Success - got PIP - OCD :)

Thank you Mosala, I have just been reading your entries. I cannot attend CAB for OCD reasons! But I have been taking some telephone advice. I may try for mobility again at some point. I have physical mobility problems as well as my OCD. My OCD got me 4 points for mobilty which I am sure should really have been at least 8. My physical problems I think maybe should have got me 4 points but my GP's evidence according to the DWP was too vague - my GP wrote it is very painful for me to walk any length of distance. Anyway I am currently gathering new 'walking problem' evidence for my ESA claim, which I may use to try to gain PIP mobility in the future. However I am stuck with my OCD evidence because my psychiatrist has implied if my OCD symptoms do not improve they may have to make me go into hospital. So now I am terrified to explain to my psychiatrist how bad my OCD is in regard to getting out and about/mobility which means I cannot get that evidence. Out of interest, have you ever heard of anyone being made to go into hospital due to OCD when NOT a danger to themselves or others? I look after myself fine, just take a very long time doing everything cos of lots of handwashing.

Hi Cruella, I couldn't go to CAB either for OCD reasons. We did it all on the phone and email. Yes,GP's don't seem to get it across somehow. They aren't really interested in benefit stuff it seems. MY CPN did a good support letter. Have you got a support worker? I still think CAB is the way to go. It is all about how you word the claim.

I really don't think they can section you just for having bad OCD. You have to be very bad these days to get into hospital. You'd need to be suicidal. Ask CAB about that. OCD sucks! I hope you can get the mobility.

Hi Mosala, yes I do have a support worker, who I chat to over the phone. The reason I asked about sectioning and OCD is that in a referral letter my psychiatrist put he had considered assessment for me under The Mental Health Act but at this stage thought it too restrictive for me. I do not know whether he put this on the referral letter to the OCD specialist to encourage their helping me? However I was horrified because I have a huge fear of hospitals partly because I had an op that went wrong and severely damaged me for life and partly because my ex-partner was sectioned. When my ex-partner was sectioned and was taken away by the police to hospital, myself and my son had a terrible time especially in the lead up to it when we did not feel safe- it was the worst time of my life.(he was a danger to himself and others) These hospital experiences largely triggered my OCD. Plus being put into hospital would be a nightmare for me due to the contamination element of hospitals, and I need my own bed, shower etc. I have been under the psychiatrist for one and a half years, have seen him once, spoken to him twice on the phone and had their psychologist visit me 4 times in this one and a half years. I felt sick when I saw the referral letter to the OCD specialist which referred to the Mental Health Act assessment and I rang and asked my psychiatrist why he had put it. He said if someone is unwell for a long time and not responding sectioning may have to be considered but at this stage he wants to treat me at home. I still feel sick about it and now feel scared to open up to the support worker in case I say the wrong thing and it leads to sectioning! I feel there is a threat hanging over my head that if I do not improve I will be sectioned and this has made my anxiety rocket. I truly am horrified and amazed at the fact my psychiatrist wrote that, - although everything takes me ages to do ( multiple handwashing and gloves, long showers ) I still shop, eat and keep clean, very clean! My son is on the autistic spectrum and I successfully have been helping him, sorting out special arrangements for exams,uni etc, he gets fed and watered fine. It has made it difficult to ask for new up-to-date evidence for my ESA because I am extremely cautious about talking about my problems with any member of the mental health team now. I am no danger to myself or others at all, but the psychiatrist was of the opinion you can be sectioned just because you are not responding to treatment and have been ill for some time. By that token agoraphobics etc could be sectioned. ???

Cruella - I understand your dilema! I have not been well enough to work for 30 years and no-one has ever threatened to have me sectioned because I have not got better! This seems a bit extreme. I have tried everything. They even offered me a labotomy. I will ask my friend who is knowledgeable on this kind of thing and get back to you. They surely can't force CBT on you!
I wish we could get email notifications when someone answers posts on here as I forget to check!

Thank you. Gosh a labotomy, I hope they do not still perform those, imagine being sectioned and being forced to have one of those- really makes me shudder. I think i will do some research on whether they can section someone with severe OCD, I am reassured that you have never been threatened with that. I have put the letter, in which my psychiatrist writes how he has considered this for me, in with my evidence for ESA. Thought I may as well put it to good use! (just have to hope that a Maximus psychiatrist does not come and take me away for a labotomy!!)

I think they still do lobotomies, but I doubt they can force it on you. My mate says that a psychiatrist does not have the authority (unless specifically trained) to section you. That has to be done by one of the other mental health workers - an AMP (whatever that is). He said it's highly unlikely that you would be sectioned unless it was for self-neglect. With all the cut-backs it is unlikely.