mostly david ephgrave

I finally received some good news today: my mental health benefits adviser - we've all got one - had a call from the DWP to say my PIP is being reinstated without appeal: apparently, pointing out their inability to count the number of people in the room at my interview worked. While I'm relieved it's set to return, I'm frustrated by the stress they've put me through when trying to prove myself, not to mention the money I'd been previously counted on that was suddenly taken away. There was absolutely no sense of being mindful about my delicate mental health situation and how it could be affected; if it weren't for the strong support I have from the benefits advisor aI would have given up around two steps back. And that's the most galling part of it: how hopeful they were that you'll just stop trying. There are countless stories in the press of people suffering from physical disabilities that are even more obvious who've been refused PIP too; i...

I've finally received word from the DWP today regarding my PIP appeal and they've refused to reinstate it again - although I don't know how to accept the validity of a write-up that starts with "you attended the assessment alone" when my wife came with me. It seems they've again confused my ability to "engage with crowds" when working and potentially mask my anxiety in an interview (because I'm an actor) with a raft of medical evidence put in front of them to the contrary. The DWP's PIP assessors are clearly unable to understand the subtlety of depression and aren't astute enough to know you can be a performer and suffer from it acutely. And it's their job to know this. Meanwhile, I have to withstand their demeaning attitude to my condition and the impact that goes with fighting to make them understand its validity. As the mental health welfare benefits advisor who assists me with my claim put it in an email to them: "I can...

Today, the DWP rescinded the PIP I'd been "awarded" for two years - that gave me a semblance of financial assistance and a sense that my health conditions of severe chronic depression, anxiety & vestibular migraine/vertigo were real - despite my providing more evidence than ever. For starters, they decided the detailed reports they'd received from the mental health team I've been under for seven years (including my psychiatrist, therapist & GP) and information on my prescribed medication & ENT analysis of my vertigo was no longer enough and I now required a PIP assessment. Despite expecting my evidence WITHOUT FAIL by a given date and absolute assurance I would attend my interview, they gave me under two weeks notice that I had to get to an appointment in Borehamwood (I don't drive). If I missed it/wasn't available, I had one more strike or my PIP would end. This morning, a letter arrived, telling me "I've looked into your claim ...