Has anyone received PIP based on their mental health? — Scope | Disability forum
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Has anyone received PIP based on their mental health?

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Paddy90
Paddy90 Community member Posts: 5 Listener
edited November 2021 in PIP, DLA, and AA
Hi guys, came across this website while doing some research after my pip assessment phone call today. 

I suffer with mental health issues and after reading alot of posts on here it seems mental health is not taken very seriously by pip. 

Has anyone received pip based on their mental health I.e anxiety, stress and depression? 

Thanks 
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  • janer1967
    janer1967 Community member Posts: 21,964 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi and welcome to the community 

    Lots of people claim pip for mental health but on a forum like this you don't read about the success stories as those people have no reason to look for help and advice 

    I hope your claim is successful 
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  • L_Volunteer
    L_Volunteer Community Volunteer Adviser, Scope Member Posts: 7,978 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @Paddy90

    Thanks for reaching out to us. Unfortunately, this is not my area of expertise which means I am hoping other people with more knowledge in this area can respond to you soon. However, I think it is important to keep in mind that PIP is awarded based on how things affect you daily rather than their labels. I am wishing you all the best of luck! How do you feel your PIP assessment went?  :)
    Community Volunteer Adviser with professional knowledge of education, special educational needs and disabilities and EHCP's. Pronouns: She/her. 

    Please note: if I use the online community outside of its hours of administration, I am doing so in a personal capacity only.
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  • Tori_Scope
    Tori_Scope Scope Posts: 12,492 Disability Gamechanger
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    Hi @Paddy90 :) Welcome to the community!

    As Janer1967 has said, it's definitely possible to claim PIP on the grounds of your mental health. Many people with conditions such as anxiety and depression are successfully awarded. 

    Along with L_Volunteer, I'd be interested in knowing how you found your assessment :) 

    Do you feel you receive enough support for your mental health? 
    National Campaigns Officer, she/her

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  • wilko
    wilko Community member Posts: 2,458 Disability Gamechanger
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    Not an expert on mental health but claiming PIP for mental health is not an easy process. The PIP descriptors are more about your physical abilities or inabilities In preforming the descriptors safely in a timely manner and repeatedly. Where the mental health issues come into play in relation to the descriptors is a difficult thing to judge or have an opinion on . The question or questions that may or would be asked is what is mentally stopping or preventing you from doing or trying to manage or cope with the PIP descriptors. This question has I am sure raised concerns by claimants and those HPs at assessments, what counts towards points when conducting an assessment what is accepted and who decides.
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,041 Disability Gamechanger
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    wilko said:
    Not an expert on mental health but claiming PIP for mental health is not an easy process. The PIP descriptors are more about your physical abilities or inabilities In preforming the descriptors safely in a timely manner and repeatedly.
    I disagree, lots of people successfuly claim PIP for mental health reasons. There are definitely some PIP descriptors that can easily apply to someone with mental health as they do for someone with a physical condition.

    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
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    Depending on how the mental health issues affect the person needing assistance, supervision or prompting are all possible needs and these apply to most of the descriptors.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,616 Disability Gamechanger
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    The problem with claiming for mental health is trying to prove the practical difficulties you have because of it.  

    It's hard to explain that even though physically you should be able to do those things, the mental barriers can be just as restrictive, if not more so, as physical ones would be.  

    I do claim for mental health issues but it wasn't easy at all.  And didn't cover what I'd consider my main conditions.  I suffer with severe OCD (especially around food) but can only score 2 points for 'prompting' in food prep.  And am agoraphobic with physical consequences (can't travel far, can't stay out long, can't enter buildings, can't use any form of public transport etc because of vertigo, nausea, IBS being triggered) but can't score any points for going out because I can go out locally for short periods alone.  

    The agoraphobia has now stopped me driving.  It's stopped me being able to access any help, medically or with the benefits system for the last decade, and really it's stopped me having a life rather than an existence...but doesn't fit anywhere within the PIP descriptors.

    What's aggravating is that when the agoraphobia gets so severe that I can't leave the house at all, I'll then be able to get points for it...it'll be too late by then!
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  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
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    OverlyAnxious said: I suffer with severe OCD (especially around food) but can only score 2 points for 'prompting' in food prep.  
    For many people with OCD I would have thought that it might take more than twice as long to complete an activity than would be expected in which case they cannot complete the activity in a reasonable time and therefore cannot complete the activity to the required standard and should get maximum points. 
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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  • Paddy90
    Paddy90 Community member Posts: 5 Listener
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    Hi guys thanks for all the replies, appreciate you all taking the time to share you're knowledge and experiences 
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  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,616 Disability Gamechanger
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    calcotti said:
    OverlyAnxious said: I suffer with severe OCD (especially around food) but can only score 2 points for 'prompting' in food prep.  
    For many people with OCD I would have thought that it might take more than twice as long to complete an activity than would be expected in which case they cannot complete the activity in a reasonable time and therefore cannot complete the activity to the required standard and should get maximum points. 
    That is what I implied after advice on here but even at tribunal they didn't accept that.  Trouble is, I can't actually prepare 'meals' at all, but the basic things I do daily don't take more than twice as long as normal because the handwashing, washing up and kitchen cleaning is not counted as part of food prep - despite the fact I would not be able to eat without having gone through those rituals.  I can make toast, shake potato waffles onto a baking tray (use an oven) and open packets of pre-sliced cheese/ham (can't use sharp knives/peelers or handle raw meat).  

    It's the same situation as going out, if I just gave up rather than hanging on to the small amount of ability that I have left, I'd easily get the points for it.  Until that point, it doesn't fit neatly into the descriptors.  I have an acquaintance from another forum with very similar OCD related food issues and he couldn't score the points there either.  'Luckily' we both scored in other areas (mixing with people mainly) but there are plenty of people with food issues that don't have social issues as well.
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  • calcotti
    calcotti Community member Posts: 10,010 Disability Gamechanger
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    OverlyAnxious said:.. (can't use sharp knives/peelers or handle raw meat).  ..
    If you can't peel and chop vegetables you should be treated as requiring assistance and score 4 points.
    Information I post is for England unless otherwise stated. Rules may be different in other parts of UK.
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  • rubin16
    rubin16 Community member, Scope Member Posts: 539 Pioneering
    edited November 2021
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    I claimed for mental health, however I have Autism and Paranoid Schizophrenia and feel to anxious to leave my room. I only go outside if I'm with someone due to bad social anxiety, and hearing voices/noise, fear of crowds and sensativity to noise. I only got awarded standard rate care, unfortunatley when I had my assessment though I was alone as I was in the process of switching nurses, and becuase of communication issues and anxiety I can't speak to a person I don't know so will more or less just say I'm okay and mask my symtoms or agree with the person.

    I should of technically done an MR as I should be awarded more, however after the stress and wait of PIP I never followed it up. I also think it really depends on the assessor you get and whether they understand you or not. As its more or less just trying to convince the assessor about how things affect you so they judge what to award. So its like luck of the draw on what assessor you get.


    I have Autism, ADHD, Schizophrenia, Gilberts Syndrome and Crohn's Disease and have knowledge in these areas.


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  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community member Posts: 2,616 Disability Gamechanger
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    calcotti said:
    OverlyAnxious said:.. (can't use sharp knives/peelers or handle raw meat).  ..
    If you can't peel and chop vegetables you should be treated as requiring assistance and score 4 points.
    Fair enough, although still not enough for an award on it's own.  

    It was decided that I could chop veg as I can hold an Xbox controller & drive a car.  The obsessive intrusive thoughts around injury/harm caused by sharp implements were not understood at all which is really what this thread is about.


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  • griff11
    griff11 Community member Posts: 127 Pioneering
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    My daughter has award for OCD but only short term as they thought she'd be recovered eith 2 years of applying so going through it all again.  Unfortunately Covid has made her ocd so much worse .  She has contamination ocd and hasn't left the house for 6 months and reliant on husband to prepare all her meals , do laundry etc.  I explained all this in her new claim but still has to have assessment.  Last assessment resulted in zero points up to 6 points on MR to enhanced in appeal .  I agree with others descriptor biases towards physical disability.  
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,041 Disability Gamechanger
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    griff11 said:
    I agree with others descriptor biases towards physical disability.  

    Couldn't disagree more. There's lots of people that claim PIP that don't have any physical disabilities. My daughter is one of them and claims Enahanced for both parts since 2017. Had 3 reviews since then and 2 were paper based.
    The majority of the time, it's down to poorly completed claim forms, with not enough of informaton and no anecdotal evidence.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • griff11
    griff11 Community member Posts: 127 Pioneering
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    poppy123456 said:
    griff11 said:
    I agree with others descriptor biases towards physical disability.  


    The majority of the time, it's down to poorly completed claim forms, with not enough of informaton and no anecdotal evidence.
    I submitted daughters form with full answers with examples, same evidence as submitted for previous MR and appeal plus new medical evidence and full answers how her MH has deteriorated.  Still a new assessment and I know DWP will knock back like last time and we will go down MR , appeal route.  Their response on original assessment was she looked well so zero points across the board.   Sadly too many do not understand MH issues.  
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  • poppy123456
    poppy123456 Community member Posts: 54,041 Disability Gamechanger
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    They don't need to have any knowledge of any medical conditions because it's not about a diagnosis.
    I would appreciate it if members wouldn't tag me please. I have all notifcations turned off and wouldn't want a member thinking i'm being rude by not replying.
    If i see a question that i know the answer to i will try my best to help.
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  • postmanpat68
    postmanpat68 Community member Posts: 39 Courageous
    edited November 2021
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    @ OverlyAnxious  The driving a car so you can do everything is too overused as an excuse to deny a PIP award and as I have had the same excuse, but in my MR I suggested that driving a car is a completely different grip action than household chores and preparing vegetables. 
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  • griff11
    griff11 Community member Posts: 127 Pioneering
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    postmanpat68 said:
    @ OverlyAnxious  The driving a car so you can do everything is too overused as an excuse to deny a PIP award and as I have had the same excuse, but in my MR I suggested that driving a car is a completely different grip action than household chores and preparing vegetables. 
    In my daughters first claim they used against her she was working and only had one day sick - she'd been there a month.  We had provided evidence her previous employer thought her OCD impacted her work performance- he sent a nasty email to her which caused her to resign as he implied she was a burden.  Her current employers are supportive and make reasonable adjustments for her disability.  She declared it at point of application.  She now works flexible hours to accommodate panic attacks, inability to stop showering etc.  She has had to go sick sometimes for a week, but usually a 1/2 day here and there but she knows that however hard she finds working, and she really does find it hard, it helps occupy her mind .
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