Planning journeys descriptor b vs CFS

Hi again,

This question is a little bit complex so my apologies if I'm not making it perfectly clear.

I'm a little troubled by the ambiguity in what I'm reading regarding Planning Journeys Descriptor b and how it relates to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

b. Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant.

Where psychological distress is defined as:

“psychological distress” means distress related to an enduring mental health condition or an intellectual or cognitive impairment;

Reading that it sounds like CFS sufferers may not be eligible for this depending on how the DM or Tribunal views CFS (as it is a physical condition with mental symptoms)

In this article:
www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/news/3617-enha...-health-dwp-examples

The DWP gives an example of how CFS is eligible for the Planning Journeys descriptor b. Note that the DWP is writing to clear up confusion regarding the recent changes to the regulations but that these changes don't affect descriptor b or CFS as far as I can tell (my claim is from before the changes). My previous DWP assessments have ignored this descriptor (I suspect because CFS is not a mental condition per se) so I wonder if it is worth using this statement in my submission in an effort to get my claim to this descriptor to be taken seriously.

The DWP does clear things up with this statement, but I'm not sure if this is supported in the original legislation? I'd much rather present legislation to a tribunal than a DWP statement.

In order to standardise assessments across different health conditions that are not easily compared, a claimant’s entitlement to PIP is assessed by reference to their functional impairments, and not according to whether the source of those impairments is a physical or a mental condition. As a result, the PIP assessment enables a more accurate, objective, consistent and transparent consideration of individuals, to identify those with the greatest need. It also avoids the practical difficulty that it may not always be straightforward to determine whether particular limitations that a claimant faces stem from a physical condition or a mental condition (or a combination of the two). For example, some conditions, such as Chronic Fatigue Symptom (CFS), also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME), have complex causes which are still not well understood, but which may involve both physical and psychological factors. Distress is not itself a “mental condition”, but rather a symptom which may come and go at different times and with varying frequency or causes depending on the individual.

Thanks!

I actually think holesinmyjumper has raised a valid point here. I think the point raised by the article is you don't need to suffer from a "mental condition" to suffer from distress and that distress itself is not a "mental condition". The bottom line is proving you suffer from distress could score you 4 points. Examples it gives that may cause distress but aren't a clinical mental condition are panic attacks and depression which are often a reaction to the difficulties of living with CFS which often add to the "complexity" of the condition itself the article refers to.
As the DWP are saying CFS is complex and you may qualify for descriptor b by suffering from distress although distress is not a " mental condition" according to the DWP I'd be evidencing that distress if it applies to you and be scoring the 4 points. The good news to take away from the article is you don't need to have a mental health issue to score points for distress when you have a complex little understood condition like CFS.

I agree. Cognitive impairment is one of the symptoms of ME/CFS in addition to the physical symptoms.

Yes my point is that ME/CFS in itself qualifies according to its mental symptoms according to the DWP - no need for another diagnosis - but that this seems to have been ignored up to now in my various assessments. Someone in my position is fighting two battles: showing that I'm impaired but additionally getting taken seriously when I don't have a purely "mental" diagnosis. It will be very easy for a tribunal to look at the legislation, just see "mental health condition" and dismiss it.

So I think that "cognitive impairment" sounds like the way to go re the legislation: this way it can be interpreted to line up with the DWP guidance on CFS and this descriptor.

For me the real problem is going outside when I'm unwell: this causes anxiety, social anxiety and sometimes even depersonalisation as well as an intensification of my physical symptoms.