Refused for PIP. Poor support provided. Feeling very lost....

I am feeling a bit lost and quite frankly seriously depressed by my life at the moment. I have been refered by the doctor for an assessment for Autism (asd), but feel like I am waiting forever, heard nothing about an appointment time as of yet. I am very low in moods, spend most of my time in bed with depression. No interest in anything, don't care about anything. I feel so hopeless at the moment. 

My CBT therapist left after only 4 sessions with me, I had to wait another month and a half before getting a new one - but at this point I was so bad I was refered back to my crisis team. I was suicidal and very much struggling. I called the samaritans, the crisis team, my therapist... all who seemed either unsure or uncaring enough to help or support me. 

I have struggled with anxiety and depression most of my life and have done lots of research into ASD - having had a very big light bulb moment. I truly think this is what the underlining problem is and I truly hope I get an answer soon so that I can get the help needed and focus on something rather than grasping at straws and 'trial and error' by the 'professionals' around. I feel like I am just going through the motions and being passed around, but not achieving anything. 

I have been refused for PIP, under the belief that my assessor thought that although I was anxious at the assessment at my home, I was capable of working. Everything I had put/said she had dismissed and scored me a 0 overall - which was very disheartening and made me feel worse. 

My step father is reluctant to believe there is anything wrong and that I should just get on with life. My partner thinks it is his fault, that I become unhappy since moving in with him - despite all I tell him and that I have been like I am all my life. Positive support is good but I feel that reaching out to people can bring the negative sort of attention too. I want to feel better, supported, and not guilty for trying to show my struggles or ask for help, because others do not understand. 

It getting to the point where I am not even sure who I am anymore. Not even sure I may have ASD, or if I am just trying to convince myself when really I am nothing but a bad person who can't cope with modern living. I just lay in bed, dont look after myself, dont clean or do things I usually enjoy. I am so fed up. I just want to bury myself and just not be here anymore. I feel so lost as to what to do or who to turn to. My life is so pointless and stressful. I just can't cope. 

Parents
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Asparagus is quite right about the PIP - it is a payment to provide additional support for someone with "long term ill health or a disability" and it is not dependant on you being out of work according to www.gov.uk

    I'm not sure if you were claiming PIP on the basis of your depression or on the grounds of your autism? In either case, as Asparagus says, if you were fit for work then you would still be entitled to claim for PIP so the assessor's statements would be grounds for an appeal.

    Equally, it is entirely possible to be in work with a disability such as autism but not qualify for PIP if one does not have extra expenses to pay for. I fall into this category at the moment.

    Presumably you are receiving ESA https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance which is a benefit for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability? 

    In any case, it is probably worth contacting citizens advice to clarify where you stand.

    It may also be worth looking into the advocacy services http://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/advocacy.aspx I guess that you could use PIP to pay for advocacy if you needed to.

    Also there are appeals processes for these benefits and the advocacy services may help with dealing with these.

Reply
  • Former Member
    Former Member

    Asparagus is quite right about the PIP - it is a payment to provide additional support for someone with "long term ill health or a disability" and it is not dependant on you being out of work according to www.gov.uk

    I'm not sure if you were claiming PIP on the basis of your depression or on the grounds of your autism? In either case, as Asparagus says, if you were fit for work then you would still be entitled to claim for PIP so the assessor's statements would be grounds for an appeal.

    Equally, it is entirely possible to be in work with a disability such as autism but not qualify for PIP if one does not have extra expenses to pay for. I fall into this category at the moment.

    Presumably you are receiving ESA https://www.gov.uk/employment-support-allowance which is a benefit for people who are unable to work due to illness or disability? 

    In any case, it is probably worth contacting citizens advice to clarify where you stand.

    It may also be worth looking into the advocacy services http://www.autism.org.uk/about/adult-life/advocacy.aspx I guess that you could use PIP to pay for advocacy if you needed to.

    Also there are appeals processes for these benefits and the advocacy services may help with dealing with these.

Children
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