I had a job, but had to move away from my home town with my daughter due to domestic violence.

After 6 weeks the wages dried up and I was forced to claim benefits.

I had no idea where the job centre was based in an area I knew nothing about. The village was rural and the council office only opened part time. I had no house phone and no credit on my mobile.

I was told by a benefit advisor to walk 6 miles to the nearest town to the job centre, I didn't know which direction.

I went home and sobbed out of despair. I left a violent situation and nobody cared if we went hungry.

Word must have got out as 3 ladies from Gingerbread appeared at our door the next morning offering a food parcel and support with benefit claiming. They took me through application forms step by step. It took 12 weeks to sort out all benefit entitlement. I am grateful for this charity.

Weather is slightly warmer and boy are we grateful, it’s been a long cold winter. The kids are finally able to work off some energy. I’m really hoping that food prices become lower because we can’t keep up with inflation and the kids are hungry and I know that running around and being kids for a while is fantastic it also means the kids want to eat more. The scales never seem to balance.

The heartbreak of every service children would usually be allowed to receive, funding as an excuse and accepted. It goes against children and families 1989 law, best endeavours to ensure children have the best possible life.

Try to get them the best life but how can we? Assessments needed are assessments needed. I assess them hungry, I could excuse money for not ensuring that’s happening.

Plans to scrap [insert pension related thing here] scrapped due to backlash,

I've seen five such articles in the last week. So backlash over largely conservative voters means the government will backtrack but not stuff that effects largely labour or lib dem voters like the recent budget that punishes the more vulnerable with additional vulnerability.

I laid awake in bed last night, cold sweat panic of being forced to look for work again, these last two and half months of being on LCWRA had given me a false sense of security that the government would finally let me focus on healing, focusing on being well enough to be able to work. I look forward to being able to work again one day, I don't know when yet, could be a few years cos treatment doesn't happen overnight and is a process. But if I have too look for work or forced into work while seeking treatment it will jeopardise my healing process with additional stress. There is literally no job I can do safely with my mental health as it currently in, I'd pose a health and safety hazard, be a risk to myself my colleagues and potential clients/customers. No one will employ me and no special measures, besides having a constant supervisor assigned to insuring I'm safe and well every few minutes will enable me to work as things currently stand. I'm not even able to safely care for my children until after treatment due to how my mental health poses a risk to their development and welfare. I get a lot of support from social services and a lot of access to my children cos social see me as sick and vulnerable and deserving of help, but while I'm deemed too ill to care for my kids the gov thinks me and people like me can work. I wish I could, I'd love to role model that to my kids, and one day I will. But I can't run before I can walk. Its mental. I dread the utter desperation if hunger and cold, after my childhood trauma such retriggering makes self harm and suicidal thoughts stronger. I'm fine, safe, right now but if things keep on getting worse and more unsafe (like it's mental that people like me aren't safe in our own country, not safe from hunger or cold or starvation, like this is Britain FFS, how can government do this to its own people!), If things keep getting worse then how will my mental health ever get better if I can't just focus on healing for a short time. In the factor of my life, a few years out if the workforce to heal is small compared to lifetime out of work cos no one will employ me. Sometimes it feels like the government is just trying to kill off as many poor and vunerable persons that it can, cheapest way to lower their unemployment rates if we're dying. And loads of evidence that mental illness lowers life expectancy, as does stress and hunger and cold.

As for sanctions, they're disgusting, Government sanctioned torture. We've clearly never moved on from Victorian punish the poor mentality and it shows.

Today was a good day for my kids but a bad day for me.

They was invited to a birthday party at a really cool arcade, it's a place where we could never afford to go with it costing £18 per wrist band so I was so glad they had the opportunity to attend, due to the type of place the parents had to stay to keep an eye on their children. Food was provided for them... But not the adults (fair enough) however all the other adults bought their own food from the venue. I had £2 in my bank and the cheapest thing was £4 so I had to pretend I wasn't hungry even though I was ravenous, luckily the kids left a few nachos so I ate those.

While I was sat there literally eating scraps I looked around at the other families who wasn't at the party but were enjoying the venue and the happiness in the kids faces and I felt terribly sad, there's no way on earth I could EVER take my kids to places like this.

My heart hurts because they miss out on so much because we can't afford it, their lives must be so mundane.

The thing is my husband works a 54 hour week so why can't we afford to do something fun each weekend. It's just not right.

My stomach is giving me pain today.

Indigestion. Lower left abdominal pain.

Nauseous.

Cutting back on food again. I'm filling up on porridge for all meals. It stops the hunger but I'm so bloated.

Checked bank account in hope of a miracle.

No child maintenance payment again.

My mum makes a very filling meal and it lasts for a few days and you can make a lot. She used to feed 3 of us and herself with it and we would be stuffed, it's tin of corned beef, salad cream and spaghetti sticks or fusilli pasta. Boil the pasta as usual, while that's cooking just before it's fully cooked heat up the corned beef and then drain the pasta and add the corned beef and the salad cream and pasta together sprinkle with cheese and dinner is served. It's still a favourite of mine but it's not for everyone. My child hates it but she's a fussy eater, everyone else I've given it to have loved it.

I buy my child healthy food and try hard to be able to cook her healthy meals I don't really eat a lot myself because sometimes I don't have enough for myself as well or I'm just too stressed out and can't eat from stress but it is getting harder with the prices rising and I'm stuck depending on my family and friends sometimes but I hate to ask for myself but as long as my child isn't hungry and she's happy and healthy then that's how it's gonna be because I'd rather be hungry than her being hungry.

Honestly it’s very hard. I want to give the kids a lovely Christmas, and I don’t want them to worry or miss out. But at the moment I’m skipping meals to save money - grocery bills are massive - and it isn’t possible to figure out gifts and Christmas treats. I’ve only been able to get my kids one proper present each this year. I’m hoping wider family will be able to give them things too but it’s painful to know that I can’t. It’s meant to be such a happy time and I’m just hungry, and worried.

Free school meals do make a difference to some degree. My youngest is in year 6 and at his school there is no choice menu so he has to eat what he is given. Sometimes there are things he doesn't like. He says the portion sizes in year 6 are no bigger than those provided to pupils in year 1, so often comes home hungry. The only alternative is to send him with a packed lunch, which ends up costing more than a school dinner would. My eldest is in secondary school but refuses to eat school meals. He is autistic and has lots of sensory issues when it comes to food. So I have to send him with a packed lunch every day. However, I am grateful for the free school meals.

Hi, I am on Universal Credit at present, and don't work at the moment. I have a 7 year old son, who currently receives Free School meals.

He has his breakfast at around 7am, and then his school dinner at around 11.30am, which means that after his breakfast, he doesn't get to eat for 4 and a half hours. Within this nearly 5 hour window, my son is burning off loads of energy at school both mentally and physically, and hence, when it comes to lunch time he is usually really hungry.

However, whilst I am grateful that my son does get free school meals, he often tells me that the meal he received was in no way filling, and that the portion sizes of the food are fairly small, hence he is still hungry after the meal, because it is not fulfilling enough.

Because of this, what I have started doing is making sure that I arrive at the school gate at home time with a homemade sandwich, a piece of fruit, and anything else I can pack for him in my handbag which is compact enough for me to take with me to the school-run, because he is usually still very hungry at this point. The food I bring tends to satisfy his hunger enough until we reach home.

My son really appreciates my new strategy, and is always super excited to see me at home time because he knows that I'll be armed with food for him.

The only downside, is that throughout the day, I often worry about how hungry he is, and wished I could do more to help him during the school day, like provide him with some extra food to take with him in the morning, which he can also eat alongside his free school meal, but currently the school do not allow this. Children are either on a packed lunch because their parents work, or they get free school meals because their parents don't work, or can also get them if their parents work but, they have to pay £15 per week per child, which I think is quite expensive, especially if the parents are on a low income.

There is no in-between. Hence, I think that Free School meals do make a difference because at least our children don't starve whilst they are at school, but, I think that parents should be given more choices regarding what their children eat at school lunch time, whether they are working or not.

Wide awake at 3:48am.

I am feeling hungry and cold.

It's 10° but feels much colder.

I'm not exactly withering away, but I want food. I had a pot noodle for my tea yesterday.

Scrolling through Facebook and torturing myself seeing others on holiday. As if the Cost of Living crisis isn't happening for them.

For a while now I've been searching for somewhere to channel my frustrations and concerns constructively and effectively. When I first saw the link to the Changing Realities project on social media, I knew instantly, it was something I could and should get involved with. Changing Realities satisfies my need to express a dissatisfaction with systems which urgently need real change.

As a disabled parent, and grandparent, I already know of struggle, hardship and lack. Lack of physical control is demoralising enough. I may lack mobility, but I do possess the wherewithal to speak out about matters important to me. And I have been listened to and my situation acknowledged and addressed.

For someone like me there's no direct control over what is happening in this country and if I can change that by taking positive action to address matters which effect millions, as well as myself all the better for everyone. I'm driven to speak out through shared experience. Something seriously has to change for the better sooner than later.

This year has already been an immense battle to keep afloat financially, emotional and physically. We've been living in economy mode for as long as I can remember. My hospitality has been taken advantage of and abused as my middle child struggled in a difficult relationship along with their own parenting responsibilities. Hence my youngest and I have already had to stretch our money as far as it would go, prior to the current cost of living difficulties. My experience is relevant and real.

Living with a pain condition means not only am I unable to mobilise but I also lack energy as pain is draining. In fact pain is an attention magnet I have to live with but being cold and hungry within your own home is surely not. I'm dreading the heating and shopping bills this winter.

Also, we are still recovering from the expense of moving home in April. This was due to a non-fault eviction from the home we had loved living in for 16 years.

The landlord needed to sell up. As a tenant, I had no rights no protection. We were seriously compromised every which way we turned. My youngest was due to sit exams and my disability, a major barrier, as no practical help to pack and move. Other than throw ourselves on the mercy of the local authority, which couldn't proceed without correct official papers, there wasn't much choice but to leave the old place quick. The landlord purposely avoided the inconvenience and expense of serving us with official papers. He offered us the opportunity to stay put longer, but for more rent with no safety net when the time was up. Consequently, we took the best we could as soon as we could.

We feel we've had more than our fair share of bad luck and misfortune in recent years. Now with a cost-of-living crisis to contend with I long to be able to have my heating operating the 7 hours plus per day we used to enjoy from Oct to March. We've cut back on everything we possibly can cut back on. The laundry the vacuuming the cooking.

My youngest is required to wear business clothes for school. Some of these come at the expense of having dry-cleaning bills. Given the choice I would have shopped around for machine washable items. We've not gone to the dry cleaners yet.

As winter approaches, we are faced with uncertainty and anxiety. We can only estimate how efficient the heating system here actually is. The oven is proving expensive to cook in. I'm not sure we can stretch to buying an alternative cooking appliance. Also, due to disability, I need to buy more pre-prepared foods or order more expensive online groceries with delivery charges. I receive extra to cover this cost but lately I've noticed how little, my money actually gets us. It's really quite depressing to see our money chewed up so readily.

Despite anticipating financial strain since April, we are still no better prepared. Situations cropped up for my family during recent months. Any rainy-day money I had spare, now gone.

Stress makes my condition worse. There's an existing 'smart' meter here, say no more. Even my youngest is mortified looking at the clock tot up pennies into pounds. Everything we use is associated with its cost nowadays. We've been sharing the same bed to save money heating 2 bedrooms.

To term it a choice between 'heating or eating' is a massive understatement. As mentioned, not only have we cut back on shopping, but as a natural consequence of preparing for increased costs we cut back on laundry, ironing anything we can cut back on really. During the summer, cutting back on showers caused a health crisis I can't afford to repeat. I've since found the economy switch on the shower but even so I'm far less inclined to bother having a cold shower within a cold house. besides, I don't really go out or see anyone day to day anyway. Ultimately, at the back of your mind there's the smart meter racking up the cost all the time.

Daytime, it's easier to keep my coat on at home. Heat the person not the home. I've been filling a flask with boiling water to use later during the day. Even then I question whether it's more expensive to boil larger quantities of water than it would be boiling 1 cup, or do I microwave it to save pennies?

Bottom line is, I personally find there's simply not enough clarity about anything regarding the cost of living crisis. There's obviously next to no official guidance either from what I can tell. Yet here we are on the cusp of winter speeding full steam ahead into the most expensive time of year for the vast majority of folk. In addition, it's not only about a focus on heating or eating it's also the knock-on effect of increased groceries that is causing people to go hungry etc. I tend to eat the out-of-date products to avoid waste as is.

Not once have I heard a clear explanation in layman's terms of what £2500 for an average household actually gets you for your money? Has there been something publicised and I've missed it? In my opinion it's irresponsible on the part of the energy companies and the government. I'm no mathematician able to calculate watts and usage based on what we didn't spend here last year. In fact, last year we were on prepayment meters, in a 3 bed semi, 3 people. It's impossible to speculate on usage.

Last month an energy surveyor carried out an efficiency survey on the property. At least he gave me an indication of this property being lower than 'average' whatever 'average' in terms of gas and electric usage actually is? It's beside the point. We are all still paying insane amounts for our energy.

I tried to be proactive. I contacted my energy company to check I was on the cheapest tariffs. They offer electric blankets and thermal imaging cameras to customers but the process for applying is bewildering and has escaped me. It's actually warmer to sit in the car but it's been with the mechanic a full week already with no sign of its return any time soon. This brings more unwelcome expense to factor in. Until its repaired, I'm housebound unless I pay for taxis. There's currently no bus service close enough for me to access independently. It's been the case for 4 months now. Ironically it's down to works on a replacement gas mains nearby.

Feels like we are going backwards in this country. When I was growing up we didn't have central heating on often but least there was always a fire on in the living room to warm ourselves on. It breaks my heart to hear my youngest's remarks when they offered to use their own money to pay for themselves at a birthday celebration for their cousin.

Typically I'm a fairly resilient person and bounce back from situations but its long since become tiring as I'm preoccupied with doing all I can to save money whilst consumed by staying warm. I'm deeply concerned for us all. Are the government looking to give us the final push into destitution and depression?

Posed with the idea of having to endure and sustain living with these increased costs for a long time to come I worry about the effects on mental health of my youngest. I have a good deal of self-awareness myself however it's becoming more difficult to keep compromising our sanity like this i.e. dithering over how far our finances will continue to stretch.