I have to go for my medical assessment this week and I'm hoping not to fuck it up. Can anyone offer advice? I have the problem that I'd be perfectly capable of working if I had work, but the process of being on JSA and thus constantly being forced to apply for work that constantly turns me down sends me into a depression/anxiety spiral and makes me incapable of doing pretty much anything :(
I'm on ESA so I can try and help you with this The actual assessment is pretty minimal as far as I can remember - things mostly depend on the form. The way that that works is that you need to score 15 points altogether to get on ESA. You can get that from any section if you're majorly effected (can't remember the proper term sorry) so for instance if you were totally blind you'd get a 15 on the section on vision and you get a lesser amount of points (I think 3 or 5? It's been a while) if it's not a total impairment. With that in mind, you should try to fill in as many sections as possible if you can link them to your disability, and always remember that you're filling it out as if it's your worst day - if you can only do something with support or equipment fill things out as if you were stuck without them (this is actually what you're supposed to do but it's not really made clear) Try to get a colloborating doctor's note if you can and try to get someone to take you to the assessment if possible- I don't know how true it is that getting there on your own counts as proof against you but it seems best to avoid the risk. If you don't get ESA the first time don't be afraid to appeal - about 50% of appeals go through. Good luck because it is an awful, awful process that seems designed to make you feel bad about yourself.
