Mental Health and Benefits, Part 1: Cuts to Disability Living Allowance

[rhianneloura]

very entertaining 

[michaelukable]

I am getting the Mobility Lower Rate of £19.55 Week and the Care Loest Rate of £19.55 Week.

[michellesvideosuk]

Well I am registered blind, have severe depression and aspergers and yet all they give me is Lover rate for both mobility and care, how is that fair, I cannot see roads, life is dangerous when I am out and yet they don't care and yet other people who have perfect eyesight can claim middle rate for just being depressed alone, simply not fair.

[recury]

@michellesvideosuk It was only with the help of a mental health professional that I was able to obtain the benefits that I receive. I had to supply a number of medical reports and evidence for my condition and application form was completed by myself after receiving the advice and support of the NHS. May I ask if you are receiving any kind of support?

[recury]

I would also like to state for the record that my formal diagnosis is Rapid Cycling Bipolar Disorder and Anxiety. I'm also about to begin treatment (for which I have waited almost two years) for a co-morbid personality disorder. I would advise against comparing yourself or others - it is unfair to belittle both your own experiences of mental illness or those of others.

[Tarquinbeaniebaby]

12 hour shifts, stacking shelves, one arm; that's me and I get nothing ! Can I go on the social? Can I get a disabilities badge for my motor ? Probably not cos I can wipe my ass, that's the crazy criteria they use, even though my other arms a withered one!

[recury]

@Tarquinbeaniebaby Have you even looked into applying for benefits?

[abilify10mg]

i receive incapacity benefit.i hope to get off the 100% mentally ill list since ,true its nice to receive the money year after year, but my life is meaningless and i know others who have jobs working in the government offices where i could possibly be placed after my benefits run out in 2012 when i see a commission.true i am schizo ,but i have an education and many people dont know my condition --i seem different but not "mental"--soo i'll try .plus i need the extra cash.all the best

[PlattHillLover]

It seems that this tory led coalition government will stop at nothing to get a lot of people off DLA ...............in other words George Osborne sees this first and foremost as a cost cutting operation. I would love to ask him about people with Asperger syndrome.............I have a relative with this condition who has received DLA for the past 11 yrs and finds it very difficult going out never mind coping & functioning with people in a work situation which they might try to force him into.

[bommmmmmmm]

2/2....that people with mental health issues can often fluctuate heavily and rapidly with the severity of their conditions. A lot of very vulnerable mentally ill people who are unable to work are going to fail these inept tests and get there support cut – which will leave them in a even more desperate situation. Is there anything this callous, wicked government will not do to achieve its aims?

[bommmmmmmm]

1/2 Having done voluntary work in the past for a mental health charity and also currently helping 2 people with serious mental health issues on a daily basis I have some insight into the daily struggles people in such positions face. These new tests for DLA are uselessly geared up for assessing those with mental health problems and are leaving a lot of vulnerable people feeling frightened. It does not for example take into account .....

[71TattyTeddy]

What really infuriates me is that this government is targetting the sick and disabled and the unemployed to reduce Britain`s debt. The most vulnerable members of society. How about cutting or abolishing the foreign aid budget. A budget which in one year gave 1 billion pounds to India. 500,000 signed the petition to save the forests, i doubt we will see the same number sign a petition against these cuts, especially as the government has used the tabloids to smear the unemployed and sick.

[Bubo25]

@71TattyTeddy It gets worse. The government is actually INCREASING foreign aid!

[updownjunkie]

Hi. Great topic. I'm in the states and I am on disability. I have no problem calling severe bipolar disorder a "disability". It affects my functioning every day. You've mentioned your reluctance to call psychiatric disorders in past videos. But I can tell that for a lot of us it is a constant battle. I love your vies. Thanks for doing them!

[recury]

@updownjunkie

Thanks for taking the time to watch my videos and for your comments!

My issue with the label "disabled" stems mainly from the way in which the benefits system in the UK is set up in respect of those with mental health conditions. It is also influenced by my personal perspectives and views on what being "disabled" means.

Granted, Bipolar Disorder and many other mental health conditions can impact someone on a daily basis and can be quite debilitating at the worst of times...

[recury]

@recury

Like yourself, I find my condition impacts me on a daily basis and I'm constantly having to make allowances and adjustments in my routine to take account of this. However, I feel the term "disability" has a lot of negative connotations and a social stigma attached to it which, as a result it has been associated with things like physical disability when actually it is a completely different animal altogether.

[recury]

@recury

Mental Health needs to be treated as an issue in its own right and not clumped together with something else for the sake of bureaucracy.

It is because of this that the present benefits system in UK fails to recognise people with complex mental health conditions like Bipolar Disorder and Schizophrenia and is why welfare reform needs to be handled very carefully and in such a way that people with mental health conditions are treated fairly.

[soymiguelalejandro23]

Hello I am Miguel from the states and it was interesting to know what is happening around the world with people who are disabled and living on disability for their mental health benefits. That is what they are called here in the United States so I am of course not meaning to be offensive in any way. The general support services that we receive here are food assistance medical assistance and depending on where you are varying mental health support services such as counseling groups etc.

[recury]

@soymiguelalejandro23

Hi Miguel, thanks for your comments and posts and thanks for sharing your experiences with the benefits system in the US. It's interesting to hear how other countries work and what support systems they have in place for those with mental health conditions and "disabilities". It sounds like the US seems to recognise that mental health is a separate and different thing from physical disability, hopefully the UK will follow suit eventually.

[soymiguelalejandro23]

@recury yes I must say that it was surprising to learn that the U.K. isn't a bit more advanced in the care and provisions for those disabled with mental illness here. it is a big thing here for common folks and it still has a lot of stigma however with you tube allowing a platform for us to talk about it hopefully more people will begin to understand that it is much more prevalent than we think. hopefully the U.K. will become more progressive in the care of this. We get Psych/meds/therapy 2.