DLA, ESA and agoraphobia/depression advice please!

Oldernotwiser

stressedofdevon wrote: »

That's why I have asked for help!

I'm sorry, I thought that's what we'd offered you.

You need to fill in the DLA forms honestly and describe, as you have here, the sort of help that you need with your care and mobility needs. As an example, you sound as if you need someone with you when you go out, in case you have a panic attack.

Many people get DLA for mental illness, including several members on here, so it's perfectly possible to do so.

jennilb

Hi

I have boarderline personality disorder (also called emotion dysregulation disorder), depression and anxiety. I managed to claim DLA on my own by filling in the forms online and I have just had my medical for ESA so fingers crossed I'm near the end of the process now.

The thing is, the forms need to give the DWP enough information to understand what you're going through. So whether you fill it in yourself, or whether you get support from someone who is an expert on the forms, *you're* the expert on your condition. This means it is going to hurt because you are going to either have to write down / tell the person who fills in the form, all the things you find hard to do each day and how this makes your life lonely and small (well thats how I feel about it, anyway).

There is good advice on how to fill in these forms to successfully score the points you need, and also how the medicals work on the website 'benefits and work'. You have to pay £20 for a years subs but I think its worth it.

The ESA medical was distressing for me, because of having to wait in a public waiting room for 45 minutes (they were running late), but the thing is in a way I think that helps the Dr to see what its really like being me with my conditions, so I think the same could be true of you.

I hope these thoughts help. Best wishes

Jenni

System

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

If you are reasonably intelligent, as you obviously are, there's no reason why you can't fill the forms in yourself without the complications of involving other people.

Although we always hear on here about people who need help with this, there are vast numbers of people who do this successfully for themselves, with help from sites like this and others.

So because i couldn't fill it in myself due to my MH problems that means i'm thick then?

OP, it can seem daunting but it can be done. After i got help (because on a personal level i'd started at those forms for 3 months and every time i tried to fill them in ended up breaking down) i was awarded MRC and LRM on DLA and got put in the support group for ESA (for BPD and Depression) The medical was the worst bit but even that only lasted for 20 minutes. If there's no CAB do you have any friends who could sit down with you and help you go through it, especially if its someone who knows you well they may be able to help as its not uncommon for people to play down their own illnesses, sometimes it takes someone else telling you what they see, to see that.
The best thing to to do is just include as much information as possible. The decssion maker doesn't know you, so all they have to make up a picture of you is what is in front of them. The more info the better. They need to know what life is like for you and exactly how your disability illness affects you.

There may be some bits which don't seem relevant, for example i knew i needed to be reminded to take my medication, but i never realised i also need someone there to make sure i don't OD on my medication. Its little details like that which can be overlooked which might help your case (obviously only if it applies but you get what i mean).

I also signed up to benefitsandwork, a lot of people will say don't bother and that the information is online, which is fine if you can find it, but i couldn't so i signed up and it helped put my mind at rest especially in regards to the medical.

One more thing, though this isn't as much to do with the ESA. Do you see a psychiatrist or mental health team? If you're feeling counselling isn't quite giving you enough support its maybe worth asking your GP for a referal. It might just give you some extra support. Though obviously it depends on where you live and what's available.

Dawni

stressedofdevon, I know how you feel, having been in something the same position years ago due to agoraphobia. I too had worked in a benefits office, but had to give it up due to the intolerable effects of my phobia. I gradually got better, took another job, but the whole thing started up again and I had to claim benefit again. To cut a long story short, I was constantly asked to prove I was ill by attending a medical board, something I pointblank refused to do, as I was told by someone in the know that if I did so they would say I couldn't be housebound.

Various doctors from the DSS visited me at home and were mostly sympathetic, until one doctor came and told me he didn't think there was much wrong with me! And this was when I couldn't go out my front door alone and felt weak and faint even when accompanied. My benefit was stopped; I could have appealed the decision but would have had to attend a tribunal - again they would just have said I wasn't housebound, so I didn't. Because of this decision I lost years of benefit, though thankfully my husband earned a good salary and we were ok financially.

I recently claimed my retirement pension, but all the years I had missed out meant my pension is much smaller than it would have been otherwise. If I stop to think about it, I feel angry about the way I was treated - how on earth can anyone prove they suffer from something like agoraphobia? Or why on earth would anyone pretend to suffer from something so restricting and horrible? If I hadn't had my husband's support, I honestly don't know how I'd have coped.

I hope your claim is successful; maybe nowadays agoraphobia is better known than it was in the 1970s and you won't be asked to prove the impossible. One little bit of advice for you; please google EFT and see if this technique can help you. I first heard of this free and simple therapy 2 or 3 years ago and it helped me immediately; for the first time in years I can go out without feeling ill. I don't know if it works for everyone, but it certainly did for me. Good luck!

Oldernotwiser

xXMessedUpXx wrote: »

So because i couldn't fill it in myself due to my MH problems that means i'm thick then?

That's a strange conclusion to draw from my post!

The forms are designed to be filled in by the applicant him/her self and I was simply pointing out that isn't an absolute necessity to get help to do this, particularly when getting help is, in itself, stressful.

I don't really see that filling them in with the help of a stranger makes them any less stressful, but if you found this helpful, good luck to you!

stressedofdevon

Thanks for the advice everyone. I have today heard from the DLA people who have booked me an appointment to do the forms on the phone next week. The young lady was lovely and I feel much less worried about it. It will be very emotional and distressing to talk about my problems but I am confident she will be able to get through the form and gather all the information that I couldn't get down alone.

Regarding the ESA I am still just being passed about and am concerned about medicals. Like Dawni said, if I put on my suit of armour and get myself to a medical, then I am saying I don't have agoraphobia. It's catch 22. Does anyone else have recent experience of this dilemma they can share. I find the whole situation so distressing and am terrified of going somewhere for a medical, being picked apart and upset and having to navigate my way home safely too.

Indie_Kid

You might be able to request a home medical?

Loopy_Girl

I'm sorry but I really feel for your poor child living in the conditions that you describe.....it must be a nightmare for her and she must be walking on eggshells...I hope she is getting appropriate support as well.

System

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

That's a strange conclusion to draw from my post!

The forms are designed to be filled in by the applicant him/her self and I was simply pointing out that isn't an absolute necessity to get help to do this, particularly when getting help is, in itself, stressful.

I don't really see that filling them in with the help of a stranger makes them any less stressful, but if you found this helpful, good luck to you!

Apologies, you've caught me on an off day (seem to be having a lot of them again.. )

Think i just misunderstood

System

sh1305 wrote: »

You might be able to request a home medical?

She should be able to, they should take into consideration the agrophobia this fact sheet explains it a bit more https://www.rethink.org/document.rm?id=6624