“The missing unsupported are getting Sadder?”

Separation Anxiety Disorder and Personal Independence Payment (PIP) – “The missing unsupported are getting Sadder?”

Dear Reader,

Reference: 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Separation_anxiety_disorder

You will note from both these following references;

https://www.anxietybc.com/adults/separation-anxiety

https://www.psychologytoday.com/conditions/separation-anxiety

That in 2013 numerous changes were made to Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5), a classification of mental disorders used by medical and psychiatric professionals in many areas of the world. One of these changes was the inclusion of adults in struggling with a condition previously assumed only to effect children and adolescents - Separation Anxiety Disorder (SAD).

In the context of PIP you will also note from the above references the following implications for independent life of a SAD;

Lack of independence in a variety of domains (e.g. taking trips, attending college or university, seeking a job promotion that will lead to travel or long work hours, socializing, dating, etc.)

And

• Refusal to leave home, school, work, or another place because of fear of separation
• Persistent fear about being alone or without major attachment figures at home or other places.

• Refusal or reluctance to sleep away from home or to go to sleep without attachment figures nearby

We know in one instance this manifests itself in a complete inability to make any journey away from home lasting over 4 hours, unless their wife is with them. And also the complete inability to remain at home alone overnight if they are alone; their wife having gone elsewhere.

Some SAD suffers have recently been through an appeal for PIP at first tier tribunal level. In once case during his oral decision the judge stated that for claimants presenting with problems such as SAD that as the current law stands the activities and descriptors make it almost impossible to “match” (with the problems presented by SAD to a persons independence). On reflection we tend to agree with the Judge. This leaves the unsupported person with this mental health issue along with the reported 0.9 to 1.9 percent among adults who suffer from SAD in an impossible position of having a independence limiting (for the sufferer and their attachment figure) mental heath disorder, yet a system possibly designed before SAD became accepted in DSM-5, that fails to accommodate the disorder and therefore fail to encourage independence through financial support.

What is your opinion regarding the fit of the PIP activities and descriptors to the “normal” profile of a SAD claimant and in particular the way the latter currently hinders their independence; being unable to be away from home/attachment figure or being unable to be alone, separated from their attachment figure; without a trusted substitute attachment figure to be with them away from home or at home when the attachment figure is separate from them; and to reassure them that the attachment figure is safe even though they are separated from them for a period of time.

Also, thinking through the information above, we have come to believe an answer to this lack of provision for suffers of SAD within PIP could be resolved by the introduction of these activities below;

Daily Living

Living Separately

1. Can be separate from a significant other indefinitely: 0 points
2. Cannot be separate from a significant other due to physiological distress for more than 7 days: 2 points
3. Cannot be separate from a significant other due to physiological distress for more than 2 days: 4 points
4. Cannot be separate from a significant other due to physiological distress for more than 1 day: 8 points
5. Cannot be separate from a significant other due to physiological distress for more than 12 hours: 10 points
6. Cannot be separate from a significant other due to physiological distress for more than 1 hour: 12 points

If you agree perhaps with us perhaps you can support our campaign by telling others and writing to your own Member of Parliament expressing your support and asking for the legislation that lies behind PIP to be changed as we have suggested?

The legislation as it stands is;

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111532072/contents

and the PIP activities as they currently are written can be found here:

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukdsi/2013/9780111532072/schedule/1