Tin Foil Hat Stuff: My Encounter of the Fifth Kind?

The Mind Link: A Vivid Encounter with an Extraterrestrial Presence

The Incident...

One evening, while drying off in the shower, I experienced something extraordinary. It was a vivid mental connection, a mind link, with an extraterrestrial being from its ship in orbit. The encounter was so intense, so real, that it has since left a mark on my psyche.

In a sudden overwhelming moment, something like a strong visual memory presented itself as if it was streamed live. I saw its face and the dark surroundings, cluttered with black and transparent plastic tubing, wires, and the luminosity of screen glare and diodes. The large humanesque ibex-shaped eyeballs eyes fixated on me; their sharpness invaded my mind, directing my attention to the one eye. Fear, awe, and also brave curiosity initially kept me there. Soon, I would feel insignificant I was, I sensed his disgust, his cold, calculating observation. 

Prior to this, my mental state was charged, perhaps even elated, as I revelling about the astonishing World War II pilots who fought dogfights above Britain. I suspected my state of mind must have somehow aligned into that aliens frequency of observation. This was no mere hallucination, I knew it was beyond me, though absent from my temporal spatial location. I could see it was profoundly realistic.

Questioning yourself...

After the experience, I turned to the internet, desperate to understand what had happened. Wikipedia had a cracking article on Greys, the stereotypical alien species often depicted in popular culture. The face I saw held some resemblance to them. However, the entity I experienced was mentally dominant and war-like. It's black almond eye-caps were torn off. Damaged grey synthetic rubber coverings surrounded its exposed chalk-coloured wrinkled skin. This was not a small, humanoid figure but a tall, ancient powerful creature, similar to us hiding behind unnatural materials. I decided I should draw it how I experienced it, pencil sketching first. I updated it.

Damage around eye-hole

The encounter left me somewhat obsessed. It was bizarre, a mind link from orbit! However, being a realist, I had to doubt it, poke and interrogate the ordeal. When, in my own blog on archetypes, here, I explore how such forms emerge in society, through the various channels available, it made more sense. 

A little reflection...

Who is giving rise to whom? The SciFi culture of the 1930s and 40s undoubtedly sparked our collective consciousness into thinking, awakening our fears, planting that cold, intelligent extraterrestrial into our imagination. As alien beings took form, developing in our books and film it acquired familiarity and now the typical grey space invader has our own homonid form. Nonetheless, it remains a soulless, logical observer from the dark void of space, not an angel, a demon, nor is it a monster, but maybe an amalgamation of all three!

The grey alien is an emergence of our existential anxieties peering into our possible future—will we become emotionless, purposeless super-minds? Will future Elon Musks' amplify our grey matter while our hearts wither away? What path is humanity on? 

Making the monster...

Old television shows like 'Ancient Aliens' used to appropriate any ancient artifact with large or almond-shaped eyes as proof of alien contact. I enjoyed my thoughts of war pilots before engaging in a war-like extraterrestrial, who was hostile. My vivid imagination empowered this archetype. It was all like a mental ideomotor effect, the puppetry of my own representation with strings pulled by the weight of Roswell, Betty and Barney Hill, Travis Walton, so called government cover ups, YouTube sightings, the Dudley Dorito, UFO communities, abductee accounts, the general media and hollywood, it has become a social manifestation. 

The mind is powerful, creating rich concepts and vivid archetypal characters. These archetypes are fed years of stories eventually becoming lore. For me, I fear humanity is becoming those soulless super-genius creatures. We become that when we become too synthetic, plastic and unnatural—when we sell our souls and lose our nature. What if such desperate brainiacs have to visit these times, from the future in hope of finding a solution to their failures? It resonates with our species today. This is environmental anxiety and extreme capitalism personified, a grim prospect of us as grey and alien. As we continue to experience and share these myths, they become increasingly real. Perhaps we should consider them as lessons from the higher aspects of our spiritual awareness? 

At the end of the day...

Experiencing your own representation of an archetype can be unsettling, but also insightful. They are our brain-derived children, interconnected creations nurtured globally in the collective consciousness. Our potent contemporary mythologies are impressive. They are channels of human belief forged into legitimate thought forms, personifications of our nightmares, dreams, or hopes. It is almost theological. Perhaps it is? Is this modern theology?

With eye-cap in situ

When Relatives Go Holy: Turning to the Dark Side?

Often I Feel Like Obi-Wan Kenobi Who Lost His Padawan: When Relatives Go Holy—Turning to the Dark Side? 

Real-Life Stories and Personal Experiences

We have all encountered religious zeal in our families to some extent. I enjoyed listening to biblical morality stories in my school assemblies; I do still value them, but I say let's keep everything in moderation. When my fathers side of the family attempted to exorcise me though, I began to draw a few lines! 

I'm not alone. 

It's frustrating to see another relative turn deeply religious and scriptural. He considers himself a humble philosophy enthusiast and speaks highly of modal logic, as well as the philosphy of moralty, and cosmological arguments, and theories of time. You might know where I'm going with this. He and I might spark up a debate, and often, it will seize up, because my eristic socrates will even deny established fact or adopt futile pedantic semantics solely to pose as being right; for example, he once used the common layman definition of 'proof' to argue that the existence of Jesus's tomb is a proven fact, despite knowing that a proper Richard III level of verification is needed to do so. The bible alone, he argued, sufficiently validates it. He openly admits his dishonesty and enjoys playing the contrarian. Has this happened to you? Did it affect your family dynamics? His reading of philosophy is admirable, but he undermines it, as he does with the core virtue of his religion, namely, the teaching on honesty. The online Cambridge definition of 'Philosophy' and 'Christian' are:

Philosophy: the use of reason in understanding such things as the nature of the real world and existence, the use and limits of knowledge, and the principles of moral judgment. 

Christian: of or belonging to the religion based on the teachings of Jesus Christ: 

    ● a Christian charity/organization

    ● the Christian faith

My kindred thinker is not impartial to dismissing science, even after nudging his scientific data to promote prayer potency on poorly patients. Anti-science rhetoric is mostly thrown around by those who confuse science with anti-theism. I'm not anti-spiritual or an atheist, my own personal path simply isn't a mainstream religion. I'm just saying, reason and faith can be opposing attitudes, just as Christian Moral Realism is illogical. Imagine the conflict of being gay and Muslim. Our nature as humans is imperfect, I dont accept unwavering religious conviction, despite such belief being an expectation, or a vague 'ought' for you to have, simply because it's 'good'. This unrealistic concept of unwavering belief, would, if it worked, remove our fear of death, and scriptural eternal damnation would have prevented all crime in the clergy. You see, genuine unwavering belief would flood the cities and streets with crowds of believers desperate to save their non-believing friends and loved ones from the nearing nightmare of hellish unending fire and damnation, but where are these believers? Strings of belief animate us, but here, they droop under laissez faire puppetry. I just want my relative to go back to the way he was before!

When I ask myself what strengthens wavering faith in a world of natural disasters, horror, war and madness, I usually put it down to bravado and self-deception. I consider the theology of an all-powerful, all-knowing, and all-loving Israeli God (omnipotent, omniscient and omnibenevolent) to be devoid of philosophical thought; people promote their God's unchanging nature, immutability or everpresence. However, there's a conspiracy of silence in churches who aren't inclined to explore any of the key religio-political transformations during the history of the God of Israel. Theology and historical sciences differ.

      'This wrathful and jealous lord of the old testament has gone all 'love and peace' clearly quite a significant change in just two testaments. Where's the unchangeability here?' 

                                                                                                       Me ranting. 

Free Will, Omniscience, and the Illusion of Choice

Judeo-christian theology lays it all out; Yahweh gave us free will and we defied him—we ate from his fruit tree! Undoubtedly, these theologies have also respectively been developed, every Abrahamic religion acknowledges that our free will does continue to lead us into sin or wrong doing. I guess it does follow that Yahweh, the unchanging, all-knowing, all-powerful and now, benelovent God (who walked amongst many gods), knowingly let humans fall into their own quagmire. 

This all-knowing God, would, by his nature, have known that humanity would choose to commit sin after creating us; so here's the question begging to be asked: does this mean free will was always just an illusion? If so, in this tradition, omniscience has undoubtedly facilitated sin, and it has nurtured human evil, even priming its ideal breeding grounds in that garden! 

What punishment did this loving god create in order to steer us away from the sin he enabled? Banishment from paradise? or even eternity in hellfire? Does it seem right? What an irrational theological burden! It goes too far, loses coherence, detracts from its own concept of divinity. Surely better ideas exist elsewhere? 

The Pointless Sacrifice and the Selective Intervention

When Yahweh lovingly appointed his so-called son, Jesus, to be tortured and then, to die for a weekend, no evils ended; it didn't even alleviate the roman occupation, nor did it avert our twentieth century wars for that matter. The problem of evil was not resolved by Jesus Christ. Christianity was persecuted at the start, but we did, however, see an increase in interesting church-made, brain derived theologies that had equally cruel consequences. Fair dues, there are fantastic Jesus moralty stories, maybe they are best left there, or is that avoidant? People don't like to think about the jewish trials and tribulations that followed the crucifixion, such as the seige of Jerusalem. Rome slaughtered ridiculous amounts of Jewish people, just like in the Bar Kokhba revolt. Does the fact that the God of Israel's chosen people actually lost Israel not suggest anything? Jewish people endured centuries of persecution from Christendom, how is that not a sign something is off? The horrors of the holocaust go without saying. I've said all these things to my philosophical Christian sage to no avail and it is frustrating. I should leave him to his own devices, I really should.

After running both modal logic and Bayesian analysis, mundane removal of the body is the likely explanation for the historical events that inspired the resurrection story of Jesus. It rests well with contemporary grave robbings and confiscation measures to prevent religious dispute. Scripture is understandably pro resurrection, but its objectivity is very much questionable. The story is central to the Christian Church, despite its improbability from an entirely historical perspective. As a myth, it is wonderful and packed with ethics and wisdom we should embrace. 

Surely, in theory, such an all-powerful and all-knowing divinity, could have originally designed our genetic predispositions to be repulsed by doing sinful things, right? Yes, of course. So why do people hold on to an irrational reliance where the Almighty relies on religious agency such as teachers, scripture writers and churches? It's simply club membership perks. Our DNA already steers us away from doing quite a few unsavoury things and that doesn't detract from our perceived free will, so its a fair question to ask. In fact, if we consider those enslaved to gambling, sex or drug addiction, stealing and other forms of sin or wrong doing, the free will theology loses appeal because we naturally become enslaved. There is a paradox of divine persuasion here.

This omnipotent, Israeli God, who has fought tribal wars against Baal and Chemosh, and once revealed his presence in the ancient Jewish sky; so why has it stopped? Why does he not appear to all the nations and order an end of wars? We can all visualise an ancient divine strategy, some coceivable solution that could've literally wiped out thousands of years of pointless hide and seek theology and slippery debate. The reliance on evangelism and dubious clergy with which Jesus himself clashed could all have never existed via a bit of genetic tweaking, but, instead; we are sadly left with cryptic scriptures and promises from orthodox people and holy relatives who all interpret things differently.

This changeless and evolved deity doesnt fit his own theology. After sharing the archeological history of Yahweh with my kindred of Christ, and moral realist, he stopped, listened and began to think, instead of just trying to win for once, before spouting out a theory on societal realisation for the deity. Poof! Out of thin air! Not too much unlike an apologetic, he thrust his idea of a gradual revelation of the God with a forced conviction by claiming that Yahweh had only been properly truly understood in his full godly form by Christian era theologians. It was very disappointing guillotine decapitation of historical and cultural acquisition. The scripture and all the pertaining archeological discoveries hit the floor, rolling centre stage to become his reimagined version of the God of Israel. I always said, people created God and not the other way around, unfortunately, he proved me right in the end! I found a new level of ignorance that day. I have found self-righteousness in Christians in my life, I guess it's only a minority? 

 

The Mystical Experience: Blending into Religion

Unveiling the Mystery: Exploring Mystical Experiences Across Cultures

The Mystic

Don't you think 'The Mystic' sounds pretty dramatic? I'm sure it might conjure up jedi-like imagery, something a bit merlin or those stigmata marks on devoted monks. What springs to my mind are those orange clad sitters who tranquilly await enlightened, but equally, there are shamanic seers, and the Islamic Sufi who can also enjoy mystic experience. Regardless of any cause, be it neurological, or even the psychological, spiritual, drug induced or even a traumatising event, they're all experienced and often called mystic. 

No tradition, faith or ethnicity can claim exclusivity of this sort of thing, even though we might think otherwise. It's unique, personal. We can see for ourselves how mystical experience go by a variety of names across the globe, here are a few: moksha is Hindu meaning liberation, gnosis was secret experiential knowledge stemming from antiquity, nirvana is a Buddhist state of bliss similar sat chit ananda in Vedic tradition. Satori is a temporary zen buddhist state of enlightenment, and theosis is a term found in orthodox christianities describring a state of unity with their concept of God.

Theurgy is interesting; just going on the esoteric basis of working with divinities and altering consciousness, it holds mystical, religious and occult themes! Samadhi is an eastern term meaning a profound absorption into the absolute, for Jewish people devekut signifies their deep unity with HaShem through veneration. Islam has fana, a sufi death of egotism resonating with Advaita Vedanta and then, we have 'theoria,' admittedly, it is quite an interesting form of mystical experience. It's triggered by a sufficient point of philosophical contemplation. All of the above hold qualities and some overlap. 

Profound mystical moments are hard to put into regular words, because human language itself is a limitation.  You could liken it to the task of putting a brand new, totally unseen colour into accurate words. Such a task would involve referencing other existing colours and anything similar to it. It is a 'burden of interpretation.'

The Challenge of Interpretation:

After a mystical experience fades, it's just as the christian mystic, Meister Eckhart describes, 'the well overflows, and then it runs dry,' and so, as the moment will gradually diminish; we might begin doubting the mystical union. When a shift has taken place as such, those who try to salvage the last dregs of water with their leaking bucket, will likely spill it and make a mess. 

Qualia and the Limits of Language:

It is fair to say that any mystical experience we rationalise will often end up catagorised, mentally stored away, re-interpreted, re-questioned, reframed, processed and reformed. In various religious scriptures, we see textual descriptors or criteria of awakenings, especially in Eastern traditions. There are so many lenses to view these experiences. Which are true? Where is the consensus? We will explore this soon. 

Qualia, the inner subjective experience we have of something, namely, the mystic experience itself for this point of this blog, is rooted in a valid, 'what-was-it-like?' means of comparatively judging something. It's measuring against another object or idea: 'this soup tastes like curry' 'the culprit looked like a camel,' or ultimately, 'my mystical experience was like the religious figure 1, 2 or 3 telling me X Y or Z'. When we strongly try to carry the last of the well water with 'what-it-was-likeness' bucket explanations; we leak all the unexplainable, and we spill the most abstract and lose the finest detail. 

To support this we should consider the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis, which states that speakers of languages with a greater vocabulary for colour, for example, will enjoy a richer intellectually colourful dialogue than basic languages. Imagine having a ton of words for different shades of blue, see what I mean? That's just blue. Even the various sounds and rhythms of a language (accents and pronunciations) will influence how speakers feel about such words (with more connotation and concepts) and what they mean to them as speakers of that language. What makes one mystical insight more valid than another is hard to say, but there are determining factors with interpretation, as we are slowly beginning to explore. 

Similar to mystical experiences are Near Death Experiences (NDEs) which are culturally specific phenomena. I always supposed this cultural specifity was based on an inbuilt psychological defense mechanism evolved to help us face end of life stress. You know, like the explanation for the brains DMT secretion near death? But, we do, as people, tend to season our strange experiences with familiar flavours in order to digest them more easily; it seems there is an element of phenomenal relativism of interpretation here. 

By phenomenal relativism of interpretation, I mean the preconceptions of the world that we utilise in our interpretation of and processing of new and unique experiences. This really would be great to apply to hypothetical paranormal experiences as an example. 

If a UFO was to tour our planets skies, international interpretation of the phenomena would differ:

    ●Westerners, generally construe UFOs through a sci-fi lens, usually as advanced spaceships flown by extra terrestrial beings.

    ●In Japan, on the other hand, these mysterious flying anomalies are yokai, a more earthly, organic spiritual being living parallel to us. 

    ●In Africa, the same Yokai or alien ship would be a star being, once considered to be ancestors who now come back to visit. 

The phenomenal relativism of interpretation is clear. I chose to leave my other examples out, because three does suffice. For further observations on this relativism of interpretation, compare the numerous cultural and historical variants of Jesus Christ across the globe. If you don't believe in Jesus, or see him as a historical cult leader, his depiction show our bias. 

Shared Themes Across Traditions:

UFOs and NDEs aside, I should say, there are mystics like Teresa of Avila, who would describe mystic experiences as simply 'ineffable,' which is putting it as something impossible to articulate properly in words. Instead of, let's say, trying to play Einsteins theory of relativity on a trombone; some individuals who have mystic experiences might acknowledge that taking up such a difficult challenge is pointless! This is why we have a plethora of mystic experiences, by trying to explain the unexplainable. Countless gods, deities, ancestors, spirits have been reported in the realm mystical experience. Yet, I must add, despite the common themes, they cannot all be correctly interpreted. 

Transformation and a Lasting Impact:

Even though specific details of mystic experiences fade, they still bring new perspectives. This doesn't mean you'll turn into the next mountainside guru living in a constant state of bliss—that's psychologically unhealthy. It's a stereotype. Enlightened people can be grumpy like anyone else. It's unnatural to force yourself to be something you are not. Self-learning is a common theme across numerous spiritual and philosophical practices in which, we might obtain satori. Primarily many spiritual and religious beginnings come with accepting our imperfect biological human nature, and to be aware of our ego. It's not easy. The Mystical is personal, a private gift. 

A World of Perception

I guess I painted a picture of a world where our perception is not passively impressed upon us. If our senses are just the recording equipment, and the brain is the organiser, the mystical experience will grip the heart of phenomenal consciousness itself bypassing reason and consistency. 

What's the deal here? 

The cause of mystical experience is beyond the scope of this blog. All we could conclude here is how we should question how people interpret their own experiences of ineffible occurences. It is like the paraple of the blind men and the elephant; they all touched the beast, each saying it was a different creature!

More Starmer vs Sunak? Really? What's The Point?

Televised Debates: An Ultimate Frustration-Fest

Ugh, mate. Where do you even begin? With the fact that debates aren't usually rapid fire responces? Come on, questions need more than a forty five second TIME LIMIT!? Maybe we'll begin with that weird popularity-gameshow-feel? It could have been aptly called 'Don't get booed!' It knobbled any real meaningful exchange—great thinking, itv! Public discourse is an outlet and they're supposed to be a grand showcase of political excellence, flirting their grand ideas to the masses, that's right, isn't it? 

Like a telly debate

This supposed itv debate was a real chance to show my family what the Keir Starmer was really about with regard to all the important issues. Yep, his father was a nurse or some b*****ks, and his mother made tools. That was most of it, well, unless you count his anti-Tory, parliamentary programmed polemics, which was no more than stating the bleeding obvious that the country is ****. 

First off, can we acknowledge that CONSTANT interruptions need to change? It was a bit of a one way assault from a terrified Tory—noisy, rude, with scare tactics, my face rarely left my palm. Sir Keir had no bite, like Stallone in one of those old Rocky films where the dude isn't fighting back. Rishi, playing the angry posh kid did whatever he could to get his way. Neither party had a chance to properly explain anything and the moderator was a news reader—did itv let her do a news report on herself?  

We shouldn't forget the dodgy facts. Look, everyone has different viewpoints, but straight off bull***t shouldn't be allowed in these debates, we used to have fact checkers but that's clearly gone. Don't you think a candidate should be dishonourably disqualified if they lie or twist the truth? 

It may appear that I'm saying televised debates are a complete waste of time, because I am, quite frankly. They're about as informative as a hayes mini cooper manual for fitting a kitchen. As this is my blog, I have a responsibility to call out for some kind of meaty, proper lengthy debate—maybe a Netflix or YouTube event would do it justice because itv are sporting a no frills value lettuce. 

Like, Share, Comment: Does the Algorithm Control Us or Do We Control the Algorithm?

Naked Attraction: More Than Meets the Eye? A Look at British Gameshow Nudity

British Gameshow Erotica: Unveiling Our Obsession with Seedy TV

Naked Attraction isn't the same as watching Baywatch for the first time as a kid in the Nineties. It's a bare-all bonanza of boobs, balls, butts with banter, bringing a buffet of bulging bits binding Brits to their boxes with a barrage of bewitching bodies! 

Curiosity Served Raw: 

In a genuine Naked Attraction world would be strange; everyone's nude and everyone primarily remembers you because of your peculiarities, everyone will know a Fiona Floppy Flaps or Donkey Dick Dave. The selling point is the gradual process of unveiling, which in such a real world, might reflected or portrayed as the slow and gradual build up to the person? Objectification is why the contestants break up; this fact is ongoing proof in every episode. The pseudoscientific 'sex facts' add another layer of comedy, because of it's so-called cutting edge-ucation. Naked Attraction as a world would be very silly. 

 

Desire for Meat? 

As a TV show, the raw physical presence on the live meat market is positively dissected and judged by contestants who might make you tilt your head. The unconventional format does not stop the laughable predictability of who a contestant might pick. It's supposed to entice our innate animalistic desire to attract a mate, but please, forgive my ignorance; I only half watch it in the background while I write these blogs or draw silly cartoons, I can tell what they want. It's like being a candle in the dark for the self-loving nympho contestants. The internet is rife with direct, intravenous filth, so why do we bother watching this drivel? 

The Comparison Game

Let's face it, there's a weird kind of voyeurism involved in these shows. A lot women find it hilarious, there are men, like me, rooting for mr micro to get picked. No, it's never cocktail sausage Colin, but always a confident dullard with a gargantuan horse size monstrosity, penduluming in-between his knees, hypnotising the contestants and viewers alike. We tune-in and might end up comparing ourselves or gawping at the madness of it, have a giggle at the weird and wonderful. Some people – all ages included – do like to oggle, others prefer erotic paperbacks, or possibly google image results of Anne Widdecombe. We have imagined regressing back to when our primary sex organs defined our breeding outcomes? Another mesolithic period?! The chosen get fed, clubbed and dragged into a cheap hotel/cave. 

British Smut: Laugh Out Loud, But Also Think It Through

How they turn every flirtatious moment into a punchline feels somewhat like putting tomato ketchup on a delicious steak—yeah, it'll get a laugh, but it diminishes the succulent flavour. Countless people profess that good sex involves a connection; a little fornication is fine, but to see it reduced to saucy puns and risqué humour for eleven seasons is tiring, don't you reckon? Try something new, they could all take turns in a big white cube to prove how good they are at s******g or make the presenter do her job dressed like gimp Madonna's tit suit—Richardson never has a go! 

The Whole Thing Failed Anyway! 

Yeah, duh, Naked Attraction doesn't prioritize the forging of enduring bonds. The media have certainly not celebrated any marriages between previous contestants who chose one another. Quite humorously, the experiment failed, and continues to do so, but they're onto a good thing and they will keep churning it out! 

Normal Attraction Coming Soon! 

Does the constant barrage of vulgarity, boasting, shock tactics, and euphemisms all overshadow the unseen reality of the beauty of great relationships? If Naked Attraction has failed, would that mean regular, everyday attraction has won? And if so, would it be safe to say most of us tune in because it's just smut? 

Naked Wisdom

British smut? Yep, it is, and entertaining, of course, many of us watch it. Are we wise by not being mindless consumers? Certainly. A touch of critical thinking will stretch a long way, you gorgeous readers! By questioning the rights and wrongs, feeling the general vibe of what we watch, grasping the message behind it, we continue being savvy viewers. ❤️

Above all, shouldn't the standard of our smut be thought-provoking? What about The Naked Chase with Bradley Walsh? 😱

 

Wellbeing Duck: The Mental Fight For PIP

 

Wellbeing Duck: Have They Rejected Your PIP Claim? You Should Fight Back! 

Days ago everyone in the UK with disabling mental health problems were recently struck bellow the belt by the tax dodger, Rishi Sunak! 

A denied PIP claim for a significant mental health condition can turn your world upside down and leave you feeling gutted or accused. People need their support, especially if you have taken the advice of professionals such as disability employment officers, counselors, community psychiatric nurses or maybe even your own psychiatrist, who might have recommended you to not work. 

Well, now those politicians who give themselves nice payrises and claim huge expenses have just made things tougher and have done a U-turn on many individuals living with mood and anxiety based mental illnesses. The solution here is to be strong and patient. Draw in your support circles and fight for your rightful PIP award; it might be financially better for you in the end.

This guide aims to equip you with the knowledge to challenge the PIP reconsideration and tribunal process. We'll discuss why re-applications might be rejected and consider what might help you win. However, firstly, it must be said, it's fair to not expect full points for milder mental conditions that hold very little effect on daily living. We have to be honest. 

After a nice pay rise offered nurses 1%

Let's Talk Money and Mental Health

That being said, significant disabling mental health conditions are real, and they will impact daily life. However, the PIP system is flawed and they are interested in the effects of the illness more so than the diagnosis. They rarely look at peoples medical records because a diagnosis is not direct evidence! Isn't that bonkers?! Remember, The Department for Work and Pensions has slammed down some urgent rules for mental health that overlook the fluctuating nature of symptoms. They fall short of their own criteria. Filling out an application form you might see a question like this one: ‘Can you prepare a basic meal?’ 

Duh, yeah! 

But look at their actual criteria which they fail to mention:

Completed to a reasonable standard (Section 2.1.1)

Completed safely (Section 2.1.2)

Completed repeatedly (Section 2.1.3)

Taking no more than twice as long (Section 2.1.4). 

‘Oh, well, now you put it like that!’

Now, if you say you can sometimes do a meal, it will be unfairly marked against you, in bad faith. The criteria asks whether you can prepare a meal to a reasonable standard, safely, done repeatedly, taking no more than twice as long as usual. We can see what is happening. Many mental health conditions, from mood disorders, thought disorders and attacks of anxiety come on in attacks, episode. Immediate qualifying you under section 2.1.3 of their own criteria! It’s clearly a money saving operation. 

PIP is an important financial support, and losing it can bring a lot of unspeakable stresses. You do deserve these resources for your wellbeing, and so, I hope you can take some comfort, maybe a tad of hope in this blog post. I hope to help you get that calm back.

Fighting for What You Deserve: Reconsideration and Tribunals

Be tough, dig your heels in, be a warrior, and don't accept the first ‘no.’ This is a dubious process on their part, considering they are deliberately reducing claimants, people have shared on YouTube and in blogs and websites that they are losing every point they were rightfully awarded. It raises the question: are mentally ill people facing discrimination yet again? That is the broader political war. Focusing solely on the process of claiming for a moment, offering up a diagnosis, such as, say, paranoid schizophrenia, only seems to waste space on the form; our DWP do not believe a medical diagnosis proves your problems with daily living. It makes you wonder then, doesn't it? What will prove anything to these people, especially if they deny what claimants tell them?

These politicians call people scroungers!

Mandatory Reconsideration: By writing a well structured letter, as your mandatory reconsideration, you can retain your argument and evidence on file, and the DWP will be expected to hold a copy too. A phone call is only worth the paper it is written on. Even though a different person reviews your claim, it is part of the  same not-so-merry dance, which may well be another rejection. Over all, it’s become a financial process now and one where they are instructed to reduce claims; just think, hundreds of expensive tribunals, two thirds of them re-awarded their PIP does not inspire them to continue. They do offer claimants their PIP as alternative, known as a cleared decision!

Example: 

Dear Sir or Madam,

I am writing to request a mandatory reconsideration of the decision to reject my claim for Personal Independence Payment (PIP). The decision letter was dated 23 November 2023 and the reference number of my claim is PIP/123456789.

Points I disagree with regarding your decisions:

Preparing a Meal

I am diagnosed with Mickey Mouse Disorder and Cramping Tummy Syndrome (CTS). This means I can only eat cheese, but I need tablets because I am allergic to the diet but alsi intolerant to the tablet, and so, I suffer agonising cramps meaning I cannot repeatedly prepare a meal as described under section 2.1.3 of the PIP criteria. This also slows me down, and disrupts me (2.1.4). I have provided extra evidence, such as a written testimony from my carer and my doctor (contiue as you wish). 

Tribunals: 

An independent tribunal is most effective! It is free, you can follow online Government website instructions to initiate things after your mandatory reconsideration. Also, you can alternatively choose not to attend if you prefer. The panel will have no connection to the DWP. Tribunals typically side with claimants—a 2022 report found that nearly two-thirds (64%) of appeals resulted in a better outcome for claimants. That, right there, is the financial advantage for the DWP: resolving your case favorably before a tribunal has to begin is often quicker, and less expensive. Claimants might receive an offer before it reaches the tribunal. However, you must follow the procedural stages from mandatory reconsideration and then apply for tribunal after rejection. Take what is rightfully yours. 

Do they expect folks to dive into work without support?

In Your Corner!: Resources to Help You! 

Here are some resources designed to empower you through the PIP claim process:

Citizens Advice: Useful but can be busy, help on benefits claims and appeals, including PIP: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/benefits/sick-or-disabled-people-and-carers/pip/

Benefits and Work: Follow the guides and support they have in place! Here is the PIP claim process: https://www.benefitsandwork.co.uk/personal-independence-payment-pip/pip-claims