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ESA and permitted work

crashed
crashed Community member Posts: 1 Listener
I have been on ESA for 3 years due to severe anxiety, agoraphobia and depersonalisation. I've been lucky that after 3 years of NHS mental health services and medicines failing, I was able to obtain a prescription from a private doctor for medical cannabis and I'm finally starting to get my head sorted. My question is...

I would like to start trying to do some self employment work. Its quite trivial, answering surveys and completing simple tasks on my computer. Not so much for the money, I just feel ready to try and get some routine back after not leaving the house for years, I feel it for me it could assist in my recovery at this stage in my illness... thinking about the future and how I now see my health improving it just seems like something I want to try. Earnings would be around £30-60 a week max.

Thing is, I dont trust the DWP. I'm terrified they will see the mere suggestion as a trigger for an assessment and every assessment puts me back at least 3 months in my mental health, I usually even stop contacting family for months after an assessment it makes me so ill. I feel like it's a catch 22, I want to answer surveys online as a type of pretend work, in exchange for not much, but its still an income and therefore work.

How likely is this to trigger an assessment, because I don't even know how ill cope with this goal I've set myself, I dont want to trigger assessments and the DWP when I don't actually know how it will turn out or even if I can cope with it once I try it.

Thanks
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