Claiming job seekers allowance with depression and anxiety

Shelly12

pebbles88 wrote: »

What happened with your dad's previous job? Is there anything possibly going with that employer?

When my mum and dad were living together they had their own business, but this was like 13 years ago, since then he was previously looking after me and my younger brother. Any job he had before that was like 20/30 years ago something like that.

Shelly12

pmlindyloo wrote: »

Get your dad to go to CAB for a benefit entitlement check up. If he is not working then he should be claiming benefits and getting the interest paid on the mortgage. This is not your problem. They can also advise on his mortgage.

Get yourself to the doctors and have them reassess your situation. If the doctor gives you a fit note then put in a claim for ESA. You will be on the same amount of money as your current JSA whilst you are being assessed. Considering the time it is taking for assessment procedures to happen you may find that with a break and job searching in your own time will give you some breathing time to hopefully get everything sorted.

It will also give you time to find out if your anxiety and depression is connected with the pressure you are receiving from the Job Centre or from your home situation, a combination of both or something else. Visit your local MIND centre and get some support for everything.

There's benefits that will help with paying of the mortgage, yeah my dad definitely needs that. The problem is that becomes my problem if my house is going to be repossessed and I would potentially be homeless. And would have to stay with family or something I just don't want to be in that situation, it's causing more stress for my mum also because she ends up paying some of our bills along with her own, and my mums not exactly well.

If I apply for esa, will I still get money even if I'm not then claiming job seekers. Having the pressure from the job center really isn't helping at all, I've only just started to sign on and I'm on the verge of a breakdown, from them stressing at me.

I've had depression for years even as a child I had it, just didn't really know about it, it's only last year I decided to go to the doctors because I wasn't coping, and I had a lot of college work to do and I couldn't handle it anymore. But now the job center is adding to it along with my home situation which has always been bad.

When I go to the doctors what would I say, I'm not good with this kind of thing.

Is the mind center similar to counselling? I've just finished counseling a few weeks ago, I've just been doing that until the counselor I was seeing stopped working there

Shelly12

tomtontom wrote: »

Someone will buy the house if the price is right.

As for claiming ESA, is that going to help you move forward or just give you more time to feel low, and let your dad drag you down even further? I would continue claiming JSA and get yourself some counselling and support to become independent - something you'll never do without a job.

Not with all the leaks, ect it's not in the condition that would make someone want to buy it unless it was sold for really cheap but then these 16 years of paying the mortgage would be a waste of money.

The ESA would be temporary, if I had a job I would rather it be part time I couldn't handle a full time job. I couldn't even manage going to college and that was around 8 hours spread over 5 days. I was struggling to that, I couldn't even get my college work done, but with job seekers they expect me to spend most of the day looking for jobs.

I can't concentrate that well I literally can't do it, I've been trying but it's really stressing me out, and making my depression worse. If I looked for a job I would need to do it in my own time and not be pressured which is what the job centre are doing.

I've been doing counselling which finished a few weeks ago because the counselor I was seeing left the job, and so they stopped. Counseling helped but it was only short term for 6 weeks although my counselor gave me extra sessions like 10.

FBaby

The ESA would be temporary

The problem is, the way you are going about it, I very much doubt once the relief of having money coming in, that you would find it anymore an incentive than you do now to get better. On the opposite, you will be more likely to be massively relieved and consider that things are ok that you are getting money coming in and able to live without too much stress and feel even more anxious at the prospect of looking for a job when at least initially, you will unlikely to be that much better off financially.

Nothing is stopping you looking for a part-time jobs in addition to what you need to do to meet the You do need to assess if that would be enough to live off though as you wouldn't be able to get tax credits unless you work at least 30 hours, but at least it would a first step in the right direction.

If your depression is chronic, then even more a reason to see your GP and get mental health support to learn to cope with it so that it doesn't ruin your life forever. It is much more important that you get your GP to refer you for more counselling especially if it helped than trying to get a sick note. If your GP can't help, they are charities that might be able too.

I do agree that you have enough on your plate to learn to get on your own two feet to also worried about your dad. You will be in a much better position to help him if you can help yourself first, rather than both trying to struggle on getting nowhere. I wish you good luck.

Shelly12

FBaby wrote: »

The problem is, the way you are going about it, I very much doubt once the relief of having money coming in, that you would find it anymore an incentive than you do now to get better. On the opposite, you will be more likely to be massively relieved and consider that things are ok that you are getting money coming in and able to live without too much stress and feel even more anxious at the prospect of looking for a job when at least initially, you will unlikely to be that much better off financially.

Nothing is stopping you looking for a part-time jobs in addition to what you need to do to meet the You do need to assess if that would be enough to live off though as you wouldn't be able to get tax credits unless you work at least 30 hours, but at least it would a first step in the right direction.

If your depression is chronic, then even more a reason to see your GP and get mental health support to learn to cope with it so that it doesn't ruin your life forever. It is much more important that you get your GP to refer you for more counselling especially if it helped than trying to get a sick note. If your GP can't help, they are charities that might be able too.

I do agree that you have enough on your plate to learn to get on your own two feet to also worried about your dad. You will be in a much better position to help him if you can help yourself first, rather than both trying to struggle on getting nowhere. I wish you good luck.

I'm just finding it hard to deal with the pressure from the job center, I wouldn't be able to deal with a full time job. It would be too much for me to handle, last time when I worked part time I could barely handle it, I was on the verge of a break trying to deal with everything. I have really bad concentration, I can't concentrate with anything not even something I like.

When I get really stressed it makes me anxious and then makes my depression worse and I feel really low. I can't deal with change starting a full time job would be really hard for me to do, especially with my sleep problems, lack of energy ect.

Having money coming in would be a relief, it wouldn't make me lose momentum and then just want to stay on benefits. I have to wait like 6 months to be put back onto the waiting list for counseling, they only offer 6 sessions. I can't go from one counselor to another it's really difficult it would make me to anxious, the one I was seeing before knew me in a way so it made it easier to talk, I have social anxiety also.

At the moment I'm not too sure I could cope with learning to live on my own since I've been living at home my whole life, I have to do things slowly, when I'm ready and have sorted myself out.

Job center told me I have to look for jobs of a minimum of 40 hours a week, otherwise my benefits would stop, it says that on the thing I have to sign.

tomterm8

Okay:

1. Go to your doctor. Ask him for a letter confirming your depression.
2. Request a disability employment adviser at the job centre.

It's possible for the job centre to agree looking for jobs with reduced hours if there is a medical reason for it. There is, in your case.

stevemLS

If you are only being offered six sessions of counselling, the clinical view of your symptoms is that you are suffering from mild depression.

That was what the "short" interventions are designed to deal with.

That doesn't fit with your description. Courses of counselling for more severe depression can last up to two years and the benefits of continuity of therapist are well know - as are the risks of dependency.

I think you need to have another chat with your GP.

Scully38

HappyMJ wrote: »

To get JSA you need to be looking for full time work and it is a full time job looking for work. You cannot expect to casually look for work a few hours week and actually get a job.

I'd go back to your doctor and discuss the possibility of the doctor writing a letter to the DWP regarding your fitness for work so you could go onto employment and support allowance instead....but that won't last forever. It's just a temporary measure whilst you find out what can be done to facilitate your return to work.

When I came off ESA and onto JSA I told the job center that I was only looking for part time work (30 hrs per week) because of my disability, and there wasn't an issue with this. I know it was a couple of years ago before all the crappy changes, but if you have a disability and can only work a certain number of hours, you can't be forced to work full-time if you're not physically able as it goes against the equality directorate.

Shelly 12, I know you're finding it hard to go into the job center, but bring it up with your GP and ask at the job center to speak to the disability advisor, I did, and it did help and there wasn't that pressure for me to do full time.

HappyMJ

Scully38 wrote: »

When I came off ESA and onto JSA I told the job center that I was only looking for part time work (30 hrs per week) because of my disability, and there wasn't an issue with this. I know it was a couple of years ago before all the crappy changes, but if you have a disability and can only work a certain number of hours, you can't be forced to work full-time if you're not physically able as it goes against the equality directorate.

Shelly 12, I know you're finding it hard to go into the job center, but bring it up with your GP and ask at the job center to speak to the disability advisor, I did, and it did help and there wasn't that pressure for me to do full time.

30 hours is considered full time work. It's the minimum number of hours to get working tax credits for a single person with no children.

At present the OP is not claiming anything but JSA so would be expected to look for full time work. If the OP goes onto ESA then looking around for full time work is no longer required.

Shelly12

tomterm8 wrote: »

Okay:

1. Go to your doctor. Ask him for a letter confirming your depression.
2. Request a disability employment adviser at the job centre.

It's possible for the job centre to agree looking for jobs with reduced hours if there is a medical reason for it. There is, in your case.

So do I need to ring up the job center to do this, if looking for less hours was possible then I would do that, but then I'd still need less pressure put on me, which I can't see them doing as they want to force you into work even if you don't want that job.