Essentially Samantha

 Story time. Living with an invisible illness such as Fibromyalgia is very difficult. The public does not understand the suffering from an illness they cannot see. Medical professionals think it is all in our heads because there are no tests for Fibromyalgia. Friends and relatives grow exhausted at plans that keep being rearranged due to fluctuating pain or fatigue levels "But you were fine yesterday?" is something we hear a lot. Yes, I may have been fine yesterday; that is because I hid my pain level, and today I am paying the price. Fibromyalgia is a lifelong chronic condition. It is characterised by long-term, widespread chronic pain, which can be severe in nature and chronic fatigue. Brain fog, IBS, Lack of sleep, and dizziness are just some of the various symptoms. There is no cure. Treatment is multidisciplinary and experimental. There are no specific tests for Fibromyalgia. The practitioner treating you asks you to do a pain diagram over a specific period of time to de...

  So today I decided to send the most important email of my life. I emailed the Prime Minister, Andy Burnham. I mentioned that God is reasonable and wants to listen to us and react accordingly. I asked Andy to listen to disability action groups. We face utterly vile discrimination. Years of Tory propaganda demonising the disabled as benefit scroungers. It needs to stop. Cuts to benefits need to stop. We go through degrading and dehumanising procedures and reviews just to get a minimal financial benefit, which in itself is not enough to live off. We live in fear every day that this financial support will be withdrawn. Fraud is so rare, and it's amazing how everyone seems to know people faking illness for benefits. Amazing still that these people are never reported. In other news...I passed with a distinction a course that I found difficult and rewarding. From quantum physics to mysticism. Mental health users need to keep the brain from fogging over. It also helps distract from the w...

"PIP should be paid in vouchers"  I'll explain in detail why this is a bad idea, but can I ask why all the solutions to the imagined mass fraud is to hurt disabled people more in the process? I'm sure some people think they're doing the right thing, many probably understand fine well it would hurt disabled people and they have forgotten they can become disabled at any point in their lives.  Instead of starting with how it would hurt us (disabled people) I'll explain how it would hurt the state.  It would cost MILLIONS to set up a whole IT system, set up partnerships with business, the amount of civil servants that would need to oversee invoices would just be immense. It would cost more than it would ever be intended to save, sort of like the current assessment system that sees tax payers cash endlessly going to tribunals because they've refused a disabled person help, 2/3rds of all claimants that take their case to full tribunal win. It again costs the sta...

  Maybe the real problem with society is that people don’t think disabled people should be allowed any joy. They have to stay in their homes, moping, being sad, and not having any fun. Because everyone else is really fucking miserable. Therefore, we have to be too. And this is why people have so much of a problem with what disabled people spend their money on. “ If they are spending my hard-earned cash, then they need to be miserable” “ They can’t have nice hair or lashes” heaven forbid a disabled person makes an effort with their appearance. “ They can’t drink or smoke” but what if that is a coping mechanism for them to stay alive? “ They can’t have holidays! I can't afford a holiday, so why should they get one!” People forget that PIP is not an out-of-work benefit; it is there to cover the costs of things associated with disability and independence. People also forget that disabled people may have a working partner, families who give them money, inherita...

  I know there is a lot of talk about pensioners going cold this winter and I feel for them, I really do. But what about people like me who are also on benefits and cant afford to heat my home? I have a heater in each room and I heat my rooms as I go in it. 3 people in my house dependant on one heater, per room. We too have to decide between heating and eating. Our house has a damp and mould problem also, so private sector doesn't have adequate housing either for the winter. Its not just me its the silent majority. Its not just pensioners that are cold. Last year we all got pneumonia , this year we have already had a bad cold and the temperatures are not even that low yet. I've spoken to loads of people in my situation in private rent and on benefits and they cant afford to heat their homes either. Often damp and mouldy properties and the families are paying in excess of £1,500 a month for rent. Its not just pensioners that are cold and hungry. There needs to be a real campaign...