“…Connectedness (having good relationships), hope (having hope that recovery is possible and support to achieve this), identity (having a positive sense of self), meaning (living a purposeful life), and empowerment (having control over life) (CHIME) is proposed as a framework of what is necessary for a person to experience recovery in terms of their mental health (Leamy, Bird, Le Boutillier, Williams, & Slade, 2011). While the very concept of recovery in the context of mental health is highly contested (see Harper & Speed, 2013) and can be described as having been co-opted by policymakers (Recovery in the Bin, 2019), we draw upon it within this discussion because policy in Scotland (Scottish Government, 2017) states that people with mental health problems should expect recovery and to be free from stigma. These findings suggest that having to claim social security benefits for a mental health problem makes it difficult to achieve any aspect of recovery as defined by CHIME (Leamy et al, 2011).…”