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UC Phone Assessment Wednesday - Anxiety out of control - Advice welcomed.

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1 week 2 days ago #302523 by Fantastico
Hi folks, I apologise if I'm posting this incorrectly. But I need some advice.

So I have a UC health assessment via phone on Wednesday and my anxiety is already out of control and I can't stop worrying. I've never had a phone assessment before, with my previous one being face to face which went terribly. In some respects I'm glad it's via a phone call because I asked for that due to physical limitations so I wouldn't have been able to make it to an assessment centre. But I just don't know what to expect. My mind is running wild, I've been sick twice and I can't sleep.

So I'm looking for some advice from those who might have been through one before? I previously had an assessment for PIP which was an awful experience with an assessor who barely asked me any questions and couldn't have cared less, which left me feeling worthless and depressed for many months afterwards. I'm worried I'm going to go through a similar experience here and I think that's what causing a lot of my anxiety and worry. I really don't want to go through that all over again. I just don't know what to do. I'm currently looking through the guides providing on the site but some advice on how to cope with anxiety would be very much appreciated because right now I'm a mess. It would be very much appreciated.

Sorry if I'm rambling here or if this is the wrong place to ask such a question.
Thanks.

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1 week 2 days ago #302543 by David
Hi Fantastico

Have you got a friend or relative who could be with you at the time of the call? They would be allowed to help you answer the questions and also to intervene if you became emotional and also be a witness. It is a good idea to record the interview but don't tell the DWP you are doing so.
Also don't let them steer the conversation away from your health conditions.. They may try to bypass them altogether while looking for actions you could physically and mentally do. So you must remember to change the topic back to your health condition.
Also don't let them spend an excessive amount of time on " describe what a good day looks like" as they will use clever semantics to highlight that in the report.
I would advise you to read our guide here from p.135 onwards--
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/?dlp=67f505e2e12d8

Let me know how you get on.
David

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