Is it a change of circs if your award says you score 10 points but now you think you only score 8?

Mark8699

If your award says you score 10 points but now you think you may only score 8. 

Do you leave that to review or is it change of circumstances?

bg844

I’d leave it until a review is taken place. A change from 10 to 8 wouldn’t change your award anyway.

poppy123456

bg844 said:

A change from 10 to 8 wouldn’t change your award anyway.

Agreed, regardless of those points, it's still a standard award.

Mark8699 said:

If your award says you score 10 points but now you think you may only score 8. 

Do you leave that to review or is it change of circumstances?

I still think you're worrying needlessly here. Please do try to relax and think of something else. It can't be good for your mental health to constantly be worrying about your benefit claims like this.

Sue_Alumni

Leave it ! As poppy says please try not to mull over everything so much - we don't say this because we don't want to help you - because we do - but the way you keep revisiting everything seems to be making you more and more anxious. Take care 

Mark8699

I can’t help but be anxious. I heard stories of people being discriminated because they dress smartly even though they have low mood. Even though they are prompted to dress etc. by friend or partner 

Alex_Alumni

It is difficult to 'switch off' the anxiety @Mark8699 but remember, this hasn't happened to you, and might never happen at all. 

It's hard, but try to focus simply on your own claim, and not other people's claims. They have no impact on your PIP. 

Do you have someone close by you can talk to, or someone you can call, about your worries, or who can help put your mind to rest?

What do you find helps to calm your feelings of stress or anxiety? 

poppy123456

Claiming any sort of benefits when you have health conditions doesn't mean you can't still have a life. It doesn't mean you can't go out, dress smartly, speak to people etc etc. Remember you mostly only read the bad stories so i'd advise you to try not to read things on the internet and at least try to relax a little.

Mark8699

I can’t help it. There’s so many stories of people being accused of fraud because they dress smartly etc. or they look washed when depressed and anxious but don’t see what goes on behind closed doors. 

Mark8699

I hear and see it all the time in the news. People claiming PIP for depression seen dressing smartly. Can people with depression not dress nice? What a judgment. The stigma comes also from the DWP it seems. 

poppy123456

I don't know what news you're reading but i don't see those things very often. There's really nothing further to add here because we seem to be going round in circles.

Please try to relax because you're not commiting benefit fraud by dressing nicely, going out or doing anything else in life.

Mark8699

Can I also ask, poppy. For mobility, is a taxi classed as public transport and if you travel alone the odd occasion by taxi is this bad for descriptor. Cannot undertake any journey due to overwhelming psychological distress. 

calcotti

Mark8699 said:

Can I also ask, poppy. For mobility, is a taxi classed as public transport and if you travel alone the odd occasion by taxi is this bad for descriptor. Cannot undertake any journey due to overwhelming psychological distress. 

Please remember that PIP decisions are based on what you are like on the majority of days. Doing anything occasionally has no bearing on your PIP entitlement. The description you refer to means that on the majority of days you can’t undertake any journey. If you sometimes go out it wouldn’t matter whether that is by taxi, with a lift from a friend or even a lengthy walk somewhere.

As advised you are overthinking everything. I realise this is possibly out of your control due to your mental health but you really need to just put your PIP decision to one side. You have a decision and can forget about it until it is time for the review.

Mark8699

Hello again,

Does majority of days mean 4 days you can’t take a journey but 3 days you can. 

I also read somewhere that cannot undertake a journey due to overwhelming psychological distress means you can’t go to and from a place. 

Am I right along these lines of thinking?

poppy123456

Can’t undertake any journey the majority of the time. It doesn’t mean you can’t go out at all. This is based over a 12 month period. So it at least 50% of the time you can’t complete any journey. 

Mark8699

So let’s say hypothetically you went to Cornwall for 7 days. One journey there and one journey back. But you did that one holiday in a year. 

Wouldn’t that be classed as fraud? Or am I missing the point?

poppy123456

No, that would not be fraud. Again, you are missing the point we are trying to make. 

Mark8699

Oh, I think I get your point but I’m trying to make sure I know the full ins and outs. 

I think it’s because I’ve been seeing things in the paper about people with agoraphobia or depression going on holidays etc. and then being accused of fraud. 

Maybe it’s the circumstances of their claim. I don’t know? 

I just assumed you can’t take any journey or even attempt to get better with the award. My agoraphobia tends to affect me with public transport and the risk of me having seizures or panic attacks. 

I guess people assume agoraphobia is not leaving the house at all.  

Cartini

Biblioklept said:

 newspapers sensationalise things too

That`s exactly right. It`s called sensationalistic journalism.

Mark8699

I still worry. I can’t believe some of the stories I’ve read. People done for the slightest thing it seems. 

janer1967

Mark 

You are not doing yourself any good reading these stories 

You have your deserved awards put everything away and start to live your life as best you can 

You will end up causing unnecessary anxiety continuing with these thoughts 

poppy123456

There’s really nothing more to add that what’s already been said. You are worrying needlessly. Please put everything away out of sight and forget about both reports and both decisions.