PIP for Bipolar Disorder — What You Could Be Entitled To

Bipolar disorder presents unique challenges in PIP assessments because the condition affects people very differently depending on their current mood state. During depressive episodes, daily activities become extremely difficult. During manic or hypomanic episodes, a person may appear capable — or may be making unsafe decisions. Understanding how to present both aspects of bipolar disorder is essential to a fair assessment.

PIP is not awarded for having a bipolar diagnosis. It is awarded because of how depressive, manic, and hypomanic episodes — and the periods between them — affect what you can do safely, repeatedly, to an acceptable standard, and in a reasonable time on the majority of days. Two people with bipolar disorder can receive very different awards depending on episode frequency, severity, insight, and how much help they need with personal care, medication, money, and travel.

How bipolar disorder affects PIP — both poles matter

PIP should reflect the full picture of bipolar disorder across the whole year — not just one mood state. Both depressive and manic/hypomanic episodes are relevant to PIP scoring.

During depressive episodes:

• Fatigue, low motivation, and low mood affect washing, dressing, and personal care
• Appetite and nutrition management are affected
• Social withdrawal affects engagement with others
• Cognitive slowing affects planning, decision-making, and managing medication
• Mobility and the ability to travel independently can be significantly affected

During manic or hypomanic episodes:

• Impulsivity can affect the ability to make safe budgeting decisions
• Reduced need for sleep and erratic behaviour can create safety concerns
• Grandiosity and poor judgment can make financial management unsafe
• In severe mania, psychosis can affect all daily activities

Daily Living activities commonly affected

Preparing food (up to 8 points): During depressive episodes, motivation and energy to cook are severely affected. During manic episodes, impulsivity and distraction can create kitchen safety risks. “Cannot prepare and cook a simple meal” scores 8 points; “Needs prompting to prepare or cook a simple meal” scores 2 points.

Washing and bathing (up to 8 points): During depressive episodes, personal care is one of the most commonly affected activities. “Needs prompting to wash or bathe” scores 2 points; needing assistance to wash hair or body below the waist scores 2 points; needing another person to wash your entire body scores 8 points.

Managing medication (up to 8 points): Bipolar medication management is complex — mood stabilisers, antipsychotics, and antidepressants often with specific timing requirements. During manic episodes, people sometimes stop taking medication due to feeling well or due to lack of insight. Needing an aid, or supervision/prompting/assistance to manage medication or monitor your condition, scores 1 point. Higher therapy descriptors (2–8 points) may apply if someone helps with longer therapies across the week.

Making budgeting decisions (up to 6 points): This is one of the most important activities for bipolar disorder. During manic episodes, impulsive and grandiose spending is a recognised feature of the condition that can cause serious financial harm. “Needs prompting or assistance to make complex budgeting decisions” scores 2 points; “Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all” scores 6 points.

Engaging with other people (up to 8 points): Both depression (withdrawal, inability to engage) and mania (disinhibition, inappropriate behaviour) can affect social engagement. “Needs prompting to engage with other people” scores 2 points; “Cannot engage with other people” scores 8 points.

Mobility activities commonly affected:

Planning and following journeys (up to 12 points): During depressive episodes, anxiety and low mood can severely affect the ability to travel independently. During manic episodes, poor judgment and impulsivity can make travelling alone unsafe. “Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person” scores 10 points.

Below are the activities most often affected, with the specific descriptors and point values that typically apply.

Preparing food

• Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal — 2 points.
• Needs prompting to be able to either prepare or cook a simple meal — 2 points. During depression you need reminding and encouragement to eat and cook; during mania you may need prompting to cook safely rather than impulsively.
• Needs supervision or assistance to either prepare or cook a simple meal — 4 points. Someone must be present because distraction, racing thoughts, or severe low mood make the kitchen unsafe.
• Cannot prepare and cook a simple meal — 8 points. On most episode days you cannot cook at all and rely on ready meals or another person cooking.

Example: Someone who goes days without eating properly in a depressive episode, then leaves pans burning during hypomania, is not completing preparing food reliably across the year.

Taking nutrition

• Needs prompting to be able to take nutrition — 4 points. Common in depressive episodes when appetite disappears and you need reminding/encouragement to eat and drink.
• Needs to use an aid or appliance / supervision / assistance to cut up food — 2 points.
• Cannot convey food and drink to their mouth and needs another person to do so — 10 points in the most severe presentations.

Washing and bathing

• Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to wash or bathe — 2 points.
• Needs supervision or prompting to be able to wash or bathe — 2 points. The classic depressive-episode descriptor — without prompting, days pass without washing.
• Needs assistance to wash hair or body below the waist — 2 points, get in or out of a bath or shower — 3 points, or wash between shoulders and waist — 4 points when physical help is also needed.
• Cannot wash and bathe at all and needs another person to wash their entire body — 8 points.

Dressing and undressing

• Needs to use an aid or appliance to be able to dress or undress — 2 points.
• Needs either prompting or assistance to be able to select appropriate clothing — 2 points. Depression may mean staying in nightwear; mania may mean inappropriate clothing choices.
• Needs assistance to dress or undress upper body — 2 points or lower body — 2 points.
• Cannot dress or undress at all — 8 points.

Managing therapy or monitoring a health condition

• Needs to use an aid or appliance to manage medication — 1 point. Dosette boxes, alarms.
• Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage medication or monitor a health condition — 1 point. Someone prompts mood-stabiliser doses, watches for missed tablets during mania, or helps monitor early warning signs.
• Needs supervision, prompting or assistance to manage therapy that takes no more than 3.5 hours a week — 2 points (rising to 4 / 6 / 8 points above 3.5, 7, or 14 hours) if another person regularly helps with longer support or therapy programmes.

Stopping medication during mania because of lack of insight is highly relevant — describe who notices, who intervenes, and what happens if they do not.

Making budgeting decisions

• Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make complex budgeting decisions — 2 points. Bills, banking, and longer-term money management need help — especially when mania drives overspending.
• Needs prompting or assistance to be able to make simple budgeting decisions — 4 points. Even everyday purchases need help or control.
• Cannot make any budgeting decisions at all — 6 points.

Example: Someone who during hypomania spends thousands on unnecessary items, takes out loans, or gives money away, and whose partner has to take over the bank cards, is describing budgeting descriptors — not “poor money habits.”

Engaging with other people face to face

• Needs prompting to be able to engage with other people — 2 points. Depressive withdrawal, or anxiety about seeing people after manic behaviour.
• Needs social support to be able to engage with other people — 4 points. You can only manage face-to-face contact with a familiar support person present.
• Cannot engage with other people due to such engagement causing either overwhelming psychological distress to the claimant or a risk to the claimant or another person — 8 points. Severe depression, paranoia, or manic disinhibition creating risk or overwhelming distress.

Planning and following journeys

• Needs prompting to be able to undertake any journey to avoid overwhelming psychological distress — 4 points. Depressive anxiety or agoraphobia means you need encouragement to leave the house.
• Cannot plan the route of a journey — 8 points. Cognitive slowing in depression, or chaotic thinking in mania, affects planning.
• Cannot follow the route of an unfamiliar journey without another person, assistance dog or orientation aid — 10 points.
• Cannot undertake any journey because it would cause overwhelming psychological distress — 10 points.
• Cannot follow the route of a familiar journey without another person, an assistance dog or an orientation aid — 12 points.

During mania, also describe unsafe wandering, leaving home impulsively, or needing accompaniment because judgment is impaired.

The majority of days rule and bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is by definition episodic. The key question for the majority of days rule is: across the past 12 months, how many days have been affected by either depressive or manic episodes, and how severely?

Keep a mood diary — many apps exist for this — that records daily mood, sleep, energy levels, and which activities were affected. This becomes powerful evidence showing the real pattern of your condition rather than a snapshot assessment.

If episodes are frequent enough that the majority of your days across the year are significantly affected by either depression or mania, your claim should reflect this even if you appear relatively stable at the time of assessment.

Also count mixed days, residual symptoms between episodes, medication side effects, and recovery time after an episode ends. “Euthymic” windows do not erase the yearly pattern if most days were still limited.

Sample mood / symptom diary template

You can download a free printable symptom diary template (PDF) to fill in by hand.

Date	Mood state (dep / hypo / manic / mixed / stable)	Sleep hrs	Energy 0–10	Meds taken as prescribed?	Could wash/dress?	Could cook/eat?	Money decisions today	Could go out alone?	Social contact	Risk / incidents	Help needed
e.g. 1 Mar	Depressive	11	2	Yes — prompted	Needed prompting all day	No cooking; ate toast when reminded	None — avoided	No	Avoided all contact	Stayed in bed till 3pm	Partner prompted care
e.g. 10 Mar	Hypomanic	3	9	Missed evening dose	Dressed oddly; no prompting needed	Left hob on once	Spent £400 online	Went out impulsively	Over-talkative, arguments	Partner took bank card	Supervised money
e.g. 18 Mar	Stable-ish	7	5	Yes	Independent	Cooked simple meal	Paid a bill with check-in	Local shop alone	Short call with friend	None	Light check-ins

Monthly summary example: “In the last 30 days I had about 18 depressive days and 5 hypomanic days. On depressive days I needed prompting to wash and eat. On hypomanic days my partner had to manage my bank card. Only about 7 days felt close to baseline.”

The insight problem — a specific challenge in bipolar disorder

During manic or hypomanic episodes, people with bipolar disorder often lack insight into their difficulties — they may feel and appear well while actually making unsafe decisions. This creates a specific challenge in PIP assessments: if you’re assessed during a hypomanic period, you may present as capable and well.

If this is relevant to your experience, describe it explicitly: “During hypomanic periods I do not recognise that my behaviour is unsafe or that I need help. I have made decisions during these periods that have caused significant financial and personal harm. I need support from others to manage safely during these episodes even though I do not feel I need help at the time.”

Ask a family member or carer to provide a supporting statement covering what they see during mania that you do not recognise yourself. That third-party evidence is often decisive for budgeting, medication, and journey descriptors.

What to write on your PIP form

Don’t write: “My mood goes up and down and I struggle with daily life sometimes”

Do write: “I have bipolar disorder type [1/2] with frequent episodes. Over the past 12 months I have experienced [X] depressive episodes lasting approximately [X] weeks each, during which I am unable to wash, dress, or prepare food without prompting or assistance. I have also experienced [X] hypomanic/manic episodes during which I make unsafe financial decisions and require support to manage safely. These episodes have affected the majority of my days over the past year.”

Don’t write: “I don’t always look after myself when I’m low.”

Do write: “During depressive episodes, on the majority of those days I need prompting to wash and bathe. Without prompting I can go several days without washing. Getting washed takes a long time and afterwards I usually need to sleep. I also need prompting to change clothes and to eat.”

Don’t write: “I spend too much when I’m high.”

Do write: “During hypomanic/manic episodes I cannot make safe budgeting decisions. I have spent large sums impulsively, ignored bills, and needed my partner to take my bank cards. On those days I need prompting or assistance with even simple money decisions, and complex budgeting is not safe without another person managing it.”

Don’t write: “I sometimes stop my tablets.”

Do write: “On the majority of days during manic/hypomanic periods I need supervision or prompting to manage medication because lack of insight means I stop mood stabilisers when I feel well. Missed doses worsen episodes. My partner checks I have taken the correct dose.”

Don’t write: “I find it hard to go out when depressed.”

Do write: “During depressive episodes I need prompting to leave the house to avoid overwhelming psychological distress. I cannot follow unfamiliar journeys without another person. On the worst days I cannot undertake any journey at all.”

Don’t write: “I can seem fine in appointments.”

Do write: “When I am hypomanic I can appear confident and capable in appointments while actually needing help with medication, money, and safety. Please consider my mood diary and my partner’s statement, not only how I present on one day.”

Working with your medical team

Ask for letters that describe episode pattern and functional impact, not only diagnosis and current mental state.

Who to ask:

• Psychiatrist
• Community Psychiatric Nurse (CPN) / care coordinator
• GP
• Psychologist / therapist
• Family member or carer (supporting statement)

What to ask them to include:

• Bipolar type, episode frequency and typical duration over the last 12 months
• What personal care, nutrition, medication, money, and travel look like in depression vs mania
• Hospital admissions, crisis team input, or detention under the Mental Health Act if relevant
• Medication regime and history of non-adherence during mania
• Early warning signs and what support others provide
• Whether you lack insight during elevated mood

Bring your mood diary to appointments. Ask clinicians to comment on majority-of-days functioning across the year, not only how you are in that clinic slot.

What happens at the assessment

Bipolar assessments are high-risk for underscoring if you are euthymic or hypomanic on the day. Assessors may take a bright, talkative presentation as proof you can manage daily living.

Before the assessment:

• Take your mood diary, medication list, and clinic letters
• Ask a companion who has seen both poles of your illness to attend if allowed
• Note your current mood state at the start of the assessment

During the assessment:

• Explicitly cover both depressive and manic/hypomanic limitations
• Give numbers: episode count, length, and roughly how many days in the last year were affected
• Describe budgeting disasters, medication stopping, and personal-care collapse with concrete examples
• If you feel “fine” today, say whether that is typical for the majority of days
• Mention sleep disruption, psychosis (if any), and risk to yourself or others during mania

Common assessor trap: “You seem well today.” Reply with the yearly pattern: “Today is a relatively stable day. Over the last year most days were not like this — I had X weeks of depression where I could not wash without prompting and Y periods of hypomania where my partner had to manage my money.”

What evidence helps your claim

• Psychiatrist letter describing diagnosis, episode frequency and severity, and functional impact
• GP letter supporting the claim
• Community mental health team records if applicable
• Evidence of any hospital admissions during episodes
• Mood diary covering at least 6 months
• Supporting statement from a family member or carer describing what happens during episodes — particularly valuable for the insight problem in mania
• Evidence of any medication prescribed
• Bank statements or debt letters from manic spending (optional but powerful if you are comfortable sharing)

FAQ

Does bipolar disorder qualify for the mobility component? Potentially yes — through the journey planning descriptor if anxiety, depression, or poor judgment during episodes affects the ability to travel independently.

What if I’m stable at the time of my assessment? Describe your condition across the whole year, not just how you are at assessment. If you experience significant episodes that affect the majority of your days, this should be reflected even if you’re relatively stable on the day.

Can I claim PIP for bipolar disorder if I work? Yes — PIP is completely unaffected by employment. Many people with bipolar disorder work, often with significant difficulty during episodes, and may still be entitled to PIP.

What if I’ve been refused PIP for bipolar disorder? Mental health conditions have high success rates at tribunal. Request mandatory reconsideration, then appeal if unsuccessful. Get help from Mind, Rethink Mental Illness, or Citizens Advice.

Does the type of bipolar disorder (type 1 vs type 2) affect my claim? Not directly — PIP is based on functional impact, not diagnosis subtype. However, type 1 bipolar with full manic episodes is likely to involve more severe functional impact than type 2 with hypomania, which may affect scoring.

Do I need to be under a psychiatrist to qualify? No, but specialist evidence helps. GP evidence plus a strong mood diary and carer statement can still support a claim. If you can get a CMHT or psychiatrist letter, it usually strengthens the case.

Should I describe manic spending and risky behaviour? Yes if it is part of your condition. Budgeting and safety descriptors depend on that detail. You can describe patterns and consequences without listing every transaction.

How many points do I need, and what are the rates? You need 8 points for Standard rate and 12 for Enhanced rate on each component (scored separately). For 2026/27: Standard Daily Living £72.65 a week, Enhanced £108.55; Standard Mobility £28.70, Enhanced £75.75. Points often add up across personal care, medication, budgeting, engaging with people, and journeys.

Check what you might be entitled to

Sources

• GOV.UK — Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
• GOV.UK — PIP: what you’ll get