Mixing with other People Pip Activity

Joey

To score the 8 points you need to meet the following.

d. Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either –
(i) overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant; or
(ii) the claimant to exhibit behaviour which would result in a substantial risk of harm to the claimant or another person.

This is a very strict test.

Although you can probably argue that "cannot" does not mean "never" the standard that you will need meet is far in excess of the 50% or "on the majority of days" that is normally use.

Although "overwhelming psychological distress" is not defined, again you should assume that this is far stronger reaction that might be covered by general anxiety.

Alternatively you can qualify if your behaviour is so extreme that it present a risk of harm to you or others. the DWP define "substantial risk" as

""A risk is substantial where the harm or damage to a person’s health would be serious, and could not be prevented or mitigated. It is not minor or trivial. It may be immediate, or in the longer term."

Whether your attending the assessment will count against you will depend on how you managed it, for example if you went on your own, then it will definitely undermine your meeting the criteria for the 8 points, however, if you attended with the assistance of someone else then it may not be a significant issue.

Gordon