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.
520@kbin.social 11 months 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.
Tammo-Korsai@kbin.social 11 months ago
Exactly. I sometimes grapple with an urge to slightly exaggerate my issues to make sure I get a fair assessment.
DessertStorms@kbin.social 11 months 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.
520@kbin.social 11 months 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.
lolcatnip@reddthat.com 11 months 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.
VaultBoyNewVegas@lemmy.world 11 months 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.