Bi Polar & Dla

AnnesWitterings

hi

first of what a brill new board.

I was diagnosed with Bi Polar inMay this year.

I regularly see a psychiatrist at the local CMH centre and have been allocated a CPN, I am on long term sick Income Support, can
I claim any element of DLA?
Any info would be gratefully received,, thanks

Anne:rolleyes:

jetcat

AnnesWitterings wrote: »

hi

first of what a brill new board.

I was diagnosed with Bi Polar inMay this year.

I regularly see a psychiatrist at the local CMH centre and have been allocated a CPN, I am on long term sick Income Support, can
I claim any element of DLA?
Any info would be gratefully received,, thanks

Anne:rolleyes:

Hi Anne

if you need help with any part of your day to day life, then yes you could be eligible. The care element would include someone encouraging you to do things, as well as someone actually helping you - for example, someone encouraging and supporting you while you cook a main meal, help with communication etc. Most people with mental health problems who qualify for help with mobility would get the lower componant - help and guidance from someone when outside.

I would think that maybe having a chat with your cpn would help, as no doubt she would have other clients who receive dla, and would be familiar with the process. Maybe also an appointment with the CAB or a welfare rights person to help you fill in the form, as from a mental health perspective, it can be quite difficult to explain yourself fully.

I know that is kind of a general, very wide answer, feel free to pm me if you want more info - i clam dla for mental health, though not bi-polar.

Ames

I get higher rate care, mainly for help with my mental health problems (I was diagnosed bipolar, but my current psych doesn't think it is, I do though). If you want any advice just pm me, I've been claiming for it for a few years now.

nanokitten

I would get professional help to make your claim. get In touch with MIND, DIAL or the local carers centre etc and ask to see a benefits advisor (your CPN may be able to refer you).
The forms are not easy to fill in if you have mental health problems and you need someone who knows the rules to help you get everything down right.
most advisors will make a home visit if needed. also as bipolar is often a fluctuating condition this further complicates things, so get help.
Your CPN may be able to write a letter of support. Photocopy every page of the form and everything you send.

You should be entiled to at least some of the care componant of DLA if you need help, or encoragement indoors to do things such as get up, dressed cook, wash, take your medication. if someone needs to keep an eye on you or if you are at rist of self-neglect. Also if you need someone to go outside with you to help keep you safe you may qualify.
Remember it doesn't matter whether anyone actually does help you, only that you need help.

good luck

Suzina

Hi
I'm Bipolar and am sometimes psychotic (this can apply to other mental health areas / diagnoses too). Because I'm deemed mentally incapable, and am on dla I qualify for 'discounting' under council tax rules. Basically it's as though I'm not there for billing purposes. So if there's me and a partner, only he counts & as a single person resident he pays 75% only. When single & having carers in (most of the time!) I'm the only resident so the council considers the property empty & therefore exempt and I pay no council tax. this is useful becasue I have assets and housing benefit won't cover that bill so it saves me a lot. Your GP has to sign a form & you provide proof of dla for personal care. Not many people know about this one...I can't remeber exactly what the form is but I think it has an 'M' banding or something. Sorry but the carers aren't here to ask.
Worth finding out if it helps you.

Thanatos

AnnesWitterings wrote: »

hi

first of what a brill new board.

I was diagnosed with Bi Polar inMay this year.

I regularly see a psychiatrist at the local CMH centre and have been allocated a CPN, I am on long term sick Income Support, can
I claim any element of DLA?
Any info would be gratefully received,, thanks

Anne:rolleyes:

Hi, I am a DLA decision Maker in Blackpool so thought I would chip in on this

Firstly, what you may or may not get can vary wildly and is based on your needs most of the time. If most of the time you are fine, then it is unlikely you would get any level of DLA, however if you need help in some areas most of the time* (such as motivation as JetCat pointed out) you may well be entitlled.

The basic rule of thumb is to try. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain as a new claiment. I would suggest asking your CPN to write a brief note you can add to the claim that details you needs, as this will also speed up the claim process as most new claims require medical evidence of some kind and if your claim pack contains it already it negates the need for that step in the processing system.



*NOTE: I highlighted "Most of the time" as it is a very important aspect of a claim for a Decision Maker (DM) as your needs must be for most of the time to qualify for any level of the benefit and Bi-Polar can sometimes be an area that struggles with this.

richard9991

the illness is secondary it is how it affects ypu that matters the same illness can affect different people different ways

tracie15472

i was diagnosed as bipolar 2 and receive high rate care and low rate mobility. its how you fill the form tht counts.fill it in as if you was on a bad day.another factor is i have a 1 and 2 yr old so need help to keep them safe aswel as myself. although diagnosed with bi-polar 2 i feel im on borderline as have rapid cycling and feel tht evry few yrs i have severe manic episodes which is likely to be bi-polar 1.its what you write tht counts not what the docs says!in my form i wrote varies,varies varies as to time and amount of help i need!

Indie_Kid

tracie15472 wrote: »

i was diagnosed as bipolar 2 and receive high rate care and low rate mobility. its how you fill the form tht counts.fill it in as if you was on a bad day.

This is fraud. By doing this, you're saying you need more help than you do.

dmg24

tracie15472 wrote: »

i was diagnosed as bipolar 2 and receive high rate care and low rate mobility. its how you fill the form tht counts.fill it in as if you was on a bad day.another factor is i have a 1 and 2 yr old so need help to keep them safe aswel as myself. although diagnosed with bi-polar 2 i feel im on borderline as have rapid cycling and feel tht evry few yrs i have severe manic episodes which is likely to be bi-polar 1.its what you write tht counts not what the docs says!in my form i wrote varies,varies varies as to time and amount of help i need!

I really hope you get reported for fraud.

tracie15472

its not fraud because bipolar is so unpredictable and most days i need help so have to fill in form as if i am on one of my worst days not my best days.im not lying by caying varies as evryday does vary! pls dont judge me til u,ve lived in my shoes!living with bi-polar is a nightmare for me a my family and affects evry1 around me! at end of day i need some1 with me evryday to prevent me causing harm to myself and others.noones knows when these days happen so you need some1 there 24/7!