Is it worth applying for PIP?

chris_1992

Hello new member here and I apologise in advance for my grammar. 

I've been suffering in silence with my mental health for many years. I have severe depression and anxiety and really struggle to leave the house. I'm socially inept and struggle really badly to speak to people. Even talking on a phone is really overwhelming for me. Leaving my house causes a massive panic attack. 

My issue with applying for PIP is I've not been to my doctor or been diagnosed with these conditions so I won't be able to provide any supporting documentation with my application.

My mind is very foggy so I don't really know what else to write. 

Thanks for any replies I may receive 

poppy123456

A diagnosis isn't need for a successful PIP award because it's not about that. What matters is exactly how your conditions affect you against the 12 PIP activities.

You don't need medical evidence either. The only person that really knows exactly how your conditions affect you is yourself.

Your real world incidents of exactly what happened the last time you attempted each descriptor that applies to you. Adding detailed information such as where you were, what exacetly happened, did anyone see it and what the consequences were. You should aim for at least half an A4 side of paper per descriptor that applies.

You can see the descriptors here. https://pipinfo.net/

chris_1992

Thank you i appreciate the very useful information.

Tori_Scope

Welcome to the community @chris_1992 Thank you for joining the community! I'm glad that you've felt able to be open and honest about your mental health here. 

As poppy123456 has explained, you don't need a diagnosis to be awarded PIP, and medical evidence isn't the only kind of evidence you can provide. 

I also wanted to mention that most people who apply for PIP will need to have an assessment. These usually take place either face to face, on the phone, or by video call. Paper-based assessments are sometimes used. I'm not saying this to put you off, but rather to give you a heads up that you may be asked to speak with an assessor at some point.

I'm wondering whether you and @OverlyAnxious may find it helpful to connect. No pressure  

Though I appreciate it'd be difficult for you to access mental health support, I do think it's important that you try to speak to someone if you can.

Have you tried contacting your GP in a different way, such as by email?

Do you have a support network of family or friends who can offer you emotional or practical support at all? If so, could they perhaps help you to access some mental health support?

You may find it helpful to read the following pages:

• Self-care for depression (Mind)
• Self-care for anxiety (Mind)
• Anxiety and panic attacks (Mind)

If you'd like to chat to someone who'll listen without judgment, you could also try using the following resources (along with the community of course!): 

• Anxiety UK
• CALM's live chat
• Samaritans' email service: jo@samaritans.org 

chris_1992

The face to face appointment I really don't think I'd be able to that.

My local GP practice is call only to make an appointment.

I don't really have friends I use to have a lot of friends but due to my mental health and never really leaving the house they've all drifted away. 

I'm a very private person and and I really can't tell anyone as I don't want anybody close to be to know I've got any problems. I know that may seem weird but that's just the way I am and I can't help that.

Thank you for the reply and the links above I feel they will really help me.

bg844

You can certainly ask for a telephone assessment although it’s down to the discretion of the assessment provider. Face to face aren’t back to 100% anyway.

Although you wish to speak to your GP about a different issue, I advise you not to bother asking for a letter to support your PIP claim. This can cost and isn’t very useful.

chris_1992

Thank you 

woodbine

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/Global/Migrated_Documents/adviceguide/pip-9-table-of-activities-descriptors-and-points.pdf

OverlyAnxious

Hi Chris,

As Tori mentioned, it sounds like we have very similar restrictions in accessing PIP, benefits advice or medical help.  You're welcome to send me a message if you like.

I was awarded daily living PIP by a paper based tribunal eventually, after failing a face to face back in 2019, and also not explaining things well enough on the initial form.  As you don't have any evidence to send from other people (whether that's medical professionals or family members), and are probably not going to be great on a phone assessment if you have one, then all of your effort should be focussed into getting the paperwork right.  You really have to specify exactly why you fit the descriptor in each case, explain exactly what happens when you attempt the task, but don't waffle on about things that aren't covered by the descriptors.  

Overall, I'd say it's definitely worth applying in your case.  But I won't pretend that it'll be easy, and it's worth considering whether you're feeling well enough to follow it through if you get rejected the first time.  In my case specifically, my health has declined considerably since my last application, I am now waiting for a review decision, and am really not sure I'm well enough to challenge it if the review gets rejected this time.  I won't make any sudden decisions though, everyone's situation is different.

chris_1992

Hello thank you for the message and I really hope your health improves I know how you are feeling. I'm terrible at explaining things and when put on the spot my mind goes completely blank. I have applied but it's not pip it seems PIP has been replaced by something called ADP in Scotland. I really hope your review goes well

nasturtium

"My mind is very foggy so I don't really know what else to write."

The best way to over come that problem is to keep a mental health/disability diary using the PIP descriptors (the link woodbine posted) and write each day the problems you had with the applicable descriptors that apply to you. Keep the diary for 7-10 days and this will show you what problems you have each day and it will give you an idea of the problems you have on the majority of days (more than 50% of the time) In the diary describe what happened and give details of any witnesses and the consiquences. You can use the diary then to build up your claim and use it as evidence to backup your claim.

The diary does not need to be complicated. You will need to include you D.O.B, National insurance number, The date and year of diary entry and if you want to be really detailed you can include the time of incident etc (that is not vital but it will show you the time of day when you are least likely to complete the activity relaibly)

Remember all activities need to be completed reliably https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably

More info for pip can be found here https://pipinfo.net

Just a thought

OverlyAnxious

chris_1992 said:

Hello thank you for the message and I really hope your health improves I know how you are feeling. I'm terrible at explaining things and when put on the spot my mind goes completely blank. I have applied but it's not pip it seems PIP has been replaced by something called ADP in Scotland. I really hope your review goes well

Ah, I have heard about ADP but don't have any experience with it.  I'm not sure how similar the assessment processes might be compared to PIP.  Good to hear you've applied though, so good luck with whatever the next steps are! 

chris_1992

nasturtium said:

"My mind is very foggy so I don't really know what else to write."

The best way to over come that problem is to keep a mental health/disability diary using the PIP descriptors (the link woodbine posted) and write each day the problems you had with the applicable descriptors that apply to you. Keep the diary for 7-10 days and this will show you what problems you have each day and it will give you an idea of the problems you have on the majority of days (more than 50% of the time) In the diary describe what happened and give details of any witnesses and the consiquences. You can use the diary then to build up your claim and use it as evidence to backup your claim.

The diary does not need to be complicated. You will need to include you D.O.B, National insurance number, The date and year of diary entry and if you want to be really detailed you can include the time of incident etc (that is not vital but it will show you the time of day when you are least likely to complete the activity relaibly)

Remember all activities need to be completed reliably https://pipinfo.net/issues/reliably

More info for pip can be found here https://pipinfo.net

Just a thought

Thank you that's very useful information. I am going to to keep a diary thank you for the advice it's very helpful 

L_Volunteer

Glad to hear we could help you @chris_1992. It is the very least you deserve.

How are you feeling at the moment, especially with the idea of keeping a diary? We are here for you if you would like to share more with us 

Alex_Alumni

I'm glad to see you've been finding the community so helpful @chris_1992 How are things at the moment?