A worked example showing how each of the 12 PIP activities can be described for someone with fibromyalgia. Every answer is written in the first person, in the plain wording assessors look for, and each one weaves in the reliability factors that decide how an activity scores.
Fibromyalgia is hard to put on a form because so much of it is invisible. There is the widespread pain that moves around the body and never really switches off, the crushing fatigue that no amount of sleep fixes, and the poor concentration and memory that many people call "fibro fog". None of it shows up on a scan, and on a good hour you might look completely well, which is exactly why a careful, honest description matters so much.
The biggest trap is the good day. Fibromyalgia flares and settles, so what you can do on your best day is often very different from what you can do on a bad one. The rules are clear that this is not the test. An activity only counts as something you can do if you can do it safely, to an acceptable standard, repeatedly and in a reasonable time. If you can chop vegetables once but not again without resting, if you can only wash by sitting down and risking a fall, if a task takes you three times as long as it should, or if you can only manage it on two days in five, then you cannot reliably do it, and that is what your answers need to show.
"Repeatedly" and "in a reasonable time" carry a lot of weight with fibromyalgia. Pain and fatigue build up over the day, so being able to do something first thing does not mean you can do it again an hour later. Writing down how often the bad days come, how long tasks take, what you can no longer manage, and the aids you have to use is what turns a vague picture into one an assessor can understand. The example below does exactly that, activity by activity. The DWP always makes the final decision, but describing your day accurately gives your form the strongest chance of being understood.
What to cover for each one. Your paid form writes the full answers for you.
Describe how pain and weak grip make peeling, chopping and lifting pans unsafe, and mention any perching stool or lightweight aids you rely on. Explain that on bad days you cannot do it repeatedly or in a reasonable time, and note any real safety risks such as dropping knives or forgetting the hob. Say plainly whether you could manage a simple cooked meal to an acceptable standard on most days.
This question is about eating a meal once it is in front of you, not about the cooking, which belongs above. What counts here is a weak or painful grip that makes you drop cutlery or a full cup, needing food cut up for you, or fatigue and low mood so heavy that somebody has to remind or encourage you to eat at all. If you can eat and drink without help, leave this one alone rather than stretching it.
Explain how fibro fog affects remembering doses and appointments, and mention prompts you depend on such as a dosette box, alarms or a family member reminding you. Describe what would happen without that support, so the assessor sees you cannot manage medication reliably on your own. Cover both good and bad days rather than only your best.
Describe the pain, stiffness and unsteadiness getting on and off the toilet, and mention any raised seat, grab rail or help you need to do it safely. Explain how long it takes and how it varies on a flare day. Make clear whether you can manage this repeatedly and to an acceptable standard without the aids.
Describe the difficulty with buttons, zips, socks and anything overhead, and mention aids such as a button hook, sock aid or shoehorn, or the help of another person. Explain that on bad days dressing takes far longer or you stay in the same clothes because you cannot manage. Note whether you can do it safely, repeatedly and in a reasonable time.
Fibromyalgia does not usually affect speech or hearing, so only claim this if taking in what is said is genuinely a problem. What counts is fibro fog leaving you unable to follow a conversation, losing your words mid-sentence, or needing someone with you at appointments because you cannot hold on to what you have just been told. If you can speak, hear and understand people normally, leave this one alone.
Explain that fibro fog means detailed or important information does not stay in your head, so you have to re-read things or ask someone to go through letters with you. Describe how tiredness and poor concentration make this worse as the day goes on. Focus on understanding and retaining information rather than eyesight.
Describe how pain, exhaustion and low mood leave you isolated, and mention the encouragement or company you need to face seeing anyone. Explain any anxiety or distress that being around people causes, and how often you avoid or cancel plans. Keep it to how you cope socially, not physical walking.
Explain how fibro fog makes you lose track of bills, budgeting and everyday sums, and mention anyone who helps you check your account or manage payments. Describe mistakes or missed bills that have happened, and the support you rely on to avoid them. Make clear whether you could manage complex money matters reliably on your own.
This one is about getting out and following a route, not about how far you can walk, which belongs under moving around. What counts is fibro fog leaving you muddled or lost on a route you know, needing someone with you to work out where to go, or anxiety and distress bad enough that you will not leave the house alone. If you can plan and follow a journey once you are out, leave this one alone and put the walking difficulty where it belongs.
The tips above are general pointers. Your paid form gives you a full, ready-to-copy answer for all 12 activities, written from your exact conditions, medication, aids and bad days, not a general example. This is a worked example for fibromyalgia; yours is written for you. £99.99 one-off.
This is a worked example, not a script. It shows one honest way a person with fibromyalgia might describe their bad days, so you can see the level of detail and the plain wording that assessors are trained to look for. Please do not copy it word for word. Your own answers should reflect your fibromyalgia, your worst and most common days, the aids you actually use and the help you actually need or go without, because that is what the assessment is about and that is what makes an answer ring true.
Notice that not every activity has to be claimed. Being honest about what fibromyalgia does not change makes the difficulties you do describe more believable, so there is no need to stretch every question. If you would rather start from your own words, tell us about your health and we will write your answers from your own conditions, in the same first-person style, ready for you to read, edit and copy onto your PIP2 claim form or AR1 review form.
Tell us about your fibromyalgia in your own words and we will write one full activity for you, free, before you pay anything.
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