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SHERLOCK
10-10-07, 13:33
I SENT SOME FORMS OFF TO TRY TO CLAIM DISABILITY BENIFITS FOR MY AGORAPHOBIA, BUT I'VE BEEN TURNED DOWN IT SAYS BECAUSE OF A REPORT FROM MY GP YET I HAVE BEEN GOING TO SEE A COUNSELLOR ON HER SAY SO FOR 12 SESSIONS, SO THEY KNOW ABOUT ME, AND ON THE FORM IT SAID YOU COULD APPLY IF YOU SUFFERED WITH AGORAPHOBIA, BUT I WASN'T SURPRISED ABOUT THE OUTCOME JUST MAKES ME WONDER HOW ALL THESE OTHER PEOPLE GET IT AND CAN GET ABOUT BETTER THAN ME, I CRIED WHEN I GOT THE LETTER IT'S NOT SO MUCH ABOUT THE MONEY IT'S THE BEING RECOGNISED, WITH AN ILLNESS THAT YOU CAN ONLY FEEL AND PEOPLE WHO DON'T HAVE IT DON'T KNOW THE HALF. IT SAYS I CAN APPEAL BUT THAT WILL BE A WASTE OF TIME, AND PAPER, SORRY FOR BANGING ON, JUST FEEL A BIT UPSET, AND HUBBY IS NOT THAT UNDERSTANDING WELL THEY DON'T KNOW DO THEY.http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/images/icons/icon9.gif

honeybee
10-10-07, 14:47
hello, like you i tried claiming it - i was turned down on the basis that i hadnt paid enough national insurance BUT i did get income support instead...

would it be worth going back to your doctors and explaining you got turned down and asking for them to do another report???
or maybe getting a report from your councillor???
when i applied i had to be assessed by a doctor that was hired by the benefits people to make sure i was as bad as i said i was.. maybe you could enquire about that???

i'm not sure of your situation but i do reccomend that if there's any chance you could brave it and carry on working that you try your hardest because from my point of view once you're on benefits you seem to become a whole lot more comfortable and maybe have less need to get better...
my benefits have just been taken off me and i dont feel like i constantly need to prove that i am unable to work and suddenly feel more free to take chances to get better - for example starting to go out on my own. whereas before i was so scared i'd feel a bit better then lose my benefits then get bad again... im really lucky in that a have an amazingly supportive partner who is also financially supportive...

whatever you decide to do i hope it all works out for you...

Pauluk
10-10-07, 16:30
Hi.

If you have agoraphobia & this affects youre ability to work youre most definitely entitled to benefits.
You have so many days to appeal the decision that should be youre first port of call. There are also some charity funded organizations you can get in touch with for advice, sorry i don't know off hand maybe someone else can post one. I'd also go back to youre doctor and like honeybee says ask for one of there doctors to examine you, infact i'd use that in an appeal.

Good luck.

den42
10-10-07, 17:22
hi sherlock
i was turned down 3 times and every time i appealed against their decision, finally got it on the third one though, so dont give up,you are entitled to it so keep going, they think that people with mental health issues are to scared to appeal so you go for it no matter how many times it takes you to finally get it
best of luck
denise :hugs:

amberbear
25-10-07, 13:36
I Have Just Been Awarded The Lower Rate For Agrophobia , And I Got It On A Ppeal , But They Made Me Have A Medical Which I Did Not Mind It Took Me 8 Months To Get Dla , Do Not Give Up Apeal And If That Dont Work Apeal Again ,

vernon
25-10-07, 14:44
I tried and got turned down even after i appealed, but got middle rate on bath later as I am registered blind

Alabasterlyn
25-10-07, 16:03
Apart from being eligible for other benefits like Income Support ot Incapacity Benefit you should be applying for Disabiility Living Allowance too as you are most certainly entitled to it.

When you fill in the paperwork you really have to think how you feel on your worst days and write about that as that is what their decision will be based on. If you are turned down then do appeal as you really are entitled to benefits.

Janice Booth
25-10-07, 19:11
Sherlock - I applied for DLA as I too suffer from agoraphobia but can go out with my husband at times. I was awarded the lower rate of the "mobility" part of the allowance first time - sounds like I was one of the lucky ones! I also get Incapacity Benefit - do you get that?

Due to the physical health problems I also now have - I have just reapplied for the "caring" part of the allowance but have not heard yet. I have a very supportive husband as he suffered anxiety in the past so knows exactly how I feel - again I am one of the lucky ones!

You do have to fill in the forms as you would feel on your "worst" day. Do appeal and speak to your doctor about it.

Don't give up - I am sure you will get it in the end.

Best of luck

Janice xx

purplehaze
06-11-07, 13:00
very good point Janice has made...when filling in the forms you really need to say what your worst day is...you may have a couple of good days but if you say you do then they wont (in my experience) even look at it...This applies to medicals if called in for one, you speak as if it is your worst day....Everyone of us would rather not be claiming and would love to be free of our emotional issues but while we have them, the extra money does help, even if its just to pay for a taxi(which can cost a lot) ALWAYS REAPPLY and good luck

HazyMind
06-11-07, 13:11
This is something I need to do again after being turned down.

The forms can get complicated and your best bet is to get help filling it out, CAB can help you I think or at least point you in the direction of somebody that can.

There is someone near me who works for some sort of legal aid company that helps people fill in the claim forms and I'm hoping to go and see him soon but being agoraphobic and not being able to get there doesnt help :wall:

Good Luck and keep appealing as you should be getting what you are entitled too!!

x

Freaky Chick
07-11-07, 11:41
I have just applied and am waiting to hear about, the form is really tricky and took me 4 weeks to complete because of how distressing it is to put in words how your illness really affects you. I had help from a number of people. If you are seeing a counsellor - ask her for her plan of care for you, and submit that with it. If you have any other psycholigical services input put that information down and put in copies of the plans of care they have for you.

You are most definitely entitled - Definitely appeal!

I have discovered that it is easier to get benefits when you want to claim them fraudulently than when you are really ill, because when you are ill, you have problems filling out the forms and finding the right information to fill them out with.

If you contact your local council - they will have a benefits avice team, and they can send someone out to make sure you are getting all the benefits you are entitled to, also CAB are ok depending on who they have trained to help.

I found the easiest way to get accross how my illness affected me was to get someone to help me breakdown their questions that you have to answer into a more specific question. Because the DLA questions are ambiguous and don't help you to fill in how you really are.

For example - do you need supervision from people during the day? you might think from the tick boxes that the answer is no. But if the tick boxes don't apply to you, but you need someone around - then tick the further information box and write exactly why you need someone there.

For example - do you skip meals because you don't feel lioke eating or cooking for yourself, would it help you to eat properly if there was another person around? Do you forget to take your medication, or not bother, or forget if you've taken it? Do you have to set a clock to remind you to take medication?
Do you wait until your friends suggest you shower or bath? or wait until you can't stand your own smell anymore?

Break it down into smaller wuestions, that when you answer them, will show that you really do need help.

Do you need help preparing a meal for yourself - In there write if you eat out of date food? even if it is only because you buy it because it's cheaper! It gets you points - as you areat risk of getting sicker by eating out of date food? Have you ever forgotten you put something on to cook? have you ever tried to put the milk in the kettle or knives and forks in the fridge because your brain wasn't working properly? Tell them that you do this, have you ever set off the smoke alarm because of your cooking burning? do you only ever eat toast or junk food cos it's all you can face, or do you not eat because your illness makes you not want to eat or feel like eating?

It is a really hard form to fill out - you really do need people to help you do it. And to help you break down the questions into ones appropriate to your particular illness.

So for agorophobia - do you only go out when there is someone with you? yes. But how do them being there make a difference, would you go out at all if no-one helped you, can you go to the shop and buy food or do you have to have it delivered by tesco? do you have panic attacks when you step outside the front door, panic in shops, throw up feel sick, is this averted by having a close friend with you? As for the time thing - if you needed to go out every day just to the shop to buy something - would you be able to do it on your own, the way you did before you were ill? if the answer is no - you need someone to help - then you need that help 7 days a week - because you don't go out unless you have help etc.

Hope this long winded thing is making sense to you?

Definitely appeal, and if you have a copy of the form you sent in - go through it again, with someone, as if you wer filling it in for the first time - and rewrite your answers having broken the questions down - if you can.

Then you have evidence for your appeal.

Freaky Chick

SHERLOCK
07-11-07, 15:49
Hi, everyone after much thought I did appeal, I rang up the number on the forms, and spoke to a woman, and she said that you can only get disability allowance if you can't get out of the house at all, and it didn't include agrophobia, so I asked her why was in on the forms that I filled in then, and she didn't know it was, I thought some system this is when them working there don't know that, I told her that I couldn't get out without my husband and then it wasn't very far, I asked her what made them turn it down and she said it was what my GP had said in the letter to them, I asked if I could know what she had said, and there wasn't any mention of my agrophobia in the letter to them, and she sent me a copy of it as well, so I told her how I was, and she is dealing with it, I will keep you posted, but if this don't work they can stuff it I won't waste any more pen and ink or phone calls on them.

vernon
07-11-07, 15:59
Wow what a Doctor? can you change Doctor or even mover to a differnt surgery, its the Old if they dont understand something they just say we are fine? thats why I cant be bothered with CBT and stuff to go and see teenagers who have no experienced only what the book says. I dont think there is a book in the world that knows our personal experiences with anxiety disorders as we are all very different. My Gp is ok as her son suffers anxiety and she hd an uncle who killed himself with to much drink, she is asian and to me that qualifies her to understand. hope you get some better luck, love Vernon

SHERLOCK
21-11-07, 16:18
Thought I would let you know about my appeal for disability allowance well I got turned down again, so they can stuff it , and if I ever get to the grand old age of 700 and decrepit and any of the people involved suggest I put in for it then, well wont they it hear from me!:sly: could anyone tell me if you have to have some sort of benefit to get a disablement badge for parking your car, or do they give them out willy nilly.

vernon
22-11-07, 11:01
Hi Carol, I have dla middle rate for both and a blue badge, But I do remember when I was registered partly sighted I got nothing, then when hospital regerstered me blind I got the dla and badge. but there are people with anxieties who do get dla. Maybe different in different Towns! Try getting an appointment with CAB and see what they sugest? take care all Vernon

sheena
22-11-07, 13:16
Hi

Appeal again. I did with the following information and got lower rate mobility disability. It's a bit long, but copy it and they so not have a leg to stand on. Here goes:

For a start the woman you phoned was wrong as you will not the the lower rate mobility allowance if you cannot go outside at all.

You can get it:

State: "I cannot go outside my door without supervision and guidance from another person due to my condition of agoraphobia and anxiety. Before even venturing outside my front door I need to be cajoled and encouraged by another person to cross my front door. I then need contant reassurance to enable me to take advantage of walking outside.

Section 73 (1) (d) of the Social Security Contribution and Benefit Act 1992 state:

"He (she) is able to walk but is so diabled physically of mentally, disregarding any ability he (she) may have to use routes which are familar to him (her) on his (her) own, he (she) cannnot take advange of the facility of walking out doors without guidance or supervision from another person most of the time".

I therefore suggest that failure to take in to account the fact that due to my mental illnesses of agoraphobia and anxiety, I CANNOT walk outdoors without a person with me amounts to an error of law with regard to Section 73 (1) (d). CDLA/ (http://www.nomorepanic.co.uk/)042/94, paras 17-20 deal with the meaning of guidance and supervision as used in S 73 (1) (d). In these paragraphs a commissioner expressed the view that guidance could involve physically leading or directing a claimant or oral suggestion or persuasion. Supervision he regarded as including encouraging, cajoling, providing distraction from possible alarming situations orgrammar errors the mere provision of reassurance by the presence of a helper providing that this had the effect of ENABLING THE CLAIMANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE FACULTY OF WALKING OUTDORRS.

CDLA 757/94 the commissioner took the view that S73 (1) (d) proceeds on the basis that guidance or supervision will remedy the claimant's inability to use the faculty of walking outside.

This will bom bard them with legislation that they obviously aren't aware of. Also go back to your doctor and explain again about you inablility to walk outside with out help and that you are claiming DLA and you need to make this clear in his correspondent with them.

I know it is long winded but this is what I wrote back to them. I used to be a social worker and used to help people with their claimant forms.

Please do not be down hearted. I just get so annoyed that the people with the power do not know the legal part.

Please let me know how you get on.

Sheena

leeg
05-01-09, 21:30
i get both care and mobility at low rate i am totally reliant on my husband to leave the house he is the only person i feel safe....well half safe with its not regularly maybe once a week twice at most i have severe ocd as well as anxiety an paranoia :blush: i just got awarded it an wondered if low rate is the norm or should i appeal for higher rate my husband had to stop work to as i cant be left alone also i have six kids who i would not be able to get to school without him but because i only get low rate he cant get carers allowance for me either ! sorry if this is a ramble:huh:


lee xx