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Forum Home  →  Discussion  →  Disability benefits  →  Thread

Depression/Anxiety and reluctance to prepare/cook food

Va1der
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Welfare Rights Officer with SWAMP Glasgow

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Total Posts: 706

Joined: 7 May 2019

Is there any caselaw on depression/anxiety and a claimant’s ‘willingness’ to prepare and/or cook food.

Two typical scenarios for my clients, many of whom have severe depression and anxiety:

1) Anxiety leaves them paralysed with fear that they will burn or cut themselves, despite this only rarely happening, if ever.
2) Depression means they ‘can’t be bothered to cook at all’
(Broad strokes here, the borders between those conditions are blurred at best.)

For the first issue I’d lean towards 1(e), as you could probably alleviate the problem by having someone complete certain tasks.
For the second I’d even consider 1(f) in some cases, as some clients will flat out refuse any remotely complex tasks, and even if you could prompt or assist, chances are it would not apply on the majority of days.

Many of them heat food in the microwave or oven, but only ready-meals, so again pointing to (e), by my reading.

However, I don’t have any caselaw to back up these assumptions, and it is not something a medical professional would normally be able to evidence.

One of my current cases to FTT states he only ever eats cold food or takeaways, and contends he could not cook even if helped by close friend. Says he tried to heat something in the microwave a week ago, but it was hot (...) so felt unsafe.  I question a complete inability, just on the balance of probability, so aiming for (e) instead.

Daphne
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Have a look at pipinfo - there’s a couple there that might help - [2018] UKUT 5 (AAC) and [2017] UKUT 268 (AAC)