Incapacity benefits

[PatriciaH]

About time people were sussed out claiming this when there isnt any reason they are. there is someone who lives near me on this -supposedly depressed?? i dont think so...not when its when its snooker and pool all day in the pub!!

[Grunty]

The doctors say they can't assess people accurately when they don't live with them, so don't know whether they can dress themselves, cook etc. I think another problem is the children who were brought up in the 'no smacking' era and are now adult bullies. Many doctors are frightened to say no.

[kags]

How do you know what this person is really suffering from? Perhaps they have a condition they don't want to discuss - maybe they suffer from night-time incontinence and are up all night changing sheets, so they tell others it's depression. And if it is depression, how do you know how it affects this person, it affects everyone differently. I think it is sad we are so quick to judge others.

I am sure the system has flaws, and could do with a review, but I don't think it is helpful to pick on individual cases that we do not have full information about.

[PatriciaH]

I know them very well kags! just a parasite in this world to my mind.....i know of others also who are genuine.I dont post on this topic without true facts......

[noxlumos]

Depression is a genuine and very debilitating illness, just because someone goes to the pub and appears to be ok does not mean that there isn't anything wrong with them however well you know them, otherwise all suicides would be preventable, because their families would spot it coming.This person would have to have convinced several Drs over a very long period to be getting this benefit.

For sure there are some people who are flimflam artists but are you going to risk taking away the benefit of someone genuinely in need?

[BriWrite]

[edited by Answerbank] It's not very nice I can assure you.

[Drusilla]

I remember a friend of mine who suffered from depression and seemed to be improving. When my daughters and I gave her an Easter egg, she smiled and kissed us, just like her old, happy self. That very night she hanged herself.

As kags points out, we only see what other people want us to see and there may be undisclosed factors at work in this case.

Personally, I have greater anger for rich people who pay miniscule taxes on massive earnings with the collusion of accountants and the Government. I'm sure many poor people would argue that Incapacity Benefit is a poor person's equivalent of the tax fiddle. Sadly, neither helps me!

[PatriciaH]

Nasty responce briwright , i was diagnosed with it many years ago,thankfully ok now- i was refering to all the fakers in this world! did i touch a raw nerve?

[sam82]

just a point my mum had an operation 3 years ago to supposedly help her, but the surgeon ended up damaging the nerves in her leg and she cant walk.

Sometimes she can other times its too painful, she gets assessed every year, where someone comes to our house to see if she can wash and dress herself, to see if she is entitled to government support.

she can sometimes, although we have a family member comes to the house every day and helps her out, the man next door although about 10 years older than my mum (she is 46) gets more benefits because he has a bad back, funny he laid patios in all 4 of my neighbours gardens.

some people think because my mum goes into town with my aunt or a little walk once a week, means she shouldnt be claiming, and should be at work, i wish they knew what she went through everyday just to get herself out of bed, and paint on the happy smile she shows the world.

she would love to get back to work as it would probably help my parents build a better retirement for themselves, give them a better quality of life, all these people have so short memories they forget she went back to work 1 month after a serious heart attack nearly 10 years ago!

I only found out recently that my dad has been depressed for the last 2 years, i lived with him, to me he carried on normally, went to work, pub, football, even had a smile for me and my brother. some people deal with things differently.

its funny how people only see what they want to.

[joko]

patricia - you referred to man who, in your eyes, must be fine becasue he plays pool! You have condemned him as a faker yet you know nothing about him!

He may well be faking - but you don't know that!

playing pool and socialising may be all he's got to stop the depression getting worse! being alone and having nothing to occupy your day is the worst thing for someone with depression!

I suggest you think a bit before you go accusing people.

an investigation and accusations could be what tips him over the edge!

I have a degenerative back disease and am in agony most of the time - i am so used to it though i try not to let it affect me too much - yet because i am only 34 i am given dirty looks on buses for sitting down, if i stop for a minute while at work, people think i am slacking, i was even accused of being a druggie because of all the pain killers i take!

so just because you can't see the illness doesn't mean its not there! - give me a broken leg over depression any day!

briwright was a bit harsh - i wouldn't wish depression on my worst enemy (well...?) so think yourself lucky and pray it never happens to you!

[David H]

When I consider the hoops and checkups the DSS needed before I got mine I would have thought it pretty hard to pull the wool over their eyes. It made a driving test (even the new versions) look like a ride in the park. If someone was determined enough to pretend they could still often be caught out, as if you're not describing symptoms you have but am making it up it shouldn't be that easy to keep up an accurate description of any mental illness just by learning about it. I would have thought any second year psychology student could come up with plenty of tests to weed out people pretending to be mentally ill, though anyone who was so determined not to work they pretended such a thing, in my view, may as well get benefits anyway as they clearly aren't suitable for working.

Why not just give anyone who wants it that much automatically? It would save a fortune on tests and free up more jobs for people who just want them. Just my personal opinion there.

[BriWrite]

No Patricia you didnt touch a raw nerve, I think it was a perfectly resonable response; it's a traumatic experience going through a nervous breakdown and suffering years of pain and depression. [edited by Answerbank] Just as a matter of interest I was fully employed for 35 years before it happened to me, and to an uninformed observer I probably look ok. Only me, my doctor, consultant and counsellor know the truth.

[PatriciaH]

NO 1- i have suffered from depresion,long time ago but thankfully fine now. NO 2 the scrounger is a relative and has as good as admitted "connin em" ! drusilla that was sad to read....joko- read my posts properly? i havent and wouldnt say all people on this benefit are cheating the system,thats ridiculous! but they are out there and will be caught,

[joko]

Patricia - i think it is you who needs to read posts properly!! Please try to keep up!

would you care to highlight where exactly in my post i claimed that you said "all people on this benefit are cheats"??

Not sure what you're reading but I did not say that - I'd thank you not to put words in my mouth and try to respond with some sort of relevance.

I also notice that, firstly, you just suspected someone who lives near you - now he is a relative and has confessed! - all the more reason why your 'facts' are not to be trusted as you can't even tell a story straight!

How can you expect anyone to give a proper response to your question when you don't give all the 'facts' at your disposal, and then get irate when someone doesn't have psychic powers and just knows what you mean? get a grip!