1). How long did it take? (or if you haven't won your case, how long has it taken so far?)
It took 14 months. The first application was denied. Filed an appeal. It was denied. It went to a Judge for review/hearing and was approved. The Judge had me in his hearing room all of 5 minutes, saying he was actually sorry this had come before him. This was a clear cut case with all the extensive documentation going back over a decade (same documentation sent in with each filing). He asked me 1 question and seemed genuine, "how I was doing now?", told me not to give up hope, that this would be approved, and sent the attorney and I on our ways. Attorney said he had his mind made up before we got in there; he'd never been in court for such a short time ever. Documentation is the key.

2). How old were you when you applied, approximately? (feel free to skip if you want to keep this private...I only ask because Social Security often denies cases based on age) 30

3). What condition(s) did you apply for? Major depression & PTSD

4). What convinced you that benefits were necessary? I could no longer function after trying several jobs, failing out of school, and my last job being out on short term and then long term disability insurance, then FMLA. I could not return to work. It was treatment resistnt despite being compliant, I was seriously struggling, no hope, and just could not function at all.

5). If you received a rejection at any stage of the process, what reasons were cited? I do not remember there being reasons given in my denial letters, only the denial and what information I could do next the process if did not agree with the finding.

6). any pointers?Get an attorney; he gathered all the information necessary and filed the paperwork when it needed to be filed and where. I could not have done it as I could not put one foot in front of the other at that point as getting out of bed was my challenge at that point let alone anything else was a monstrosity.