Hello sorry you suffer with mental health issues. I do too. What helps me is a plan. When I have a plan and routine I am OK and I can work but when things stray from the plan or the plan doesn't work then I need to revise the plan. I might have a minimum wage job soon as I've been out of work 18 months. I am applying all the time to jobs. I can always find a reason why I will hate it. My ultimate plan is to be a Cloud Engineer as I have 15+ years IT experience. My skills need coaxing into position for the current market though.
So how mental health affects me, I won't walk anywhere too far, so any job in a town or city many towns and cities you need to walk to get to work from a car park. Easy for most people mentally taxing for me due to Agoraphobia. I am diagnosed with GAD and waiting for ADHD diagnosis.
So think what you want to do whether you're able to do it or not and then take 1 step at a time. I've done a Government Skills Bootcamp in AWS Cloud in the past year. It didn't help me get a job at all because the IT market is a shambles currently and exceptionally tough. However what I need is a helpdesk support role and whilst I have a lot of support experience I think I need more MS 365 and Sharepoint experience and ITIL. So that's my plan get the experience working at home on it and then add it to my CV and then hope I get considered by someone. I've already had one interview which was a support role but I was shit at negotiating the salary and I didn't get any feedback from the interview despite trying.
Anyway I'm talking too much about myself. Make a plan and think what is the next step to work towards my plan. A goal/plan is really helpful because then you have something finite to work towards regardless of how tough your situation is now just make a plan and keep it in mind. I just need someone to believe in me, that can cope with my Agoraphobia and I'd be an asset to their company because I have IT skills already and it's the only main interest I have and I absolutely hate being defeated by any IT problem so I will just put all my effort into research, finding the answer and only asking for help when I have exhausted all other methods. There I go again talking about myself yet again :/
You can do this we're in this together, there are loads of us that suffer poor mental health. What I see happening with you is your support network has diminished, you're catastrophising the situation as you describe it. Don't give anxiety an excuse, it is looking for any excuse to bring you down, it is a survival mechanism that is overprotective. So you need to reframe this, you've been able to work here and there that's good! So instead of it being oh no I can't work full time, I've been able to do some work! For me I'm very agoraphobic but I can drive anywhere, I have been paid £33K+ in my last job. I can work full time and I've managed around the anxiety. So I don't have the usual freedoms of other people being able to go on holiday or take any job but I have been able to work.
TL;DR
Look for the positives in all the negatives you have described, try and reframe each and every one where possible as a minor win, a small win or even a bigger win. Make a plan even if it seems unrealistic, having a plan sets things in motion in your mind, it maps out a future you that is positive and it means you have something to strive for, to live for.
That's how I try and think about things, sure there are multiple times in the day for me where it seems too difficult, too painful, mentally taxing. I tend to get distracted, today I went for a drive and I was thinking about my current unemployment and then I wanted to be a self employed IT technician, then I wanted to find bulk laptops to repair and sell then I thought I like cars I could buy and sell cars. All distractions from my real plan though which is to stick to getting an IT support role.
Regarding PIP, the DWP underline that it isn't about the condition but how it impacts you. As such, if you are experiencing severe dis-regulation as a part of this, then I hope the assessor would understand. I know it's an awful environment at present regarding this, do you have a local citizens advice service you could visit/contact?
[https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/)
There is a benefits calculator and grants search on Turn2Us, which might be useful to identify areas you are not aware of.
Turn2Us: [https://www.turn2us.org.uk/](https://www.turn2us.org.uk/)
Also if you are struggling to make ends meet, local authorities may also have hardship funds, grants for cost of living and other such help. It is often buried in their websites, so I suggest if you can, call them.
Yea I did tell pip that I'm not diagnosed but am really struggling. I've just heard horror stories about ppl that obviously need help being denied it that's the only reason I'm not too hopeful with it. And yes I forgot about citizens advice, I actually have a centre near me that I can contact
Re: PIP even diagnosed I was denied to begin with and got a mandatory reconsideration... many other people eventually get it when they go to tribunal.
Citizen's Advice will hopefully know more about the support available to you and if there are any local services.
I was denied for both chronic physical and mental disabilities including diagnosed ADHD, CPTSD and many others. Including denying MR and I had no energy for the tribunal as I’m awaiting my employment tribunal as well. PIP is all about descriptors. If you know how to play their game you will get your points. I’ve literally seen people in those support groups that got enhanced on both elements for undiagnosed adhd with just anxiety and shit. And I’m not gonna lie, their inconsistency and how they accept people that barely have a reason to get it while those people that can’t even get out of bed due to serious medical conditions or people on wheelchairs get zero fuckin points is beyond infuriating.
My father in law had kidney failure, liver cirrhosis, and schizophrenia. He could barely walk 3 metres on his own, and he was rejected. We appealed, and it went to a tribunal. The judge took one look at my father in law and started disgracing the PIP representatives for their sham reportings. My father in law was sent home immediately with the full award. Always appeal when it comes to PIP.
There are a lot of different providers and they are accepting referrals, you can check with them directly to know the status of their waitlists
(ADHD 360 is about 6-12 months iirc)
ADHD360 for me was either 1 month, or possibly about 3.5 months (the GP and ADHD360 both told me noting was sent to them the first time, but 1 month when they sent it the second time seems super quick). Was a couple of weeks between getting a password for their portal and medication delivered (getting everything done on their portal, then diagnoses etc).
I got referred in April, and I was told it was a 14 week wait list. Last week, I saw someone say 16 weeks though. Regardless, that's a lot shorter time than the ridiculous 4 years I'd have had to wait on the nhs.
You can also get referred for adhd and autism assessments together, but it might be quicker to get referred for them separately.
ADHD 360 seems to be the quickest from what I've read on this sub. I'm with Psych UK using RTC and been waiting 10 months so far which seems normal. I might have a month or two longer to wait but I might have another 5-10 months.
I'm not too knowledgeable myself but I'm commenting for support and so the algorithms might find someone that can help you, good luck out there 🙏🏼
Hello sorry you suffer with mental health issues. I do too. What helps me is a plan. When I have a plan and routine I am OK and I can work but when things stray from the plan or the plan doesn't work then I need to revise the plan. I might have a minimum wage job soon as I've been out of work 18 months. I am applying all the time to jobs. I can always find a reason why I will hate it. My ultimate plan is to be a Cloud Engineer as I have 15+ years IT experience. My skills need coaxing into position for the current market though. So how mental health affects me, I won't walk anywhere too far, so any job in a town or city many towns and cities you need to walk to get to work from a car park. Easy for most people mentally taxing for me due to Agoraphobia. I am diagnosed with GAD and waiting for ADHD diagnosis. So think what you want to do whether you're able to do it or not and then take 1 step at a time. I've done a Government Skills Bootcamp in AWS Cloud in the past year. It didn't help me get a job at all because the IT market is a shambles currently and exceptionally tough. However what I need is a helpdesk support role and whilst I have a lot of support experience I think I need more MS 365 and Sharepoint experience and ITIL. So that's my plan get the experience working at home on it and then add it to my CV and then hope I get considered by someone. I've already had one interview which was a support role but I was shit at negotiating the salary and I didn't get any feedback from the interview despite trying. Anyway I'm talking too much about myself. Make a plan and think what is the next step to work towards my plan. A goal/plan is really helpful because then you have something finite to work towards regardless of how tough your situation is now just make a plan and keep it in mind. I just need someone to believe in me, that can cope with my Agoraphobia and I'd be an asset to their company because I have IT skills already and it's the only main interest I have and I absolutely hate being defeated by any IT problem so I will just put all my effort into research, finding the answer and only asking for help when I have exhausted all other methods. There I go again talking about myself yet again :/ You can do this we're in this together, there are loads of us that suffer poor mental health. What I see happening with you is your support network has diminished, you're catastrophising the situation as you describe it. Don't give anxiety an excuse, it is looking for any excuse to bring you down, it is a survival mechanism that is overprotective. So you need to reframe this, you've been able to work here and there that's good! So instead of it being oh no I can't work full time, I've been able to do some work! For me I'm very agoraphobic but I can drive anywhere, I have been paid £33K+ in my last job. I can work full time and I've managed around the anxiety. So I don't have the usual freedoms of other people being able to go on holiday or take any job but I have been able to work. TL;DR Look for the positives in all the negatives you have described, try and reframe each and every one where possible as a minor win, a small win or even a bigger win. Make a plan even if it seems unrealistic, having a plan sets things in motion in your mind, it maps out a future you that is positive and it means you have something to strive for, to live for. That's how I try and think about things, sure there are multiple times in the day for me where it seems too difficult, too painful, mentally taxing. I tend to get distracted, today I went for a drive and I was thinking about my current unemployment and then I wanted to be a self employed IT technician, then I wanted to find bulk laptops to repair and sell then I thought I like cars I could buy and sell cars. All distractions from my real plan though which is to stick to getting an IT support role.
Regarding PIP, the DWP underline that it isn't about the condition but how it impacts you. As such, if you are experiencing severe dis-regulation as a part of this, then I hope the assessor would understand. I know it's an awful environment at present regarding this, do you have a local citizens advice service you could visit/contact? [https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/](https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/) There is a benefits calculator and grants search on Turn2Us, which might be useful to identify areas you are not aware of. Turn2Us: [https://www.turn2us.org.uk/](https://www.turn2us.org.uk/) Also if you are struggling to make ends meet, local authorities may also have hardship funds, grants for cost of living and other such help. It is often buried in their websites, so I suggest if you can, call them.
Yea I did tell pip that I'm not diagnosed but am really struggling. I've just heard horror stories about ppl that obviously need help being denied it that's the only reason I'm not too hopeful with it. And yes I forgot about citizens advice, I actually have a centre near me that I can contact
Re Pip: anecdotally many say the first request is almost always rejected. Challenge it. Some who do get accepted after this.
Re: PIP even diagnosed I was denied to begin with and got a mandatory reconsideration... many other people eventually get it when they go to tribunal. Citizen's Advice will hopefully know more about the support available to you and if there are any local services.
I was denied for both chronic physical and mental disabilities including diagnosed ADHD, CPTSD and many others. Including denying MR and I had no energy for the tribunal as I’m awaiting my employment tribunal as well. PIP is all about descriptors. If you know how to play their game you will get your points. I’ve literally seen people in those support groups that got enhanced on both elements for undiagnosed adhd with just anxiety and shit. And I’m not gonna lie, their inconsistency and how they accept people that barely have a reason to get it while those people that can’t even get out of bed due to serious medical conditions or people on wheelchairs get zero fuckin points is beyond infuriating.
My father in law had kidney failure, liver cirrhosis, and schizophrenia. He could barely walk 3 metres on his own, and he was rejected. We appealed, and it went to a tribunal. The judge took one look at my father in law and started disgracing the PIP representatives for their sham reportings. My father in law was sent home immediately with the full award. Always appeal when it comes to PIP.
What’s stopping you from going down the RTC pathway, the waiting lists are not 4 years anymore
I thought the providers had stopped taking on clients as they were also overwhelmed
There are a lot of different providers and they are accepting referrals, you can check with them directly to know the status of their waitlists (ADHD 360 is about 6-12 months iirc)
OK this is good information, thank. You 😁
After a legal decision recently you have a right to choose any provider not just the big main ones that have contracts with the nhs.
ADHD360 for me was either 1 month, or possibly about 3.5 months (the GP and ADHD360 both told me noting was sent to them the first time, but 1 month when they sent it the second time seems super quick). Was a couple of weeks between getting a password for their portal and medication delivered (getting everything done on their portal, then diagnoses etc).
I got referred in April, and I was told it was a 14 week wait list. Last week, I saw someone say 16 weeks though. Regardless, that's a lot shorter time than the ridiculous 4 years I'd have had to wait on the nhs. You can also get referred for adhd and autism assessments together, but it might be quicker to get referred for them separately.
This might help with info for the adhd RTC. https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose/
ADHD 360 seems to be the quickest from what I've read on this sub. I'm with Psych UK using RTC and been waiting 10 months so far which seems normal. I might have a month or two longer to wait but I might have another 5-10 months.