Changes to PIP

cyclonebri1

Poppie68 wrote: »

I would swap places with him in a heartbeat.... I'm physically disabled and had to retire 3 years ago at the age of 44, was diagnosed with arthritis at age 17 and fought my way through work for 30 years..After suffering a serious stroke last year I'm now mostly confined to bed!

I'm sorry for your degree of incapacity, but this is exactly why I disagreed with your earlier statement. Illness is about degree and effect.
Imagine that someone had looked at your case from afar before you had a stroke. It would have immediately been confined to Minor incapacitance which is why, like it or not, the only possible approach is to to treat people individuals, which by definition they/we are.:)

50Twuncle

cyclonebri1 wrote: »

Yep, same old, same old

This one is a liar as well


He claims his first political memory is the 1979 general election that brought Margaret Thatcher to power, and that witnessing her flagship right-to-buy policy on his street had a "huge impact" on him growing up.


HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD AT THE TIME FOR GODSAKE - I DON'T THINK SO !!

FBaby

seven-day-weekend wrote: »

Whilst I do not agree with the PIP measures as mentioned in the Budget,, I did hear on the radio that the amount of people claiming disability allowances is rising to unprecedented levels.

How come so many people are becoming disabled?

That's because Mental Health claims, which includes Anxiety and Mood disorders now account for 35% of PIP claims. Considering there are over 8M (almost 10% of the total population in the UK) people suffering from anxiety alone, it is not surprising.

The problem is that whereas it is obvious that people suffering from specific condition do need disability benefit to pay towards aids and devices to help them live a better life as a disabled person, this is very much less clear for people who suffer from anxiety.

If the number of people reported to suffer from anxiety in this country is going to continue to go up, then it is no surprise that officials are getting worried on the impact on disability benefits. Does giving people additional income really help them live better with anxiety? Or does it inadvertently encourage them not to face their anxiety and therefore make them more likely to never get better?

50Twuncle

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Could these people be suffering anxiety just because of the state of the current situation in this country?

Is anxiety classed as a mental illness? I would have thought it is compeletely different to for example schizophrenia or manic depression.

It depends on the cause for the anxiety and whether it is temporary or permanent !!
And - what is the definition of Anxiety ?
an ​uncomfortable ​feeling of ​nervousness or ​worry about something that is ​happening or might ​happen in the ​future:
a ​medical ​condition in which you always ​feel ​frightenedand ​worried:
compared to
schizophrenia a ​serious ​mental ​illness in which someone cannot ​understand what is ​real and what is ​imaginary:

tomtontom

skcollobcat10 wrote: »

Could these people be suffering anxiety just because of the state of the current situation in this country?

Is anxiety classed as a mental illness? I would have thought it is compeletely different to for example schizophrenia or manic depression.

There is a big difference between mild, reactive anxiety and clinical anxiety. The former is natural, fight or flight, the latter can take over your whole life, leaving you housebound and incapable of doing anything for yourself.

The difficulty lies where the former category are medicalised, rather than being given coping mechanisms to continue with life they are medicated, signed off work etc. That in turn can result in the problem being far more deep rooted and long term - so the milder problem becomes very difficult to manage.

I would not underestimate the effect that unmanaged/ untreated anxiety can have on people.

seven-day-weekend

FBaby wrote: »

That's because Mental Health claims, which includes Anxiety and Mood disorders now account for 35% of PIP claims. Considering there are over 8M (almost 10% of the total population in the UK) people suffering from anxiety alone, it is not surprising.

The problem is that whereas it is obvious that people suffering from specific condition do need disability benefit to pay towards aids and devices to help them live a better life as a disabled person, this is very much less clear for people who suffer from anxiety.

If the number of people reported to suffer from anxiety in this country is going to continue to go up, then it is no surprise that officials are getting worried on the impact on disability benefits. Does giving people additional income really help them live better with anxiety? Or does it inadvertently encourage them not to face their anxiety and therefore make them more likely to never get better?

I think this is a real danger with anxiety-related conditions. My husband has suffered from it for over thirty years, he worked for twenty of them before taking early retirement. He had periods of sick leave when it was bad, but always tried to keep in work if he could. He claimed Incapacity Benefit for a few years, but no disability Benefits.

I think in the short-term it can help people to not be so anxious so that they can get better. In the long-term I do think it may help to encourage a culture of dependency to the extent that someone could become too anxious to seek any help, because they are 'comfortable' in their sickness. It is at least familiar, and not as 'scary' as getting better and having to do things that they think they can't.

Richie-from-the-Boro

Hello Flo !

FBaby

Is anxiety classed as a mental illness? I would have thought it is compeletely different to for example schizophrenia or manic depression.

It is for the purpose of PIP, even mood disorders are included in it, hence 35% of claimants falling under that category.

I think in the short-term it can help people to not be so anxious so that they can get better. In the long-term I do think it may help to encourage a culture of dependency to the extent that someone could become too anxious to seek any help, because they are 'comfortable' in their sickness.

That is exactly what professionals (psychiatrists) say and the reason why the NHS is desperately trying to provide quick access to counselling for anxiety/mild depression, because the best results in people learning to cope, live with it, or even better get over it is via immediate intervention. The more you let people realise that life isn't so bad when avoiding the stressors, the less likely they are to be able to resume normal life. Disability benefits does exactly the opposite of what health experts are trying to implement.

cyclonebri1

I'm guessing sometime today the proposed tightening of the noose will be loosened, ie revoked.

The gameplay then will be, we have listened to IDS, we have listened to the people, this is an understanding conservative government that hears the voters.

Tommorrow some other poor section of society will get it in the neck.


It is certain that this has downed Osbourne, may just have Cameron too, but they won't lie down. Apologies as above will flow and a "plea" to get on to more important things will follow.

Same old, same old:beer:

Mind_Game

Yuck. This change won't affect me, thankfully, but it will affect my best friend. What a bloody pain in the neck. I hope the Tories burn in Hell.