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Do you need help preparing a meal for yourself - In there write if you eat out of date food?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 It gets you points - as you areat risk of getting sicker by eating out of date food?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