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Awarded 0 - next steps?

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raegregory1719
raegregory1719 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
in PIP, DLA, and AA
Help!

Just for background, I have OCD, major anxiety and depression, as well as Ulcerative Colitis.

I explained in my assessment (on the phone), that I suffer very bad anxiety and poo myself often, I suffer social anxiety terrible, have to be reminded to eat, shower, take my medication. I did the points scoring thing and even being very consecutive (on what I thought they’d score me) I would be advance daily living, and they scored me 0 on everything because my specialist reported that I was a healthy BMI and I looked well in November, and that I was articulate - I have a masters degree, so yeah I can understand questions and answer them. I was shaking on the phone though, and would have had an awful time face to face. They said I can cook a simple meal, when I said at a push I could do toast.

I don’t know what to do, I know MR always gets rejected, and I’m scared I won’t have the mental energy to go to tribunal. 

Any advice?

Many thanks


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  • raegregory1719
    raegregory1719 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
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    *conservative
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  • dynasty30
    dynasty30 Community member Posts: 90 Courageous
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    Oh oh my how can they possibly Mark you with zero points that’s absolutely ludicrous 
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  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,616 Disability Gamechanger
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    All you can do now is the MR but be prepared for tribunal.

    It sounds like yo may need to focus more on the descriptors than the symptoms though.  For example, soiling yourself isn't relevant for PIP unfortunately.  I can see you've noted some descriptors though, like prompting to eat or take medication.  That's what you need to focus on and give examples of why you need that help and what would happen if you didn't get that help.

    I don't know how they work out the food prep descriptor tbh, seems to depend on the person doing it.  I suffer with severe OCD myself and find it impossible to prepare a meal, but because I can shake some frozen chips onto an oven tray they decided that I can prepare a simple meal.  Even when it got to tribunal I only scored 2 points for food prep!  But I know someone else with identical contamination issues around food who scored 8 points at tribunal for food prep!  So it seems to be down to luck on the day.  In my own case, I scored enough points in other descriptors not to need it, but I still feel I should've got the full 8 there!
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  • woodbine
    woodbine Community member Posts: 11,621 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @raegregory1719, how are you today? holding up ok in lockdown? Its not quite true to say that MR always get rejected they can and sometimes do work, so its definately worth a go.
    Good luck
    2024 The year of the general election...the time for change is coming 💡

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  • chiarieds
    chiarieds Community member Posts: 16,103 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @raegregory1719 - Welcome to the community. I'm sorry your PIP assessment didn't go as you'd hoped. As woodbine says, not all MRS are unfavourable. My award was increased to what I felt the right level with a MR; someone has to be at least lucky.
    As OverlyAnxious says, you need to focus more on your disability, & less on any diagnoses. Try & explain, for each applicable descriptor, why say you need prompting, what difficulties you face when attempting cooking; have things gone wrong when you attempted it, so you can't do it safely, or does it take you longer than expected? Explain your functional problems, giving a couple of examples for those descriptors. With your social anxiety, how does it make you feel if you attempt to go out, & afterwards. It's these real incidences that will highlight your disability.
    If it helps at all, as you can see by the responses you've had, we will all do our best to support you, even if it goes to a tribunal. You too can do this. :)
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  • raegregory1719
    raegregory1719 Community member Posts: 3 Listener
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    Thanks so much everyone. I’m planning on getting my husband to help me today with getting it down and sent.
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  • Lou67
    Lou67 Community member Posts: 7,178 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @raygregory1719, sorry to hear your news but as already been sd don’t give up, I got my award 2 weeks ago I got 6 points for daily care and 10 for mobility so I’m on low mobility, I had been on low daily care for cpl years prior to this at first I was upset but got more evidence off for MR and if no change it will be appeal route, so stick in there I know it’s hard. 
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  • Lou67
    Lou67 Community member Posts: 7,178 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi chiarieds was good to hear you got your award overturned at MR Iv only ever heard it’s usually a negative outcome, but youv gave me a bit of hope thanks.
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