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Comment on Disabled people are trying to tell us how benefits system is killing them. It’s time we listened.

I love it when the ~~DWP~~ Aktion T4 question if I'm still autistic or not. Believe me, I wish I could stop being autistic and not have anxiety over very normal things and sudden changes. Even the initial application for PIP or DLA was a nightmare as an uncaring system was not convinced I was autistic despite all of the evidence provided by my GP. They very nearly ran me out of money when I got sanctioned without realising it, followed by a year of further paperwork battles as the ~~DWP~~ Aktion T4 continued to deliberately misinterpret everything.

Then there's a lot of anti-welfare crap swirling around the internet, so I sometimes feel guilty about claiming anything even though I know it's legitimate. People are salivating at the idea of the DWP having enforcement powers, checking where you go on holiday (even though a flight can cost less than a train ticket) and other intrusive measures.

Honestly, if I had to fight the DWP alone, I probably would have offed myself by now. It's tough enough even with my really good support network.

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520@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
You know what the most ironic thing is? They do this under the guise of rooting out benefit cheats but if anything they just train people into being capable of benefit fraud. Because you have to think like a benefit fraud just to get what they publicly say you are due.

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- Tammo-Korsai@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Exactly. I sometimes grapple with an urge to slightly exaggerate my issues to make sure I get a fair assessment.
  
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  - DessertStorms@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    A benefits adviser who was supporting me a while back gave me some really good pointers to consider when answering these forms:
    Can you do X safely and repeatedly?
    Can you do X on bad days?
    If the answer to either of those is no, the answer to the question is a no.
    I know it's hard not to because I do it myself, but try not to feel the guilt they try to force on us. We are NOT the ones who are a drain on society, those who frame us as such are. We deserve to exist, and if to do that we need to claim benefits, then that's that, and it's nothing to feel guilty or ashamed of.
    
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  - 520@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    Honestly, just do it. Just recount your worst days. The DWP are looking for reasons to deny you, you don't want to give them one by recounting a less-than-worse day.
    
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  - lolcatnip@reddthat.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
    As long as you can do it without an undue risk of getting caught, I see no reason not to. It sounds like you’ve already been gaslit into feeling guilty for asking for what’s owed to you, so I assume you’re actually downplaying your symptoms when you think you’re reporting them accurately.
    
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- VaultBoyNewVegas@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  That’s a good way of describing it. I’ve ibd and the nurse has told me to tell them how things are when it’s at its worst.
  
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DessertStorms@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Well said, and I'm sorry you're having to go through this shit too, but I'm glad to hear you have support, I'm in the same boat - never would have managed it without that help.

The link you shared reminded me of this I shared not long ago - https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/dwp-considers-powers-of-arrest,-seizure-and-collecting-information-on-where-claimants-spend-money

It really is appalling and enraging the levels of privacy invasion and lets be honest- - humiliation we're subjected to for the crime of being disabled, while those in power get away with literally robbing the entirety of society.

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