Pip advice anxiety

chrisssy

Hello everyone I am new to the group

I have a few questions maybe to put my mind at ease regarding Pip I applied for Pip last year early October I had my assessment recently in March 2022 regarding my mental health issues I suffer from compulsive disorder  Extreme anxiety and extreme depression as well as body dysmorphia

All the way through this experience I’ve been very calm and not really anxious even when I had my assessment I was very calm luckily I had one of my good friends with me and assessment so all went plain sailing put the last few weeks anxiety is been all through the roof and I’ve been unable to sleep properly think about anything else except from the Pip I’m just wondering if anyone else has any tips for me to call my anxiety down and maybe stop me overthinking everything and can I ask is anyone else found it quite intrusive and overwhelming talking about different medical conditions/mental health or is it just me ?

any advice would be helpful 

Kind regards

poppy123456

The only advice i can give you is to try to think of something else. It's perfectly normal to feel the way you do about the assessment as the majority of people think the same.  A decision can be anything from 2-12 weeks.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @chrisssy Thank you for joining, and for being so open and honest in your first post.

As poppy123456 has said, many people experience heightened anxiety when waiting for their PIP decision, so you're certainly not alone in feeling that way. 

Mind have some tips on self care for anxiety, which you may find helpful. 

Are you keeping busy? Though it's important to take time for yourself, and relax, keeping yourself occupied with something you enjoy can be a good way of taking your mind off of the thing that's causing you some anxiety. Do you have any relaxing hobbies or interests? 

It sounds as though you have a couple of other mental health conditions too. Are you receiving enough professional support to help you manage your anxiety, compulsive disorder, depression, and body dysmorphia? 

can I ask is anyone else found it quite intrusive and overwhelming talking about different medical conditions/mental health or is it just me

We've had many other members mention this. It can be difficult to talk about health conditions at the best of times, let alone to a stranger doing an assessment. Was your friend able to support you after the assessment?

SueHeath

Morning @chrisssy welcome to our great group.
If you get chance have a good look around the site, i like the coffee lounge in the categories section, its great for general chats etc and i find it a very good distraction.

Look forward to seeing you around.

chrisssy

@poppy123456 thank you so much for your advice really appreciate it🤗

chrisssy

@Tori_Scope thank you for the warm response really much appreciate it

I tried to keep myself busy on most days I work at full-time job which is not easy and try and maintain a normal work in balance at home life

I do have two cats that rely on me incredibly I love them dearly so they keep my mind busy

it’s just really difficult with my other mental health issues that’s all get triggered off by my survey anxiety Sunday is just really hard for me then office I guess

Yes my friend is there for me when I as I need her which is very nice as I don’t really have a great group circle of friends/family is very small and I don’t really trust people

I find it very hard opening up to people and talking about my mental health issues and/certain things in my life

so on a daily basis I’m okay when I’m around people when I’m outside busy working it’s just when I get home my compulsion kicks in and make severe anxiety takes over my mind and I can’t seem to focus on anything

I do like to try and do some meditation that normally helps me

chrisssy

@SueHeath thanks so much for your response that’s a great idea maybe I’ll pop over there and have a little chat then🤗

Ross_Alumni

chrisssy said:

@Tori_Scope thank you for the warm response really much appreciate it

I tried to keep myself busy on most days I work at full-time job which is not easy and try and maintain a normal work in balance at home life

I do have two cats that rely on me incredibly I love them dearly so they keep my mind busy

it’s just really difficult with my other mental health issues that’s all get triggered off by my survey anxiety Sunday is just really hard for me then office I guess

Yes my friend is there for me when I as I need her which is very nice as I don’t really have a great group circle of friends/family is very small and I don’t really trust people

I find it very hard opening up to people and talking about my mental health issues and/certain things in my life

so on a daily basis I’m okay when I’m around people when I’m outside busy working it’s just when I get home my compulsion kicks in and make severe anxiety takes over my mind and I can’t seem to focus on anything

I do like to try and do some meditation that normally helps me

I think many people find it hard to open up about how they are feeling, so you certainly aren't alone there. Whether it be friends or family, or even a service that is there to listen, sometimes it can just feel like a really daunting conversation and can cause anxiety. 

It's good that you have your cats and meditation, I'm sure that both of those ehlp a lot to take your mind off things and relax.

chrisssy

@Ross_Scope thank you so much for your response yes it can be very daunting to open up about certain things/mental health/conditions yes my cat keep me occupied as funny as it sounds they literally keep me going 🥰

chrisssy

@Tori_Scope yes I am currently on medication for my anxiety and depression unfortunately I have been for CBT4 times we did not find it helps me at all so is also referred for one-to-one therapy twice which I found help me temporarily i’ve also reached out to Are you local councillor unfortunately have turned me down because my mental health issues are too severe so I have been referred to psychiatric help through my doctor it’s very hard to get the mental health help that I need I find a lot of people just passed your pillow to post an unfortunate makes me very sad Are you local councillor unfortunately have turned me down because my mental health issues are too severe so I have been referred to psychiatric help through my doctor it’s very hard to get the mental health help that I need I find a lot of people just passed your pillow to post an unfortunate makes me very sad so to answer your question I am getting the help that I need but I’m also not getting the help that I need I find it very difficult to socialise interact with people understand basic communication as well as written information it’s very hard for me to do daily activities even I work a full-time job I’m often late I often get sent home because of severe anxiety I often can’t face the day most days of the week so I’m trying to get the help I need but it’s very difficult for me to understand and express my emotions and feelings because sometimes I don’t understand it myself With my stream OCD it’s very hard for me to even operate on a daily basis I cannot use a cooker washing machine oven or microwave because the severe overwhelming feeling I get in case I haven’t turned the sockets off it’s too overwhelming I touch 3 lights three times in a ritual I constantly touch the door handle many times if I don’t not do my rituals I get very overwhelmed distress I can’t concentrate I get sweaty palms my compulsion is very deep and it stops me on my day-to-day life many times I go back home up to 8 times just to check if the door is locked I’m often late for work late for appointments I need help going to appointments I cannot travel on my own because of the anxiety it’s very difficult for me at work even to do day-to-day life activities at work but luckily I do have support at work

chrisssy

@Ross_Scope
@poppy123456
@SueHeath
@Tori_Scope sorry if you can’t understand my basic written English I have dyslexia also so it’s very hard for me to write words sorry in advance if you can’t understand fully what I’m trying to say

Ross_Alumni

chrisssy said:

@Ross_Scope thank you so much for your response yes it can be very daunting to open up about certain things/mental health/conditions yes my cat keep me occupied as funny as it sounds they literally keep me going 🥰

That doesn't sound funny at all, cats are a brilliant source of stress relief for so many people, I'm glad they help you so much What is your cat called?

chrisssy said:

@Tori_Scope yes I am currently on medication for my anxiety and depression unfortunately I have been for CBT4 times we did not find it helps me at all so is also referred for one-to-one therapy twice which I found help me temporarily i’ve also reached out to Are you local councillor unfortunately have turned me down because my mental health issues are too severe so I have been referred to psychiatric help through my doctor it’s very hard to get the mental health help that I need I find a lot of people just passed your pillow to post an unfortunate makes me very sad Are you local councillor unfortunately have turned me down because my mental health issues are too severe so I have been referred to psychiatric help through my doctor it’s very hard to get the mental health help that I need I find a lot of people just passed your pillow to post an unfortunate makes me very sad so to answer your question I am getting the help that I need but I’m also not getting the help that I need I find it very difficult to socialise interact with people understand basic communication as well as written information it’s very hard for me to do daily activities even I work a full-time job I’m often late I often get sent home because of severe anxiety I often can’t face the day most days of the week so I’m trying to get the help I need but it’s very difficult for me to understand and express my emotions and feelings because sometimes I don’t understand it myself With my stream OCD it’s very hard for me to even operate on a daily basis I cannot use a cooker washing machine oven or microwave because the severe overwhelming feeling I get in case I haven’t turned the sockets off it’s too overwhelming I touch 3 lights three times in a ritual I constantly touch the door handle many times if I don’t not do my rituals I get very overwhelmed distress I can’t concentrate I get sweaty palms my compulsion is very deep and it stops me on my day-to-day life many times I go back home up to 8 times just to check if the door is locked I’m often late for work late for appointments I need help going to appointments I cannot travel on my own because of the anxiety it’s very difficult for me at work even to do day-to-day life activities at work but luckily I do have support at work

Thank you for going into further detail about how you feel and the help you have had. As you say it does seem as though you receive some support, which is good, but that you also could do with further help. Is your GP aware of all the challenges you described there in your post? 

In your post, you said:

"I have been for CBT4 times we did not find it helps me at all so is also referred for one-to-one therapy twice which I found help me temporarily i’ve also reached out to Are you local councillor unfortunately have turned me down because my mental health issues are too severe so I have been referred to psychiatric help through my doctor it’s very hard to get the mental health help that I need "

It's good that one to one therapy helped you for a period of time, and I'm glad that your GP has referred you for further psychiatric help. Do you know when you will start receiving that further support?

I would encourage you to keep accessing your GP if you ever feel as though you need further support to manage your mental health. You might also find the below resources helpful:

• Samaritans, who you can call on 116 123 anytime if you want to speak with anybody
• Mind, who have a lot of useful information pages such as this one about coping techniques and this one which contains numerous self-care tips for anxiety

Have you ever had a needs assessment through your local authority's social care team to see if they can provide any support for you with things such as daily tasks?

You also touched on your work, and I wondered how they have been with you? Are they aware of how your mental health impacts you and have they been able to put any adjustments in place to help to support you to do your job?

chrisssy said:

@Ross_Scope
@poppy123456
@SueHeath
@Tori_Scope sorry if you can’t understand my basic written English I have dyslexia also so it’s very hard for me to write words sorry in advance if you can’t understand fully what I’m trying to say

There's no need to apologise, you've communicated very well  

chrisssy

@Tori_Scope well thank you for all the amazing advice honestly really does help me now there’s an extra help for my mental health out there I struggle for many years and I’ve kept quiet for many years and suffered in silence which I’m not prepared to do anymore the last for years I have really try to take control of my mental health but it’s not easy as it got appreciate

I struggled for many years and I’ve kept quiet for many years and suffered in silence which I’m not prepared to do anymore the last for years I really try to take control of my mental health it’s not easy as it gonna appreciate I have reached out to my doctor many times the referral for psychiatric help can take up to 7 months my doctor said to me it’s very hard to get an appointment with them but they’re going to try their hardest as she feels I’m very priority of the list to get some psychiatric help which sounds good also I have severe anxiety so picking up the phone is very daunting overwhelming for me I get extreme anxiety when I have to call someone are you the Doctors

social care I have spoke to number for and let them know which area of my day-to-day activities that I can’t do they referred me to citizens advice I’m not sure why but they fed me to them which they have been amazing they helped me with my PIP claim and also helped me with my day-to-day life activities/budgeting money with my severe OCD I tend to compulsive boy and I’m not able to be in control of my money budgeting decisions 

chrisssy

@Ross_Scope haha I know there in the world to be female cats mittens and Leila they literally get me a few most days 🥰

chrisssy

@Tori_Scope also would like to add my work and been very good ever so supportive adjustments in place when I’m late for work I don’t get questioned or told off if you like there’s a quiet room access whenever I need you they do occasionally ask me how I’m feeling is there anything They can do for me they have been very helpful and very supportive in this case And they are very understanding

chrisssy

 also I have another question do you think it’s worth getting my friend to phone up PIP for me as I have a severe anxiety I can’t really talk on the phone at all to request my PIP assessment report any advice would be great I had my assessment on the 24th of March ??

poppy123456

Requesting the assessment report is not a good idea, especially as you already suffer anxiety. The report causes so much more needless stress for so many people. Even if what you read is good, it still causes so much stress. If it's not what you're expecting then the stress is even worse.

My advice it to wait for the decision. If successfully awarded and it's a first time claim, without transferring from DLA then money is usually in the bank before you receive the decision letter.

chrisssy

@poppy123456 thank you so much for your quick reply 

yes you’re probably right difficult with my compulsion I feel like I always need to know something now regardless if it’s good or bad

but no having a deep think about it now anxiety will be more of the scale and I would make me more distressed

so I will just sit time and see what the decision maker is going to do 🤗