Reaping the benefits of sickness? Long-term illness and the experience of welfare claims

Abstract

This article documents the experience of people with myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) in claiming sickness-related benefits in the United Kingdom. Based on responses to an enquiry on an email noticeboard, it focuses on the work and stress involved in making a claim; the felt stigma of being a claimant; and the strong desire to return to paid employment. The paper also notes the lack of documentation of the experience of making claims for, and of living as, a claimant of these benefits, and argues for the importance of research in this area, especially given that tightened criteria are currently generating even greater anxiety and risk of impoverishment.