Mike’s experience: PIP, mental health and work

26 June 2025

Please note: this post contains information about suicide that readers may find distressing. If you’re in need of support, you can call Samaritans for free on 116 123 anytime of the day – or you can text SHOUT to 85258. For information about where to find support with your money or mental health, you can find some resources on our get help page.

Read a short summary of this blog

Mike is a member of our Research Community who receives the Personal Independence Payment (PIP).
In an interview with our team, he told us about the difference that PIP has made to his mental and financial wellbeing.
Based on his experiences, Mike suggested that the government’s plans to reform PIP could be counterproductive.
“Forcing people into work is just going to worsen people’s mental health problems,” he said.

Mike, a member of our Research Community with experience of mental health problems, told us about how losing Personal Independence Payments (PIP) would affect his financial and mental wellbeing, and impact his family.

Ahead of a vote in the House of Commons next week on these changes, it’s vital that ministers and MPs hear the stories of people like Mike – and recognise the harm that the proposed tightening of eligibility criteria for PIP would have.

The following is an interview we held with Mike.

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us Mike. When did you first experience mental health problems?

My first experience of mental health problems was when I was around 19 or 20. I had depression, and there was a link between the seasons and my depression. I didn’t have anything else for a while. But then in August 2020 I began experiencing severe anxiety.

I had time off work and was referred for CBT, which was ineffective. I was then on waiting lists for things like talking therapy. I also went on antidepressants but the side effects were bad – it took a few tries to find out what worked.

In November 2021, I nearly took my own life. I went to the doctors and was offered more support. I had more CBT, but this didn’t work. I was put on the waiting list again for talking therapy. Even when I was at my lowest, I was just told to go to A&E. But I already struggled to get out of the house – telling me to go to A&E didn’t help.

I began seeing a private counsellor. I had one appointment a week at a discounted rate, but even then we couldn’t really afford it. We had to make cutbacks to afford the counseling.

Can you tell us more about how you came to apply for PIP?

I wasn’t really interested in applying for PIP initially. Hearing the horror stories about applying for it – how long and difficult the process is, and how unlikely you are to get it – fed into my negative perception of it.

If left up to me we would have never claimed it because I just didn’t have the motivation to do it due to my depression. In the end, my wife decided to apply for PIP and did it all on my behalf.

How does PIP support you? What does it enable you to do?

PIP has taken the pressure off us both to allow me to get better. It’s also allowed me to retrain into a different sector, by giving me the time and freedom to teach myself. Working another ‘normal’ job – my last job was a store manager – would exacerbate my mental illness. PIP has also contributed towards my talking therapy. PIP helps me to pay for my medication too.

It’s frustrating that PIP is being given in one hand and taken away with another, especially because the NHS doesn’t have the infrastructure to deal with mental health problems. If you have a broken leg, you go and get it fixed. You can’t get your brain fixed.

Are you likely to lose PIP as a result of the planned changes?

We can’t really get our heads round it at the moment – it hasn’t been entirely clear how the cuts would work. It’s possible I could keep it, but I’m not 100% sure.

The PIP assessment is a nightmare when you have a mental health problem. If you have a physical disability, it’s easier to understand how this would impact you, but trying to explain a mental health problem is a wildly different situation.

Would losing PIP make you more or less likely to start or continue employment? Why?

I’ve already sought out employment. I went through a process with the Jobcentre. It was dehumanising. I had a panic attack and got kicked out by security.

My job at the moment works for me – it’s not steady but it works. Going places is a challenge for me.

The government will need to talk to employers about employing people with mental health problems. But forcing people into work is just going to worsen people’s mental health problems. If PIP is taken away, it doesn’t take away mental health problems too.

Thank you for sharing your experience with us, Mike. Our final question is what do you think about the government's proposed changes to PIP?

They don’t need to make it harder to claim PIP – it’s already horrendously difficult. The government should be helping, not making people’s lives worse. Anyone who has applied for PIP knows the process is long and difficult. People don’t take it lightly when applying for it.

PIP is already not fit for purpose – but taking what’s already there away without an alternative is going to be a problem.