often as an issue on the community, so you definitely aren't the first. There has been progress in that area but clearly there is still a long way to go so that instances like this don't occur.

Regarding your mental health, do you receive any support to manage it on a daily basis? For example, is your GP aware of how it impacts you?