Great news people! Following on from my last post, and after deciding to apply direct to the council, they've approved me for a blue badge!
I am over the moon (which is quite sad when you think about it!), and so relieved that I don't have to go through a stressful face-to-face assessment. As I mentioned before, the whole process of having one for the PIP application was so damaging to me, giving me such excessive anxiety and stress that I just didn't want to relive that. With regard to the blue badge though, for once something just seemed to come easily to me.
I think I've decided not to renew my PIP because of the assessment process though, so they've won in that regard.
It would just set me back so much, and luckily I don't need the money, and now I have my blue badge I just can't see the benefits to claiming it. It would be detrimental to my health, so there's surely a flaw in the system somewhere!
The fact that I wasn't asked for a face-to-face assessment could have been because they weren't just assessing my physical health, but also my mental health. I was surprised at how many questions there were about the mental aspect of driving. I get anxious every time I get into a car and drive, but even when I'm driven by someone else - often closing my eyes when being driven. I feel like I'm going to have an accident every time. For me, being anxious about a journey doesn't just stop when I'm driving, but I also get anxious about arriving to places and being on time. I drive my husband Si mad with this! He's very laid back, and I'm there twitching about being late somewhere or not setting off in time.
The blue badge will help matters a little, but I'm sure it won't get rid of the problems.
For the anxiety I'm going to start CBT therapy again soon so that's something positive. I've tried CBT before, but it was group CBT and focused a lot on the aspect MS plays in mental health rather than a personal journey. Fingers crossed it helps, but I will undoubtedly keep you posted.
No comments:
Post a Comment