I have suffered from poor mental health to varying degrees over my entire life. Doctors are so stretched that alls they used to do was increase anti depressant meds over and over. I ended up attempting suicide in 2017 when I was on the highest dose. I then had to fight through the family courts for custody of my children because I'd literally been set up to fail. From the point of crisis it took 9 months for the waiting list to access Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and to be diagnosed with PTSD. I removed all medication from my body and started to eat healthy and exercise. This is not a recommended course of treatment by the government because the pharma companies then don't make any money. My children were drastically impacted and my self confidence and self esteem when finding and keeping work. My 12 year old son has ASD and ADHD and is on a waiting list to be assessed. That wait list is currently 2 years long. I have to attend his school often and meetings about his difficulties which would directly impact my ability to hold down a job. But because the children only spend half the time with me and their dad's have a "live with order" DWP are now considering removing the child element and any support I get for him. He attends school 23 miles away and I have to get there but that support is now being questioned. The GPS have now accepted that my Mental Health struggles are also from undiagnosed Autism and ADHD and the wait list for an adult for assessments was 6 years. After 3 years I was informed that the NHS would pay for a private assessment under the right to choose legislation. From applying to receiving an assessment it took only 2 months but I'm assuming the cost to the NHS was 10 x what it would have been had they have sorted their selves out.

So now I'm an adult on her own with 3 kids to support. I have autism and adhd. I have to support my child with neurodiversity and I have to be in 3 places at the same time a few times a week to pick them all up from school. I have to do all this while trying to juggle my own struggles. I do not have any expendable income so when the kids need clothes or shoes I simply don't eat. We use food banks for support and the DWP and government still think I'm happily choosing to be on benefits? When all my kids friends are going off on holidays and school trips and wearing the latest names and going on adventures but I can't do anything like that for them? But I'm choosing to be in this position? Wages of mps hitting £91,000 and sat in their ivory towers making decisions about my future? Telling me that If I'm out of work a certain amount of time I'll lose my benefits? Lose my house and my ability to support my children? Made it almost impossible to claim disability benefit because I have hidden disabilities and how do you get people to understand what they cannot see? I'm lucky that I am in a better place mentally because this is all too much and enough to break the strongest of people.

I'm partly concerned. I'm signed off long term on PIP. I have medical health conditions, but I do work part time. Very minimal part time for a disability advocacy company. My daughter's also transferring over from DLA to PIP as well. That's been quite a horrible thing. Not the nicest form and never the nicest assessments with regards to reforms.

I do feel everybody is capable of some form of work. Mine is partly home based and going out in the community, visiting centres and advising on SEN support. My daughter as well, who is at school still, but she does volunteer on the weekends in a charity shop. She does about 4 hours on a Saturday and a Sunday, and I fancy no reason why anybody can do some form of work. I've always had three of my daughters. I've always said to them when they're 16, they go into charity work until they get a proper job. They are autistic and ADHD. Just as myself, I do feel there is everybody's able to do some form of work or contribution. Unless you are really physically, severely mentally incapacitated then no. But I do feel everyone is able to contribute somehow to society and to work.

Our incumbent Prime Minister has no idea of what it is like to live on benefits. His targeting of disabled and the unwell is abhorrent. There should be more money spent on services such as the NHS and mental health services than these threats of the removal of benefits. He say help back to work will be targeted. I am sure this will mean the caseworkers from the DWP will simply tell people they must find work and do absolutely nothing to help them. This has certainly been my experience of dealing with the DWP.

The administrative earnings threshold (aet) has increased in a short period of time and without much warning. This will be problematic for parents with younger children and also those who cannot work or find more hours. It will affect people like me - who normally works more than the aet. Due of the nature of my job I will be earning less some months when I take holiday, although I am fully entitled to take annual leave.

My daughters birthday tomoz thankfully this time she in school lol x its been hard but managed x

I didnt watch as gave up with all that lol x

You know, these children have their own mind and the way of thinking they might just sit down and most times they don't want to really share. But as a mom, I'm just trying to bring words out from them. And I think they have a lot of plans for their future, but just being scared on how to go about it, and especially when they see their parents still struggling, still trying to make end means, you know, they just try to sit back and observe. But we are hoping for a brighter future and good future as a mom. I'm as well trying to speak them, but they just say, mom, I don't know. I'm thinking we just, at the end of the day, laugh at it, but we are hoping for the best.

All I see is the prime minister trying to cut off all benefits. I think he sees people with benefit as lazy people. I don't know why he just talking of them and you know, every circumstances, every people need help. And this benefit is not like we are just sitting there doing nothing. But that is all I see: He doesn't care. They just want to try to stop, if possible, they would stop all benefits. That is what I say.

So my rent went up again... that's the third time in a row. I'm so so worried that they put it up so much every year that I can't afford the rent. It's prompted me to put my name on the council house list, but that looks bleak because there's over 200 people who express an interest in each property. So sad that the rich are taking every opportunities to take advantage of us. I can't help but feel furious and really worried, like my home may not be my home for much longer... but then where will we go?

I have 2 young children both under the age of 10.

We have had discussions about the future of the humanity, animals and the earth as a whole when watching the latest Mammals BBC documentary by David Attenborough.

I feel this is a good way to get my young children to think about their future lifestyle that includes consuming, career choice and the difference between needs and wants.

We are not alone on this planet earth and there for need to be equally concerned about the future of the planet as well as poverty, education, quality of life comfort and our bank balances.

Good morning Diary

Its been a while since I put my thoughts down to express and reflect.

Half-term was costly and busy. Its my first holidays at home since moving over to universal credit and I have to really think about the cost of every activity or event that we attended or take part in.

This definitely impacts on the family time spent together beyond the back garden. One has to know calculate the cost of a educational, fun and adventurous day out with the kids.

I am very concern about his future my son is only 7 years old but he is very concerned about money, bills. He is thinking what happened if we no have funds for buy food, bills. I am super concern because I tried not speak in front him about anything.

I'm a single father to three. Two of them are at university. One is just about to finish her third year of doing a BA and the other one is just coming into her second year of doing a BA and my youngest is 16 with SEN. Over the last sort of six, seven years, we've always discussed what future plans are for them. I think we've always really discussed for the futures, ever since they were younger. It's my other two, anyway, they're mainstream and, we've always discussed and I've always sort of pushed them out into the world. We live in London and they've gone basically up the West Midlands and East Midlands for universities. I've always tried to keep a good work ethic in them. When they hit 16, all three of my daughters went and done charity shop work. They've always had good groundings, they know where they come from and I've always tried to instil a good work ethic into them. We've always discussed their future plans, more so in the last six, seven years since my ex wife left me, we all went for a rough time, shall we say, with that #survivor. And since then, it's a lot closer and tighter and future plans for everybody actually is something we've always discussed as to our paths forwards. Now we're sort of free, you know, who wants to do what? Where are they going to go? What jobs do you want? So, yes, it's something we've always, always openly discussed.