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PIP for social anxiety?

lcg52

hi! i hope this site is an okay place to ask this only i’ve had no luck with finding out whether this is possible or not. i have bad anxiety and PTSD and i have since i was young but it got bad when i turned 13/14. im 18 now and have just started to seek help for it. however my mental health issues are starting to cause a problem to the people around me. my mum needs me to go out to work (which i understand) to help support us but i can’t even leave the house on my own. i’ve never ever been outside by myself bcos of my anxiety and fear of something bad happening and even when i’m out with my support (basically my mum or my best friend) i panic over everything! (i also can’t do anything unfamiliar bcos i have to know how everything will pan out and i obsess over little things)

i’m praying the help i’m seeking will do something but until then i don’t know what to do to support my mum and was wondering if i’d be able to apply for PIP? i feel like i wouldn’t be eligible though because my m.h doesn’t drastically effect my day to day things like getting dressed, showering (activities in my house/personal things). the pressure of needing to go out to work by my mum is making it a lot worse and it’s causing me a lot of stress and hopelessness.

i just don’t know what to do to help her.

so do you think i might be able to apply for PIP or am i overshooting and exaggerating it? id greatly appreciate any help with this

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poppy123456

PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. You need to score at least 8 points for an award. There's 2 parts to PIP, daily living and mobility.

It's also not about your ability to work. Please see links. https://pipinfo.net/

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

I note that you're 18, are you a student? If not, do you currently claim Universal Credit? This is a means tested benefit for those who are unable to work and those on low income.

lcg52

poppy123456 said:

PIP isn't awarded based on any diagnosis, it's how those conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities. You need to score at least 8 points for an award. There's 2 parts to PIP, daily living and mobility.
It's also not about your ability to work. Please see links. https://pipinfo.net/
https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/
I note that you're 18, are you a student? If not, do you currently claim Universal Credit? This is a means tested benefit for those who are unable to work and those on low income.

i do know it’s not based on diagnosis since i got into contact with citizens advice but they just recited the gov page to me so weren’t overly helpful. and that’s my main concern, i don’t think i would score high enough.

i am not a student and haven’t been able to go to college or university since nothing is online based (and i can’t attend in person). i haven’t tried universal credit for myself but i did just help my mum sign up for it and they expect her to attend job interviews and appointments (she does already work though) so i wouldn’t be able to attend those which would surely affect the income. i can try it but they expect me to work now i’m 18 and not signed off sick or other circumstances.

thank you for the links btw

nasturtium

Hello Icg52

This is what I would do if I was in your position but I am no expert and this is only advice on what I would do.

You Posted:-

"the pressure of needing to go out to work by my mum is making it a lot worse and it’s causing me a lot of stress and hopelessness"

This is the first thing I would address. You Mum needs to realise that she is not helping you by pressuring you to seek work. It is understandable for your Mum to be concerened for you monetry welfare and she is doing this in a view of compassion without realising that it is causing you more problems and making your situation worse. You said you are seeking help. If you are seeking help from a mental health therapist or a mental health charity then you can ask you Mum to come along with you to a face to face meeting (if you are able to do that) and explain to the mental health therapist or consultant the problems you are facing including the fact that your Mum is pressuring you to find work but you are unable to because of your mental health problems. They will then explain to you and your Mum what the best way is to help your situation. Please do not blame your Mum for doing what she is doing because alot of the time people do not understand what you are going through and the problems mental health cause because it is a invisable disability and I am sure if she did fully understood then she would instead of forcing you to get work she would be more willing to help you to get help to help you cope with your mental health problems.

Now about PIP. Should you claim or should you not? As advised by Poppy said PIP is not about diagnosis it is about the problems you face completing the 12 activities in PIP Reliably that means you must be able to do each activity safely, repeatedly, reasonable time period and to an acceptable standard. More information about Relaibly can be found here https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably So if you can do an activity safely without problems and you can do the activity repeatedly and to an acceptable standard but you are slow doing a activity because of a physical disability then you cannot do that activity in a "reasonable time period" and you score points for that PIP activity. The key thing is to show why you are slow doing that activity. If you have mental health problems then you might have no motivation to do an activity or you might need prompting or encouragement to do that activity. If you can look at the activities on the https://pipinfo.net/ website and look at the descriptors. Before you start to make a claim for PIP try and understand what the activities involve and what the point scoring descriptors mean. The pipinfo website will help you with that. If you can afford a yearly subscription then there is a website that has alot of information on claiming PIP and ESA called "benefits and work" it is a one for yearly subscription and you can cancel anytime. They have indepth downloadable PDF books explaining all of the activities and what the descriptors mean and explain how to setout your claim. Of course you do not need to subscribe to that site if you cannot afford to and you can seek advice from your local welfare charity or citizens advice. Go to this website https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits and put in your postcode and it will show you all of the places in your area where you can access adice and information to help you with welfare claims.

I hope my advice has been some assistance to you.

Kind Regards

Nasturtium

poppy123456

If you claim UC you will need to report a health condition and send in fit notes and this will start the work capability assessment process off. Though you're classed as a job seeker until a decision on your work capability assessment says otherwise. It's a work coaches discretion whether they turn off or reduce work commiments, some do and others don't.

For the PIP unless you fully understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean it's very very easy to underscore or even overscore yourself.

I can't tell you whether you would qualify for PIP because i don't know how you're affected by your conditions.

I'd advise you to have a read of the links posted, including this one. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria

It may give you more understanding of the criteria.

lcg52

nasturtium said:

Hello Icg52

This is what I would do if I was in your position but I am no expert and this is only advice on what I would do.

You Posted:-
"the pressure of needing to go out to work by my mum is making it a lot worse and it’s causing me a lot of stress and hopelessness"

This is the first thing I would address. You Mum needs to realise that she is not helping you by pressuring you to seek work. It is understandable for your Mum to be concerened for you monetry welfare and she is doing this in a view of compassion without realising that it is causing you more problems and making your situation worse. You said you are seeking help. If you are seeking help from a mental health therapist or a mental health charity then you can ask you Mum to come along with you to a face to face meeting (if you are able to do that) and explain to the mental health therapist or consultant the problems you are facing including the fact that your Mum is pressuring you to find work but you are unable to because of your mental health problems. They will then explain to you and your Mum what the best way is to help your situation. Please do not blame your Mum for doing what she is doing because alot of the time people do not understand what you are going through and the problems mental health cause because it is a invisable disability and I am sure if she did fully understood then she would instead of forcing you to get work she would be more willing to help you to get help to help you cope with your mental health problems.

Now about PIP. Should you claim or should you not? As advised by Poppy said PIP is not about diagnosis it is about the problems you face completing the 12 activities in PIP Reliably that means you must be able to do each activity safely, repeatedly, reasonable time period and to an acceptable standard. More information about Relaibly can be found here https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably So if you can do an activity safely without problems and you can do the activity repeatedly and to an acceptable standard but you are slow doing a activity because of a physical disability then you cannot do that activity in a "reasonable time period" and you score points for that PIP activity. The key thing is to show why you are slow doing that activity. If you have mental health problems then you might have no motivation to do an activity or you might need prompting or encouragement to do that activity. If you can look at the activities on the https://pipinfo.net/ website and look at the descriptors. Before you start to make a claim for PIP try and understand what the activities involve and what the point scoring descriptors mean. The pipinfo website will help you with that. If you can afford a yearly subscription then there is a website that has alot of information on claiming PIP and ESA called "benefits and work" it is a one for yearly subscription and you can cancel anytime. They have indepth downloadable PDF books explaining all of the activities and what the descriptors mean and explain how to setout your claim. Of course you do not need to subscribe to that site if you cannot afford to and you can seek advice from your local welfare charity or citizens advice. Go to this website https://advicelocal.uk/welfare-benefits and put in your postcode and it will show you all of the places in your area where you can access adice and information to help you with welfare claims.

I hope my advice has been some assistance to you.

Kind Regards
Nasturtium

hi!
yes i could do that, my therapy is on the phone and my mum is aware of my anxiety but she often underestimates it and thinks it’s just general nervousness so she doesn’t really understand. i do know she’s pushing from a place of her own worries since she’s stressed financially so i completely understand why she’s pressuring me! i do not blame her at all i just wish she was able to have the freedom to understand it a bit more compassionately.

i will have a look at what you’ve sent. what you’ve described is really quite helpful. i’ve been struggling to find out more info about PIP and the criteria so this helps greatly. i am unable to afford that annual subscription but i will look more into advice i could maybe seek out locally.

thank you for the help, i am grateful

lcg52

poppy123456 said:

If you claim UC you will need to report a health condition and send in fit notes and this will start the work capability assessment process off. Though you're classed as a job seeker until a decision on your work capability assessment says otherwise. It's a work coaches discretion whether they turn off or reduce work commiments, some do and others don't.
For the PIP unless you fully understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean it's very very easy to underscore or even overscore yourself.
I can't tell you whether you would qualify for PIP because i don't know how you're affected by your conditions.
I'd advise you to have a read of the links posted, including this one. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria
It may give you more understanding of the criteria.

ahh i see. i don’t have a legit diagnosis on record since my doctors no use and i’ve just started the adult therapy. so i also don’t have fit notes or anything like that since i sought out therapy separately from my doctors. i’ll still look into it, if not i’ll just have to find another way to solve my mums financial issues.

and yes i do understand that! i’ll have to read up on the criteria more and i suppose the worst that will happen if i do apply (for either) will just be that i don’t get accepted

thank you for the help and all the links, it’s useful to have to read up on. i appreciate it greatly!

poppy123456

lcg52 said:

poppy123456 said:

If you claim UC you will need to report a health condition and send in fit notes and this will start the work capability assessment process off. Though you're classed as a job seeker until a decision on your work capability assessment says otherwise. It's a work coaches discretion whether they turn off or reduce work commiments, some do and others don't.
For the PIP unless you fully understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean it's very very easy to underscore or even overscore yourself.
I can't tell you whether you would qualify for PIP because i don't know how you're affected by your conditions.
I'd advise you to have a read of the links posted, including this one. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria
It may give you more understanding of the criteria.

ahh i see. i don’t have a legit diagnosis on record since my doctors no use and i’ve just started the adult therapy. so i also don’t have fit notes or anything like that since i sought out therapy separately from my doctors. i’ll still look into it, if not i’ll just have to find another way to solve my mums financial issues.

For UC when you report a health condition you don't need a diagnosis. A fit note is otherwise known as a sick note, which you can get from either a GP, nurse, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists. See link. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fit-note

UC has replaced all the old benefits so other than PIP there's no other benefits you could currently claim.

lcg52

poppy123456 said:

lcg52 said:

poppy123456 said:

If you claim UC you will need to report a health condition and send in fit notes and this will start the work capability assessment process off. Though you're classed as a job seeker until a decision on your work capability assessment says otherwise. It's a work coaches discretion whether they turn off or reduce work commiments, some do and others don't.
For the PIP unless you fully understand the PIP descriptors and what they mean it's very very easy to underscore or even overscore yourself.
I can't tell you whether you would qualify for PIP because i don't know how you're affected by your conditions.
I'd advise you to have a read of the links posted, including this one. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-independence-payment-assessment-guide-for-assessment-providers/pip-assessment-guide-part-2-the-assessment-criteria
It may give you more understanding of the criteria.

ahh i see. i don’t have a legit diagnosis on record since my doctors no use and i’ve just started the adult therapy. so i also don’t have fit notes or anything like that since i sought out therapy separately from my doctors. i’ll still look into it, if not i’ll just have to find another way to solve my mums financial issues.

For UC when you report a health condition you don't need a diagnosis. A fit note is otherwise known as a sick note, which you can get from either a GP, nurse, occupational therapists, pharmacists and physiotherapists. See link. https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/fit-note
UC has replaced all the old benefits so other than PIP there's no other benefits you could currently claim.

ahhh okay! i’ll have a look into this then, thank you

L_Volunteer

Good luck with this @Icg52. Please feel free to talk this through with us if you wish.

Also, you are welcome. It is the very least you deserve

ella65

I have been awarded PIP and one of my issues is social anxiety. If your concerns are regular then document them all in your claim/evidence as much as you can, how it makes you feel and give examples x

L_Volunteer

Thanks for providing your tips @ella65. I am sure they will be invaluable for other community members.

How are you feeling about having been awarded PIP at the moment? It sounds really positive that you have been awarded PIP.

I can hear one of your issues is social anxiety. Do you feel you have the support you need with this at the moment or would you preferably have more support with this?

Please feel free to keep us in the loop. We are all here for you and listening to you

lcg52

ella65 said:

I have been awarded PIP and one of my issues is social anxiety. If your concerns are regular then document them all in your claim/evidence as much as you can, how it makes you feel and give examples x

oh really? okay i’ll definitely give it a go! it’s reassuring to hear other people say they’ve tried and been awarded. i feel like high functioning mental health is always brushed off as not too bad or impactful and it’s really annoying! i’ll document what i can, thank you! (: