Driving and ESA

gazzmg wrote: hello all

i have got a bit better i suffer with agoraphobia it tends to fluctuate. i drive a car but have weekly panic attacks. how would you explain this in a ESA50 form i was virtually housebound for the past six years but my medical information is not upto date, i am only going to local shops in the area ones that i am familiar with but i wont go anywhere which is out of my comfort zone in about a 5 mile radius. i take my mother with me to the shops and she gets the shopping for me for the majority of the time, i try and avoid people as much as possible

You seem to have made a good start with your post

Things to consider adding;

- how often do you go out and even more importantly, what stops you going out the rest of the time?

- do you need to prepare to go out, for example, how much planning is needed? Do you need to be in a specific mood? What happens if something gets in the way of these?

- do you only go out with your mother? If you never go out alone, why what would happen?

- do you actually interact with anybody else while you are out or is this always done by your mother? What would happen is someone tried to interact with you?

As always have a look at our ESA Claim guides and also the WCA Handbook that ATOS use for guidance.

www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/help-for-claimants/esa

Gordon